Work-From-Home Energy Calculator

The post-pandemic world introduced the new norm of remote and hybrid working across many sectors of the UK industry. The result is working from home has caused energy bills across the country to skyrocket due to increased gas and electricity usage during hours otherwise spent in the office.

Home-workers will have laptops or desktops powered on for eight or more hours a day; kettles prepare water for brews throughout the day; ovens, hobs and microwaves prepare lunch. All these add to monthly energy bills.

How much your energy bills will increase depends on how often you are working from home.  Thanks to our energy calculator, you can easily work out how much more you could be spending on energy depending on how often you go into the office.

The true cost of working from home

Research into hybrid office working has uncovered the average amount of time different cities in the UK are expecting to spend working at home, now that the lockdown has started to ease. 

Stoke-on-Trent residents expect to work the most from home, at 3 days a week, followed by Plymouth with 2.6 days, Leeds with 2.5 days, and Belfast, Cambridge, and Brighton with 2.4 days.

71% of the UK’s 18-29-year-old office working population have stated that working from home has cost them more than they expected, and the return to offices is not going to make things any easier. 

With hybrid working looking to be more common as we progress further out of the lockdown, our research has found that each day working from home a week could cost up to an extra £49 per household a year in energy.

Working from home for four days a week would add up to £194, three days up to £146 and two days up to £97 a year. Those who continue to work from home for five days a week would see a rise of up to £243.

With hybrid working mixing the costs of both travel expenses and increased home gas and electricity usage, three in five young office workers (63%) believe split working will be more costly than solely working from the office. 

Tom Lyon, director of energy here at Energy Helpline, said: “The change to a new normal of hybrid working will have several repercussions financially. While there may be some savings to be had, it’s clear from our research that there will be several expenses to consider, especially for younger office workers.”

“Among the many unexpected costs of hybrid working, workers will need to consider how this new normal will impact their annual energy bill. However, with many cheaper deals on offer, switching to fixed-rate will help keep costs down at a time when we are seeing energy prices increase.”

Heard enough to switch?

When you’re working from home, switching lights off and cutting down on how many times you boil the kettle just isn’t going to cut the mustard. 

Unlike train tickets, petrol prices and other commuter costs, you can actively look to change the price you pay for your energy thanks to our energy comparison services.

Switching remains the fastest, most efficient way to save money, and who doesn’t want to save quickly?

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