Over 40% of Brits now work from home, either full-time or hybrid. This means a lot more kettles boiling, heating turned up and laptops being charged during the day.
Analysis from Uswitch shows people working from home use 25% more electricity and 75% more gas than those in the office five days a week, and with bills predicted to continue rising over the winter months, home workers may need to look at ways to keep the cost down.
With 13 million Brits reportedly struggling to pay their bills, office furniture suppliers, Furniture At Work, have provided seven simple tips that could help Brits save over £1,500 a year while they work from home.
In the office
1. Turn appliances off standby
At the end of your working day, remember to switch off all your equipment. If you spot any lights on at your desk, it means something is still on standby and could be costing you money. British Gas revealed you can save roughly £147 a year by turning off appliances left on standby.
2. Sleep mode at lunchtime
Leaving your computer or laptop on while you go off to make food, get some fresh air or exercise can increase your energy bill. Set your equipment to put itself in sleep mode after 10 minutes, so you don’t need to worry about wasted energy while away from your desk.
3. Turn off the lights
As winter settles in, mornings are dark and gloomy, meaning the lights get turned on first thing. However, once the sun is up, and your desk is lit by natural light, remember to switch them off.
Lighting our homes makes up 10-15% of our annual energy bills. If you’re able to turn the lights off, you could potentially save around £25 a year on your energy bills.
In the kitchen
1. Fill a flask with hot water
Working from home means more tea and coffee. Boiling a full kettle costs 8p each time, and while this doesn’t seem like much, if you’re a tea or coffee lover, it can get expensive.
Instead of boiling the kettle each time, fill your kettle up before turning on and pour the water into a flask. The flask will keep the extra water heated ready for the next time you fancy a brew. According to TikToker, scott8bits, this trick could save you £329 a year!
2. Supermarket downshifting
If you’re spending more time at home, your food bill may go up to cover lunches and snacks throughout the day. One of the best ways to save on your food shop is supermarket downshifting. Making smart food swaps can save £100s on shopping, and you might find that supermarket brands taste very similar to your favourite premium brands.
According to Martin Lewis, downshifting can reduce grocery bills by 30%. Even if you only decide to swap half the items, that’s still a 15% saving, which could be worth £1000s over a year.
In the living room
1. TV tips
Working from your living room? How often do you spend your working day with TV on in the background? We know televisions can be power hungry, however these are a few things you could do to save some coins:
· Don’t leave your TV on standby. According to energy experts at Utilita leaving your TV on standby can cost you 28p an hour and potentially up to £25 a year
· Adjust your TV brightness to help reduce power consumption
· Try putting on the radio, music or a podcast instead
2. Furniture reshuffle
Holly Herbert at webuyanyhouse revealed moving your sofa even 6 inches away from the radiator, can help you save a whopping £125 a year.
This is because your sofa or any bulky furniture will absorb a percentage of heat emitted from your radiator, meaning you’ll have to heat your home for longer. It’s best whilst it’s winter season, to have a little reshuffle to improve your energy efficiency.
