Article

Where your WFH energy goes

A short guide to the hidden carbon in your home office.

6 min read · PawPrint editorial

Most of us never see our home energy bill broken down by activity. Yet working from home shifts a surprising share of emissions from the office to your plug socket.

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of home energy can be heating & cooling
The biggest lever is often temperature — one degree lower on the thermostat saves more than switching off every standby device.
Heating (70%)Devices (18%)Hot water (12%)
Each square is one unit of energy. Devices are the small slice — heating dominates.
21°C18°COne room
Indicative weekly heating energy at different settings.
Donut with a centre headline figure.

Tap a point to see what it draws.

Morning: heating dominates before you open the laptop.

Midday: devices settle into a steady background draw.

Evening: kettle and hob spike — but only for minutes.

Scroll sideways through the day →

07:00

Heating kicks in

The single biggest draw of the day starts before you do.

09:00

Devices on

Laptop and monitor settle into a small, steady background load.

13:00

Lunch peak

The kettle and hob spike sharply, but only for a few minutes.

17:00

Wind down

Heating off — a well-insulated room holds warmth for a while.

Three habits do most of the work:

Heat the room you are in, not the whole house.
Let your heating follow your working hours.
Boil only the water you need.
After
Before
BeforeAfter
Drag to compare a typical setup with an optimised one.

Focus on the room you are in — not the whole house.

What you can do

  • Lower thermostat by 1°C
  • Draught-proof one room
  • Use a laptop instead of a desktop

Estimated impact when marked read: 6g CO₂e avoided