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And We Are Homebound, Again!

by | Nov 4, 2020 | Huub Home Office

working from home

As the UK lockdown returns, we prepare ourselves for another rendition of groundhog day.

The pandemic has completely transformed the workings of the world. We have witnessed millions of cancelled holidays and family celebrations and as a community, we are fearing the confines of our own four-walls and the presence of the 7th member of a group.

We have become a high-functioning community reliant upon our homes and as a result, our energy bills are increasing.

 

Energy Consumption Increase

 

2020 has enforced ‘stay at home’ living which has evidently led to an increase in home energy consumption. In fact, daytime energy consumption has increased by around 30% since the rise in coronavirus.

Households have become increasingly reliant on electrical power to keep their devices alive and, it is estimated that the average household now has 12 connected devices running on a daily basis.

As a nation we have become reliant upon digital and online entertainment. Internet usage has rocketed. In Dorchester (where Huub is based), we have seen a 34% increase in internet use since the beginning of the Covid pandemic (as described by TalkTalk). Moreover, earlier in the year Netflix witnessed an increase of 16 million customers to their streaming domain. This means that our TVs, laptops and phones are being used more than ever. More use means more energy demand!

Energy consumption is not expected to decrease anytime soon either, especially since the cold winter weather is arriving and daylight hours have shortened. 

If my point is not becoming clear, we are using more energy, which means households are spending more on their bills. 

 

Increased Energy Bills

 

The Times estimated that individual heating bills could increase by around £112 by the new year as a result of home working. Home workers can also anticipate an increase of 18% to their energy bills by spring due to increasing use of heating and energy.

As a nation, we could expect an increase of around £2 billion to our collective energy bills. 

This is staggering!

What is more is that cold homes can “cause or exacerbate health conditions such as asthma and heart disease” – Matt Copeland (National Energy Action) and thus place individuals at greater risk of ill health over the winter. This means that we should not have to limit our heating as a result of energy costs!

 

The Work From Home Movement

 

In the UK around 41% of workers have adapted their homes to suit the work from home movement. Households have converted rooms into home offices, home gyms and school rooms for children.

86% of employees now aim to continue working from home (The Guardian) following the pandemic with many companies establishing home working as the new normal. 

Studies evidence that 77% of employees found that their productivity was either equally the same or better at home than in the office. Working from home has become quite the hit; over the next 10 months, 1 in 10 UK residents will try to find a role that enables home working.

It is an undeniable fact that working from home has its benefits. Not only has productivity continued to remain high, but also we have seen a considerable decrease in pollution levels in metropolitan areas which is great news for the environment.

Roger Barker, director of policy at the IoD stated that:

“Remote working has been one of the most tangible impacts of coronavirus on the economy. For many, it could be here to stay,”.

Therefore we should anticipate continued increase to our household energy bill. So what can we do?

 

Huub: Renewable Energy and Energy Savings 

 

The easiest way to reduce energy bills would be to end the use of electronic devices, home lighting and heating. This however, is not a realistic expectation.

Instead, we can choose to utilise cheaper energy. Solar PV has now been named the cheapest energy source and since it is renewable, it can supply an endless demand. 

At Huub, we utilise this green energy source to power our sustainable modular buildings. 

We offer a range of sustainable ecopods (otherwise named huubs) which can be installed as a garden building or house extensions to provide the space to set up a fully functioning home office, home gym or whatever you need! 

Huubs generate enough energy to power itself and, since our Huubs typically produce an excess of electricity, this power can be routed to your home to power your household appliances.

By installing a Huub and a Tesla Powerwall, you could reduce your energy bills by up to 90%. This is an incredible way to tackle your growing energy and heating bills!

 

 

For more information about what Huub can offer you, send us an email: sales@huub.space 

Or call us on: 01305 250429

Click HERE to visit our website. 

 

About us:

Huub is a Dorset based, British company that constructs modular, timber framed, solar powered garden buildings. Huubs are built in an off-site facility in Dorset and offer a great opportunity to generate solar energy and add additional space to your home at a relatively low cost (approximately £1500 per m2).

 

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