How you can keep your electricity bill down while working from home

The coronavirus has led to thousands of South Africans working from home. This is to reduce their risk of contracting the virus at the office where they will be exposed to a lot of people.

Although working from home comes with a lot of benefits, such as saving on petrol, not having to worry about dressing up for work or being tempted by your colleagues’ lunch choices, it can still result in a higher electricity bill. This is because you might need to be on your laptop the whole day, make coffee at home etc.

So, let’s look at ways to use electricity sparingly while working from home.

Switch off plugs you don’t use

Many of us have a tendency of leaving things plugged in even when we don’t use them. This can include printers, monitors, cell phones etc.  Switch them off and save on your electricity bill.

Also, watch your kids to make sure they turn off their devices when not in use and avoid leaving the TV on the whole day.

Remember to also switch off your lights during the day. 

Use a flask to keep your coffee/tea warm

Many of us drink several cups of tea or coffee per day. Instead of heating the kettle every time you make tea, rather store the boiled water in a flask. This will go a long way in saving on your electricity consumption.  

Cook once a day

Some people get tempted to cook twice a day because they are at home. This will increase your electricity bill. Rather cook once a day and warm the food later when you eat again. 

Use natural methods to warm or cool your body’s temperature

In most offices, the aircon is always on. The advantage of working from home is that you can use natural methods to cool yourself down or warm your body’s temperature.

On hot days, you can simply work in your shorts and on a cold days, you can work wearing a blanket. 

Image courtesy of iStock/ @tommaso79