Home truths about domestic energy during the lockdown

COMMENT With much of the UK’s workforce now working from home, some perhaps for the first time, it’s important to consider how we can make working at home cheaper for those doing so, and how we understand this from an energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions perspective. WSP research from earlier in 2020 analysed the carbon footprint of 200 individuals in the UK when they worked from home versus working in the office. It showed clearly that working from home in winter had a greater environmental impact owing to the obvious domestic heating requirements, while working from home in summer was much more sustainable. As we are now in spring and the summer is not far off, homes will require less heating – but there is plenty those working from home can do to reduce GHG emissions and energy bills. Turn down the temperature For homes which use heating, reducing the thermostat by 1°C will reduce bills by about 10%, and focusing heating only in the room within which residents are working will save a lot of energy. LED lighting will save the average household £10 a month and, as simple as it sounds, working in rooms which get direct sunlight will be a lot warmer. The average adult gives off about 75W so those who can work in a room with another person will be warmer. A recent phenomenon has been the introduction of “time-of-use” electricity tariffs. Only available to those homes with smart meters, they charge a different price every hour of the day, depending upon how cheap wholesale energy is to buy. Generally, this means electricity is cheapest between 10am-4pm and then overnight. For those working from home regularly this could be significant, as electricity will be cheapest during the normal working day – at least up to 4pm. The savings can be very large, with typical daytime prices of 7p per kWh rather than 15p which most would be paying. It does need care, however, as peak prices between 4pm-7pm are much higher. One reason for such cheap electricity is the abundance of wind and solar power available at these times, with less demand for them. Through these tariffs, homeowners and tenants are helping to use renewable energy sources and encourage the deployment of more – an important part of decarbonising our energy supply and the UK achieving net zero emissions by 2050. Meeting demand So, what does this mean for companies and the UK’s energy system? Our electrical demand has reduced during the virus outbreak, with National Grid peak demand dropping more than 10% against the expected load. Notable reductions have been recorded in the morning and one explanation for this could be the greater number of people getting up at irregular times, now many are skipping the commute. If this crisis marks a significant long-term trend towards working from home, then it is less certain what the impact will be. The current electrical demands are in a period when many large industrial sites and offices are shut. We will need to wait and see what happens when the economy returns to normal but more of us work from home. This brings us to a question about how companies such as WSP that want to reduce GHG emissions or be “carbon neutral” address their accounting of this. For many businesses, people working from home is a minor issue and it allows staff some flexibility. However, if this becomes a significant shift within a workforce, how will companies account for the energy they use and what impact it has? As the analysis earlier suggested, we are likely to see an increase in energy demand in the winter, as people heat and light homes more, but offices, factories and shops continue as usual. This might change in the medium term if we compensate for this by reducing the amount of office or retail space we require, and so bringing energy demand down again. GHG accounting When it comes to GHG emissions reporting, homeworkers have generally been considered Scope 3, or indirect emissions, with reporting largely voluntary and often not undertaken. That becomes less tenable if a large chunk of a workforce is working from home at any one time. Assuming businesses do need to start accounting for this more formally, it will require much thought and analysis. As energy meters can’t be used so easily, what proportion of a home’s demand would be apportioned to the company? Would the washing machine count but not the lighting? What if employees share a home with others? What if they work from the local café? We could use benchmarks to estimate the impact but this discourages companies and individuals from taking action to reduce energy demand. Should companies be trying to engage more actively with their employees’ home life? Providing insulation or solar systems as well as a laptop? Even if homeworking does increase energy demand in the home it will reduce commuting energy use, so this would need to be accounted for. The financial accounting sector has already had to address this in terms of what people can claim as tax relief, but the method is left open and most homeworkers do not get into the complex business of calculating additional energy or water use while working from home. As and when we come out of this period of homeworking, our energy systems and GHG emissions reporting will have to address the increasingly blurred world of home and work, as it might be here to stay. Barny Evans is head of sustainable places, energy and waste at WSP