Looking for ways to lower your bills? Of course the answer’s “yes.” But it’s usually followed by “But only as long as I don’t have to make an upfront investment.” Wish granted. Here are three ways you can lower your energy/tech bills without spending a dime:

1. Eliminate/consolidate printers and photocopiers
The old days of setting up printers in every department or work area are fading fast.

57% of small-to-medium-size companies are consolidating printers to conserve energy use, according to an Info-Tech Research Group study commissioned by IBM recently.

For good reason: Just leaving one photocopier on overnight wastes enough energy to make 1,500 copies!

Not all IT departments know this. Reason they’re in the dark: More than 40% of IT shops aren’t charged for energy costs in their budgets, according to IT Adviser.

Using newer, energy-efficient copiers/printers for multiple work groups makes sense.

2. Shutdowns for PCs
After consolidating printers, the second most popular option is PC power management (53% of those surveyed).

Reminding people to shut down their PCs and monitors gets mixed results. Setting up automatic shutdowns for computer equipment gets past the “I forgot” excuse and eliminates hours of wasted electricity.

3. Give some servers a rest
Many companies, for instance, leave their payroll servers running 24/7 – even though Payroll needs to run reports only once or twice a month.

IT may not care. (See above about energy budgets.) But the savings for the company can add up.

You can get more ideas by downloading the report “Green IT: Why Mid-Size Companies are Investing Now.”