Tips for managing energy when working from home

Working from home is a trend that is here to stay. According to the National Observatory for Technology and Society, more than two and a half million workers had started working remotely from home on a regular basis by the end of 2022. Working remotely involves looking for new ways to improve efficiency in the place where we work which is usually at home. Here are some tips to prevent working from home leading to considerably higher electricity bills.

Electricity, the key to working from home

Lighting in the place where we work at home is very important. When you are looking for the exact place to work from home, choose somewhere that is suitable, in accordance with your needs and where you can take advantage of natural daylight wherever possible. Not only is it good for your health, it is also one of the pillars of efficiency, since you will not need to consume any energy in order to be able to work with suitable lighting.

If this is not possible, the best thing is to use the correct lighting depending your work and for this to use LED bulbs.

It is also recommended to adjust the brightness of the monitor, since excessive brightness may damage your eyes, as well as increasing expenditure on energy unnecessarily. The screens can also be adjusted to emit warmer tones and this will prevent overloading your eyesight with blue light.

Insulation and air conditioning, another essential feature of energy efficiency

If you are going to spend the most of the day indoors, it is essential to make your home more energy efficient. The basis for this is a good insulation which will make your daily routine more comfortable: This may involve changing the windows, using awnings that protect you from the heat or adopting solutions such as draught excluders to improve the insulation, all of which help to maintain a constant temperature as well as ensuring your well-being and saving on the electricity bill.

You can also improve your air conditioning system and look for the one that improves efficiency. Always remember the recommended temperatures for each time of the year depending on the type of room and what you do there. And finally, even if you are at home, it is more comfortable if you dress according to the season and adapt what you wear to the recommended temperature.

About domestic appliances and other electrical appliances

Always choose appliances with the highest energy efficiency rating and this will help you minimise consumption.

With regard to the appliances use for your work, they should only be switched on when necessary. You can use a multiple connector which means they can be plugged in but turned off and thus avoid phantom consumption.

It is also a good idea to set low power modes or activate the screensaver on your monitor to switch on with a maximum of 10 minutes of inactivity.

Finally, we recommend making rational use of equipment, closing down programmes or applications that are not being used. The same applies to electronic devices or domestic appliances that are not in use, even the mobile charger that most people always leave plugged in.

Organise your working day

To optimise consumption while working remotely from home, you really need to be well organised. But there is no need to worry because it really is very simple. Here are a few suggestions:

• Make sure you programme short rest periods as this stimulate concentrations and helps you move about. This is when you can take the opportunity to have a snack or do something that needs to be done. It will help you disconnect, as well as giving you freshness and energy for the rest of the day.
• Avoid distractions. Concentrate the time you spend on everything not connected to your work in the short breaks and make sure the environment where you work remotely is as comfortable as possible: A suitable temperature, the right table, chair, lighting, etc. This will help you avoid interruptions.
• Make sure you have a definite schedule, this will help you avoid spending more time working than necessary. Concentrate and do as much work as you can to avoid having to work longer than necessary.

Once you have established a schedule, it is time to take the next step with regard to efficiency: Find the tariff that best suits your consumption patterns. Endesa offers a multitude of options and there will always be one that suits your lifestyle. A good example is the Tempo Happy Tariffs, hourly electricity tariffs to suit you and not the other way around. This means that the hours when you consume most energy will be the ones that cost less on your bill.

A household with two people working remotely

Here is an example: A household where two of the members work at home systematically.

One of them can work under natural daylight and use a desktop computer with monitor. The other can use a laptop under artificial lighting.

If we only count the consumption of domestic appliances for an 8-hour day, this would consume 3 kWh per day, about 90 kWh per month

If they both use air conditioning individually in two rooms, the daily consumption corresponding to working at home in the months when they use it would amount to about 11 kWh, about 330 kWh per month.

A household where only one person works remotely

In a home where only one person works remotely for a total of 8 hours a day, with a personal computer and artificial lighting, consumption would be 1.2 kWh per day, about 36 kWh per month.

During the months when you need heating or air conditioning, consumption rise to 6.2 kWh, making a monthly consumption of 186 kWh.