Return to the office, or embrace working from home? Our experts at Moneyzine.co.uk have calculated just how much UK businesses could save on energy costs by embracing a fully remote business model - revealing potential savings for some businesses of up to £41k in appliance running costs alone.
The 2020 global pandemic caused an abrupt, and essential, shift to remote working in order for millions of businesses and their employees to remain operational. However, with the start of the pandemic now almost four years in the past, many businesses have begun to question the usefulness of working remotely.
One aspect of the debate that is well worth considering is the costs. Working from home shifts many of the expenses that an office would typically incur (heating, lighting, charging a laptop or desktop, for example) to individuals at home.
So, just how much are businesses saving by their employees working from home? Could this tip the scales in favour of working from home? Let’s assess.
“There’s no clear answer when it comes to the debate on returning to the office full-time. Many workers are keen to redefine what their work/life balance should look like in 2024. Pursuing roles that offer working from home is now part of that decision for most office workers.
There are serious savings to be made from downsizing in office space - not just rent, but also less obvious costs like energy & utilities. Our findings may help persuade employers that WFH might really be a win-win.”Luke Eales, Moneyzine.co.uk
Businesses Could Save Up To £41k On Appliance Costs For Individuals
We calculated that businesses with between 50 - 100 employees could save up to £41,860 on appliance-related costs if they supported a 100% work from home policy - and that’s without taking into consideration savings on rent, which will vary across regions.
The cost to run individual appliances, such as a desktop computer, kettle, printer, paper shredder, and coffee machine, was calculated on a daily, weekly, and annual basis. We found that the average cost to run these devices in any setting, was £1.61 per day for one person - or £418.60 a year.
These savings are on top of the other running costs associated with a working environment, such as a space heater, fridge, lighting, TV, etc. These costs come to a total of £10.40 per day, which works out to be £2,702 per year.
Working From Home Costs At Least £34.88 More Per Month
We calculated that working from home and therefore using appliances at home that your employer would otherwise front the cost for in the office, the average employee would be paying £34.88 a month at least.
This equates to an additional £418.60 on top of other standard energy bills - but on the flipside, it’s also £418.60 per employee saved per year for businesses. For businesses with up to 20 employees, that’s £8,372 per year saved.
Remote Offices Could Save An Additional £2,702 Minimum On Miscellaneous Appliances
In addition to the costs listed above, all offices could also make savings of £2,702 at least per year on miscellaneous appliance costs such as radiators, lighting (£13.40 per year for a single lightbulb), TV costs, refrigerators, etc.
These are costs that are naturally incurred by many people working from home, too - so the main focus here is what businesses could save if they embraced a fully remote working environment.
Full Appliance Costs Data
Appliance | Average Power Rating | kWh (Power/1000) | Hours Used in A Working Day | kWh per day | kWh per week (working week 5 days) | Daily Cost | Weekly Cost | Monthly | Annual Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Individual Appliance Running Costs | |||||||||
Desktop computer | 200 | 0.2 | 8 | 1.6 | 8 | £0.45 | 2.24 | £9.71 | 116.48 |
Laptop | 100 | 0.1 | 8 | 0.8 | 4 | £0.22 | 1.12 | £4.85 | 58.24 |
Microwave | 1000 | 1 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.5 | £0.14 | 0.7 | £3.03 | 36.4 |
Kettle | 1200 | 1.2 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 3 | £0.17 | 0.84 | £3.64 | 43.68 |
Printer | 100 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.1 | 0.5 | £0.03 | 0.14 | £0.61 | 7.28 |
Coffee machine | 1000 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | £0.56 | 2.8 | £12.13 | 145.6 |
Paper shredder | 150 | 0.15 | 1 | 0.15 | 0.75 | £0.04 | 0.21 | £0.91 | 10.92 |
Total (1 person) | £1.61 | 8.05 | £34.88 | 418.60 | |||||
20 People | £32.20 | £161.00 | £697.67 | £8,372.00 | |||||
20 - 50 | £80.50 | £402.50 | £1,744.17 | £20,930.00 | |||||
50 - 100 | £161.00 | £805.00 | £3,488.33 | £41,860.00 | |||||
Miscellaneous Office Running Costs | |||||||||
Radiator (Water Heater, Electric) | 4500 | 4.5 | 4 | 18 | 90 | £5.04 | £25.20 | £109.20 | £1,310.40 |
Space heater | 1500 | 1.5 | 4 | 6 | 30 | £1.68 | £8.40 | £36.40 | £436.80 |
Lighting (100W LED Bulb) | 23 | 0.023 | 8 | 0.184 | 0.92 | £0.05 | £0.26 | £1.12 | £13.40 |
TV (Plasma) | 200 | 0.2 | 8 | 1.6 | 8 | £0.45 | £2.24 | £9.71 | £116.48 |
Radio | 7 | 0.007 | 8 | 0.056 | 0.28 | £0.02 | £0.08 | £0.34 | £4.08 |
Fridge | 1411 | 1.411 | 8 | 11.288 | 56.44 | £3.16 | £15.80 | £68.48 | £821.77 |
Total | £10.40 | £51.98 | £225.24 | £2,702.92 | |||||
Methodology
We sourced the average wattage of each appliance from Unbound Solar, then calculated the kWh per day and week based on an assumed average for how much each appliance is used per day. For example, we can assume that a desktop computer and lights are used for at least 8 hours per working day, while we were conservative with kettle and microwave estimates at just 30 minutes.
To calculate the average cost for each appliance, we used the current electricity price cap from Ofgem, which is 28.62 pence per kilowatt hour (kWh).
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