What are the extra electricity costs of working from home?

The number of Australians working from home has doubled since the COVID-19 pandemic began, according to the University of Sydney's 2020 Transport Opinion Survey. If you're one of these people, you might have noticed your most recent energy bills have been higher than you're used to.

How much extra do you spend on energy when working from home?

When you're at home, you foot the bill for all the energy you use that would normally be covered by your employer. So how much would one person working from home add to their energy bill every 3 months? We've crunched the numbers and found that one person could add an extra:

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  	Hourly cost	Daily cost	Quarterly cost
  Laptop (8 hours)(1)	1.3 cents	10.4 cents	$9.40
  Desktop computer (8 hours)	2.6 cents	20.8 cents	$18.80
  1 full phone charge(2)	N/A	0.26 cents	$0.23
  Office/living room lights (5 halogen lights, 4 hours)	7.1 cents	28.3 cents	$25.47

Entertainment: $13.91

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  	Daily cost	Quarterly cost
  Medium flat-screen television (4 hours)	13.4 cents	$12.06
  Speakers (4 hours)	2.06 cents	$1.85

Kitchen: $41.34

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  	Daily cost	Quarterly cost
  Microwave (10 minutes)	4.3 cents	$3.90
  Electric oven (30 minutes)	27.3 cents	$24.56
  Electric cooktop (15 minutes)	14.3 cents	$12.86

Heating/cooling an extra 4 hours a day: $233.80 to $250.20

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  	Daily cost	Quarterly cost
  Heating (electric, extra 4 hours)(3)	$2.60	$233.80
  Cooling (extra 4 hours)(4)	$2.78	$250.20

How can I save on energy when working from home?

Here are three things you can do to cut your power consumption when working from home:

• Heat or cool for one hour less per day. As you can see from our analysis above, heating and cooling are the worst offenders when it comes to energy costs. Running your aircon for one hour less could save you about $50 every quarter, or adjusting your thermostat a couple of degrees higher or lower could save about the same.
• Disable standby mode. Electronic devices continue to use a small amount of power when plugged in, but not in active use. Luckily, modern energy standards mean this passive consumption is pretty low, but turning things off at the wall can save you money nonetheless.
• Change energy plans. If you're like most Australians, chances are you aren't on the cheapest energy plan available to you. Comparing providers and switching could help you save on your energy bill, even while using the same amount of extra energy working from home.

Can I deduct my energy bills from tax when working from home?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ATO has put in place a special shortcut method for claiming working from home expenses, including your energy bill. We've broken this method down for you here.

What can I do if I'm struggling with paying my energy bills?

There are two main types of assistance for customers who are struggling with their energy bills during the coronavirus period and beyond:

• Government energy grants. The federal and state governments provide various grants for low-income families, concession card holders and more.

Learn more about energy

Our energy guides can help you compare and understand what plan is best for you.

Best energy plans: 5 plans selected by our experts, assessed and updated regularly

Cheap energy plans: Find the cheapest energy plans available this month

Solar power plans: Got rooftop solar? Compare your options and save even more

Average energy bill: Find out how your energy bill compares to the rest of Australia

Written by

Sam Baran

Writer

Sam Baran is a writer for Finder, covering topics across the tech, telco and utilities sectors. They enjoy decrypting technical jargon and helping people compare complex products easily. When they aren't writing, you'll find Sam's head buried in a book or working on their latest short story. Sam has a Bachelor of Advanced Science from the University of Sydney. See full bio