A Summer of Working from Home. I Checked My Electricity Bill After Expecting a 20,000 Yen Charge

Isn't it just way too hot this summer? 🫠

The news says some regions are hitting over 40°C,
and I find myself thinking every day,
“What on earth is going on this year?” 💦

When working from home,
I can't concentrate without the air conditioning,
and I'm worried about heatstroke...

Lately, I've been really concerned about my electricity bill.

There are four of us in my family.

“I wonder how much it will be this month...”

When I thought that and opened the power company's website...

The bill for July was 15,749 yen.
(An increase of 3,477 yen compared to last year)

And
the forecast for August is a whopping 20,229 yen!

It looks like it will finally exceed 20,000 yen in August.

I'm worried about the electricity bill, but
with this heat, I can't just
go without air conditioning.

“I wonder what time of day
　the usage is highest?”

I was curious, so I decided to take a closer
look at the statement 🔍

I thought the air conditioning while working was the cause

Since I work from home,
I spend most of the day at home,

so I thought, “The biggest electricity usage must be during work hours.”
However, when I checked the usage by time of day,

it wasn't during the day while I was working,

the time between 6:00 PM and 8:00 AM the next morning
had the highest usage,
accounting for about 60% of the total 💦

At first, it was a bit surprising, but
when I thought about it, it made sense.

My home is all-electric,
so things like making dinner and heating water
mean that necessary electricity usage is concentrated at night.

It wasn't that the “air conditioning while working” was the main cause,
but rather that we were using electricity throughout our evening life.

Changing the plan wasn't a mistake

Actually, a while after I started working from home,
I switched from a plan where electricity is cheaper after 9:00 PM
to a plan where electricity is cheaper during the day.

Since I started spending more time at home during the day,
I thought that would better suit my lifestyle.
Looking at this statement,

I found that the usage at night is higher.
Even so,

if I had stayed on the previous plan,
the electricity bill while working would have been even higher...
By reviewing the statement,

I felt once again that “changing the plan wasn't a mistake.”

What I keep in mind at home

This summer,
I do want to keep electricity costs down as much as possible.

But it's dangerous to endure the heat too much.

In the morning, I turn on the
living room air conditioner as soon as I wake up,
but during the morning when I'm home alone because the family
has gone to club activities, nursery school, or work,

I try to turn off the air conditioner as much as possible
and get by with a fan.

I also use ice packs
to cope with the heat.

However, it gets hot all at once after noon,
and the kids come home, so
from that point on, I leave the air conditioner on until bedtime.


When I'm alone, I make adjustments where I can.But if the heat is going to affect my work efficiency or health,
I don't endure it.
This is my family's current rule.

Saving money is important, but

it's not worth it if you ruin your health.
I hope to get through this summer

while balancing it with work efficiency 🔥

Finally

I'm worried about the electricity bill, but
looking at the statement again this time,

I realized my own assumption that
“using the air conditioner while working from home　is the biggest cause of the electricity bill increase”

was wrong.

It's interesting how you can make new discoveries
when you look at actual data instead of just going by a vague image.
August is when summer really begins 🌞

It looks like hot days will continue for a while,

but I'll try my best while prioritizing my health,
making adjustments where I can without forcing myself to endure too much 😊

If you have any tips
for dealing with summer electricity bills,
please let me know ✨

Thank you for reading
until the end.

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I've compiled articles about my days working from home and about work and life.