The pandemic was not the first time the United States saw a significant change in energy use. Because of the economic crisis, industrial and commercial energy consumption fell by 10% to 15%, while there was no change in home energy usage.
In contrast, when the pandemic arrived in early 2020, nearly 4.7 million Americans went to remote employment, and there was a change in domestic energy usage.
According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), before the pandemic, electricity usage climbed dramatically in the morning as people prepared for work, fell during the day, and peaked in the evening. However, this trend has entirely gone during the epidemic: residential consumption increases later in the morning and is 16 percent greater during work hours than before the outbreak.
From April to July of 2020, Americans spent $6 billion more on household energy than before the outbreak. When we think of people spending more time at home during the day, we don’t only mean those who work from home; 49.6 million people were unemployed and used more energy at home throughout the day.
As we enter 2022, the epidemic may seem different than it did two years ago, but working from home has not vanished. Gallup stated five months ago that 45 percent of full-time workers in the United States worked from home every day or at least part of the week.
When more people are at home together, unusual circumstances develop, as we witnessed with lockdowns and abrupt quarantining; when the entire family uses Wi-Fi, coffee machines, kitchen, laptops, televisions, and other appliances, energy consumption increases.
ENERGY SAVING SUGGESTIONS FOR WORKING FROM HOME
- Reduce Your Phantom Load: You probably have many more things running at home during the day than you had before the epidemic, such as your computer, monitor, kitchen appliances, television, and other electronics. Consumption a sophisticated power strip to turn off energy use after you’re done for the day to avoid wasting energy while you’re gone from your workstation.
- Be Smart About Lighting: Utilize natural light as much as possible during the day. For example, opening your blinds or curtains can help heat your house during the winter by allowing sunshine to enter through the windows. Also, when you need lights for a Zoom call or a cloudy day, make sure you’ve replaced all your bulbs with energy-saving LED bulbs so that you’re lighting in the most efficient way possible.
- Invest In The Right Equipment: Did you know that ENERGY STAR-certified PCs consume 25%-40% less energy than standard models? Examine the many gadgets and equipment that might assist you in lowering your everyday energy bills. Also, keep an eye out for energy-saving features in your present computer’s settings. Learn more about the ENERGY STAR program by clicking here.
- Upgrade Your Thermostat: Using a programmable or smart thermostat can assist in minimizing the amount of energy used to heat and cool your house all year. According to time, the summer of 2020 saw the most significant rise in domestic energy consumption during the epidemic. As a result, everyone turned up the AC at home, totalling $6 billion more in residential energy usage.
Individuals working from home have noticed around $40-$50 increase in monthly home energy expenditures as they navigate working from home. Still, the hope is that there have also been ways that remote work has favourably benefited the environment (and your wallet!).
For example, perhaps you’re doing less laundry and drying clothing because you’re not commuting to and from work as frequently, or you’re saving money on gas because you’re not commuting to and from work as often. Are you cooking more at home and reducing waste by using fewer to-go restaurant packaging from your office days?
Whatever your workday looks like, energy savings don’t have to begin and end with bettering your work-from-home practices.
Call Energy Mass Save to learn more about how your home consumes and loses energy at all hours of the day and night. Booking an online meeting is also available.
When you complete an assessment, you will receive a custom home energy report to keep and access to the generous energy efficiency rebates and incentives available to program participants. Such as up to $10,000 in heat pump rebates, free sealing of air leaks in your home, and items such as programmable thermostats and advanced power strips.
- Energy use, pandemic or not, impacts the environment and your money. And this is why we’ve made it our daily aim to assist our Massachusetts neighbours to understand their home’s energy consumption and identify inexpensive and straightforward solutions to make their homes greener.
Conclusion:
Saving energy while working from home is a challenging task. And to make your work easy, Energy Mass Save is always here for you. We will help you to save energy and money at the same time. In addition, we can make you eligible for the Mass Save Programs’ rebates and incentives. Call us!