An article on The Telegraph last year suggested that the escalating energy costs (thankfully now coming down) may spell the end for Working From Home, due to how much it costs.
But, does it?
First of all, I need to state that I don’t have access to the article, due to a pay wall. However, the above Twitter thread gives some more details, particularly, pointing out how much it costs to use kettles, ovens and computers.
Someone who does have access to it, though, is FullFact, and they’ve already reported how inaccurate the article’s figures are. But, putting that aside, let’s talk about WFH costs.
Heating
This is the big change, as heating is the cost that has gone up the most. And, yet, as someone who works from home every day, I saw little impact.
In my case, when everyone else leaves the house, the thermostat drops to the same temperature it did when I used to work in an office. Instead, I keep my office door shut and, with a large radiator in a small room, first thing it gets cosy warm. It’s enough to keep it warm for the rest of the day, which is why I don’t need the heating on. When I leave my office for any period of time (e.g. to get some lunch), I’ll pop a hoodie on to keep warm.
Of course, if you feel the need to whack the heating on all day for the entire house then, yes, heating bills will go up. But you don’t need to.
And there’s another thing we forget about – the summer. When you’re working from home, on those hottest of days, you can make sure that windows and blinds are shut when appropriate or even open. I open up the windows early in the day and then shut them, with blinds down as the sun moves around, keeping the house cooler with less need for other means of cooling. It’s probably not saving money as I don’t have any kind of air-conditioning, but it does result in a better temperature home during the hotter months.
Electricity
The occasional cup of tea and running a computer in my office. I keep things to a minimum and keep an eye on product efficiency. Yes, it does cost, but when you balance that against how much you were probably spending, whilst at the office, on coffee and snacks, there’s probably not a huge difference.
Other savings
Balance that with how much you save from having no commute too, as well as lower car insurance, and it’s hard to say it’s really any more.
And less tax
If you need any more convincing, if you live in the UK, you can claim tax reliex of £6 per week from HMRC (if you’re working from home all year and take 5 weeks holiday, that’s £282). All you need to know is your company’s PAYE scheme number and it’s a simple job from the HMRC website, that takes a matter of minutes.
Talk to me!