BRITS face higher energy bills while working from home due to the coronavirus outbreak, but there are easy ways to save cash.
Millions of workers have ditched the office in favour of working from home following government orders banning all unnecessary travel.
And while employees continue to observe the social distancing rules, households are seeing bills rise as their energy consumption increases.
But by being savvy with your usage, you don't have to spend a fortune on heating and electricity.
Below we take you through how you can reduce your bills.
Choose a workspace with natural light
Lighting our homes makes up about 10-15 per cent of our annual energy bills, according to Switchcraft.
So if you're able to turn off the lights completely during the day, you could easily cut your bills.
To do so, simply position your desk near a window or in a room that gets plenty of natural light instead of using a desk lamp.
Natural light can also boost your mood and fight workday blues – perfect during days on lockdown.
How to avoid energy price rises (Advertorial)
Most of the cheapest energy contracts in the market are fixed 12 month tariffs.
But after 12 months you can be moved to a higher rate and end up paying more for the same usage.
To stay on a great deal you have to shop around – customers who don’t pay an average of £268 more per year for their energy.
Switchcraft's technology does the switching for you, so you stay on a great energy deal and save even as prices change.
- Get your quote for free online in under 3 minutes. See details of the top deals & choose which suits you best
- Switchcraft’s UK-based team manage the switch, keeping you informed of progress.
- Switchcraft keeps checking the market for savings. When they find another deal they'll send you the details and help you switch again.
News UK has a brand partnership with Switchcraft.
Turn off your lights
If you're unable to turn off the lights during the day, at least make sure you turn them off whenever you leave a room.
It can be easy to forget but it saves you an estimated £14 a year on your annual energy bills.
Replace all bulbs with LEDS
It can cost the average household £100 to replace all of their halogen light bulbs with energy efficient LED ones, which at first seems like it outweighs the benefit of saving £35 a year.
But these bulbs last longer so there's less need to replace them so many times – plus you will have already have made your money back after three years.
Why not start small and replace the light bulbs in the room that you're working in to cut costs.
Focus on heating the room you’re working in
Sitting still at your desk for longer periods of time can get chilly pretty quickly.
But instead of heating up the whole flat or house, simply turn up the radiator in the room you're working in.
Then keep the door closed, so you're only using the extra heat where it's needed.
Draught proof windows and doors
Keeping warm air in and cold air out is an important step to a warm home, and can be another quick way to cut your energy bills.
In fact, draught proofing windows and doors can save you an estimated £20 a year.
Hiring a professional installer can cost several hundreds of pounds, but you can order DIY draft proofing strips online for a fraction of the cost.
Set up your devices to be more power efficient
Most devices come with power saving settings, which could in turn save you cash on your energy bills.
To find out if yours does and turn it on, simply try clicking on the battery icon or head to the control panel.
If you're also able to turn the brightness down to 70 per cent across all devices, it won't make a noticeable difference to their function but it can save you 20 per cent of the screen's energy consumption.
Screensavers do not save energy, so if you can do without the slideshow of photos turn off the monitor instead.
It's also worth considering which devices you need to use for work, as a laptop uses around 80 per cent less electricity than a desktop computer.
If you can, work without a high-powered device for some of the day, then unplug and turn off any big screens, to shave pounds off your bill.
Remember to switch off
Many people end up working longer hours when working from home, as the hours normally spent commuting can now be spent on work.
But it's important to try and switch off when you can to avoid extra hours of computer use being added to your energy bill.
For example, why not step away from the screen over lunch and save an hour?
Regular breaks can also boost your productivity, so it’s a win-win.
An average home wastes £80 a year from leaving appliances on standby instead of turning them off.
Turning off TV sets, games consoles, and any other devices that you don’t need throughout the workday can help save energy while also limiting distractions.
Switch to a better energy deal
Switching to a cheaper energy tariff is one of the easiest ways to save money, although it may not necessarily save you energy.
But by switching to a better rate, it means that you can pay less for the energy that you do use.
Using an automatic switching service like Switchcraft means you don't have to keep checking for a better deal.
Switchcraft customers save an average of £268 a year by switching suppliers.
Get a quote online in under 3 minutes with just your email, address and postcode. Once you’ve chosen your new tariff their London-based team will do the leg work for you, keeping you informed at every step.
Even better once you’ve signed up they’ll find you a new deal every year, so you never overpay for energy again. Simply head to Switchcraft.co.uk to start your switch.
More than four million prepayment meter customers are being given extra help to prevent the coronavirus cutting off their energy supply.
Plus, here are the energy firms giving out preloaded keys to top up prepayment meters.
If you're struggling to pay for your energy bills, here's how to get help.
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