Introducing a New, Smarter, Greener Way to Power Your Desks with GoBright
If you’re already using GoBright Interact, you’ve taken a big step toward smarter desk management and a better employee experience. Now there’s a small accessory that multiplies those benefits with almost no effort: the GoBright Power Control Plug.
This simple, plug-in device connects exclusively to GoBright Interact and turns power on only when someone checks in at the desk. No check-in? No power to the workstation or connected peripherals. The idea is beautifully straightforward, and the impact is immediate: lower energy use, cleaner occupancy data, and measurable gains in both cost efficiency and sustainability.
Why power control matters (even when no one’s at the desk)
Walk any office floor after hours and you’ll see tiny LEDs glowing: monitors, docks, chargers and hubs sipping electricity in standby. It doesn’t look like much, but it all adds up.
A typical modern workstation (think: two monitors + a Thunderbolt dock + a power hub) can draw around 10 W even when nobody’s there.
Consider the week in real terms:
- There are 168 hours in a week.
- Most desks are occupied for roughly 40 hours.
- That leaves 128 hours of “lights out” time when equipment is idle—but still drawing power.
At 10 W over 128 hours, that’s 1.28 kWh per week per desk. Over a year, you’re looking at roughly 66.5 kWh wasted for a single workstation. With an average UK energy cost of £0.30 per kWh, that’s about £20 per desk, per year in electricity you don’t need to buy.
Scale that across 100, 500, or 1,000 desks, and the savings become a line item you’ll actually notice, before you even factor in the operational value of better space data.
Meet the GoBright Power Control Plug
The Power Control Plug takes aim at that idle draw. It’s a small, Bluetooth-enabled accessory that connects directly to GoBright Interact. When an employee checks in, power flows to the desk. When they check out (or no one checks in) power is cut to the devices you’ve connected through the plug.
6 reasons your workplace will love it
- Energy & cost savings
Stop paying for power you’re not using. By cutting standby draw, the Power Control Plug reduces waste the moment it’s deployed. - Lower environmental footprint
Less idle energy means a greener workplace and a practical, visible step on your sustainability roadmap. - Stronger check-in behaviour
Desks only power up when users check in, reinforcing the right habit and helping you get the most from the GoBright tools you already own. - More accurate data
Because power is tied to actual use, you capture cleaner occupancy insights to inform facilities and real estate planning. - Effortless integration
It’s Bluetooth-enabled and fully integrated into your existing GoBright Interact setup—no complex wiring or separate control systems. - Affordable & scalable
At just £24 per plug, it’s designed for wide-scale rollout across floors, buildings, and portfolios.
Compatibility note: The Power Control Plug works exclusively with GoBright Interact.
Real ROI: expressed in desks, not decimals
Let’s put the numbers into context. Using the conservative baseline above:
- Per desk: ~£20/year saved.
- 100 desks: ~£2,000/year saved.
- 200 desks: ~£4,000/year saved.
- 500 desks: ~£10,000/year saved.
That’s purely the energy line. The operational upside is just as meaningful: with desks only “active” when they’re truly occupied, you unlock more reliable utilisation data. That helps you right-size your floorplate, reshape neighbourhoods, and design policies (like hoteling ratios or collaboration zones) based on how people actually work, not how you hope they do.
How it works in practice
- Plug & pair
Install the Power Control Plug at the workstation and pair it with GoBright Interact. No specialist cabling; it’s a simple accessory. - Connect the right devices
Route the power for monitors, docks and other peripherals through the plug. (You stay in control of what’s switched.) - Check in = power on
When a user checks in via GoBright Interact, the desk powers up instantly, ready to work. - Check out (or no show) = power off
When the session ends—or no one checks in—power to connected peripherals is cut, stopping standby draw at the source.
The workflow fits seamlessly with how your teams already use GoBright Interact, so you improve sustainability and reduce waste without adding friction to the employee experience.
Better data for better decisions
The Power Control Plug doesn’t just save energy—it sharpens your workplace analytics. Because power activation aligns with check-in events, your desk occupancy data is truer to reality. That means:
- Cleaner utilisation trends across teams, floors and sites.
- Stronger forecasting for peak and off-peak demand.
- Evidence-based planning for layouts, amenities and desk-to-employee ratios.
When the data gets better, decisions get faster—and the outcomes (from comfort to cost) improve with them.
Sustainability that shows up on your scorecard
Sustainability leaders often face a gap between strategy and everyday action. The Power Control Plug is a tangible, “here-and-now” change that facilities, IT and ESG teams can all get behind. It’s easy to deploy, simple to explain to employees, and it produces results you can measure: less energy used when no one’s at the desk.
It’s also the kind of initiative that scales elegantly. Start with a pilot zone, validate the savings, and expand to additional floors or locations. Each roll-out compounds the effect.
Designed for rapid rollout
At £24 per plug, it’s cost-effective to equip large areas quickly. Because it integrates directly with GoBright Interact, you avoid the overhead of separate control platforms or bespoke wiring. That keeps project complexity and disruption minimal.
Not sure where to start? Many customers begin with:
- A pilot neighbourhood with mixed roles and usage patterns
- A high-utilisation zone to capture quick wins
- A low-utilisation zone to prove impact where unused standby is highest
We can help you pick the right test area and model the expected return.
Want to know more, get in touch with our GoBright experts
