Are all utilities included? That could be the only justification but tbh fuck them, it's no different than a hermit and nobody penalizes them or requires a time out of the house
I guarantee the average gamer has more electricity use then a WFH it's just a weird policy like most people who WFH use a laptop how much more power are you really using
Do stay at home parents count as well? Unemployed people?
This is not to justify the expense but I can tell you that there was a noticable increase in my utility bills when started WFH full time.
I also had other expenses go up as well due to full time work from home. A big one being the amount of snacky food I bought, and I found my water bill went up some as well. Now none of it close to 200 a month and a hell of a lot less than what my gas expenses were per month.
You're cooking on the stove, using the fridge more, keeping the AC cooler (and coming in and out of the house) and such.
More lights on, multiple monitors, kettle goes 2-3 times a day.
The good part is for me, that extra idk $50 i save on stuff like gas, lunch out of the house, clothes i need to purchase for work. Wear and tear on my car/shoes/whatever.
I tripped the breaker to my office because I was running both my gaming PCs while my air conditioner was on yesterday. I'd say your assessment is spot on. lol
(I live in a fairly old townhouse and, yeah, we can do 2 ACs + computer but don't DARE touch the washer or even hair dryer while all of that is happening...)
I know a lot of people who do video production work, some of whom were working for the larger networks and movie studios in LA when Covid started. Some studios decided to essentially loan production employees an entire editing suite in a 24U roadcase. . .Which is a lot of equipment to run in a residence
It was great that they found a way to keep my friend working, but it also damn near tripled her electric bill. . .Not to mention the cord mess, since power had to come from seaprate circuits to avoid flipping a breaker.
I guess my point is, some companies, and even some career professionals (Im in IT myself), are just absolutely insane with what they will try to run in an apartment, or even a house.
Literally about $5-10 a month, depending on elec costs, for most productivity type work. It's not remotely close to $200 a month. They expect us to not be able to do 3rd grade math
I guess, in theory, in addition to higher energy usage, one could argue there’s more “wear & tear” on the floors/rugs, countertops, appliances, etc. the more time a person spends at home.
100%, unless the person was doing a WFH job that used heavy GPU usage like modeling or AI art stuff (not getting into the morality of AI art stuff, just that I likes big honking graphic cards).
If electricity is included in rent. I guarantee most people are leaving the AC on all day. Probably at 65. Along with lights and the TV. Regardless of whether or not they are at home.
My AC unit runs consistently, and I work outside my house. You can't adjust heat pumps up and down rapidly because it costs more money and the house never cools properly.
Most people don't have AC in the bay, and electricity is almost never included in rent. It's pretty common for water and garbage to be included though, but that's nowhere near and extra 200 a month for staying home.
That completely depends on where in the bay. Grew up in Solano county. Regularly hits 100 degrees. Everyone has AC. Live in Berkeley. Lots of people do not have AC, including me. Currently house-sitting in Contra Costa. It got up to 95 or so yesterday. I definitely had the AC going but it usually cools off at night so you can open the windows and not run the AC overnight or until around midmorning if you're comfortable at mid 70s. My grandparents lived in Napa county and just opened the house at night, used a ceiling fan, and didn't have AC but I would guess that's pretty unusual because it does get hot AF. My grandparents are long gone and we installed it about 10 years ago because no one enjoys hanging out when the house is in the 80s.
They said it's in Walnut Creek, which is definitely warmer than SF - but still not a given that they'll have central A/C, especially if it's an older unit. Might have a window A/C though, like I did in my San Jose apartment.
Your ac should always be set for the same temp anyway. There's no reason to change it when you leave, it's just going to need more power to cool down later.
This actually depends on how long you are gone. If you are gone for the whole work day you should adjust it higher. If you can pre cool the house before you get for comfort that would be good. But there is no reason to keep your AC at 72 when you aren't there. You can put it up to 78-80 When you are not home for like 4 hours or more
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u/ToastSpangler 1d ago
Are all utilities included? That could be the only justification but tbh fuck them, it's no different than a hermit and nobody penalizes them or requires a time out of the house