How I Saved Money On My Electricity Bill While Working From Home
As a mother, working from home may sound like a dream come true. But if you are not careful, it can quickly turn into a logistics and financial nightmare. I always find myself being very creative when it comes to discovering new ways to cut down on expenses, but who could have thought the solution this time around was installing a ceiling fan?
There are two things I desperately need so I can keep working from home: a computer and the air conditioner. My house in Brisbane gets quite hot during summer, and sometimes even in spring. But we all know how expensive leaving the air conditioner on all day can be. I remember receiving my electricity bill one day and was shocked by how high it was!
Turning off the AC was not an option in the hot Brisbane weather, so I called Nick Phillips from Oleada Electrical and Air to see if he has any energy-saving solutions for my home office setup.
To be honest, I was surprised by what I learned. There’s more to the humble ceiling fan than I realized, so I wanted to share with my fellow SuperWAHMs out there. It might just be the thing to help keep you comfortable in your own home office setup.
Combining Ceiling fans and the AC – a Match Made in Heaven
Nick has been in the business for quite some time, so I hoped he could help me make some changes to reduce my electricity bill. We talked for a while, and I started explaining my situation. I am a work at home mum, with kids running around all day. I need my house to be cool and breezy, but I don’t want to spend a fortune on staying cool.
Giving up the air conditioner was not an option where we live, and neither was installing a new. A modern and more efficient AC system didn’t fit in my budget. I needed a practical and economical solution.
Nick suggested that the best thing to do was to install ceiling fans in the same rooms that already have the air conditioner
I would never have thought to do this! But it actually allows me to be able to set the temperature higher without feeling like I was boiling.
He explained to me how ceiling fans can help me reduce electricity costs. By doing this, I am able to actually increase the AC temperature. I was a bit skeptical, as I did not think a ceiling fan can chill the air that much. But they were the experts, so I decided to follow their advice and go on with the installation.
We ended up getting 4 ceiling fans installed in the house, and of course one had to be in my home office.
Did the ceiling fans really work?
In the meantime, I started doing some research on my own. I found out that people have some pretty good opinions on ceiling fans. They can make a room feel up to 8 degrees cooler. This means I can keep the temperature on the AC higher and it will still keep the room chilled. People say a ceiling fan helped them save even up to 40% on their electricity bills, especially if they had multiple AC units in their house.
One thing I did not know, which I now do, is that ceiling fans can be used to heat up the room as well. Well, it does not technically produce heat, but if you set it to rotate clockwise, the fan will help disperse the warm air downward during cold temperatures.
I was afraid the ceiling fan was going to be noisy and distract me, but that was only an issue for old fan models. New models are whisper quiet and cause no disturbance.
Another concern I had was with the cleaning process. I like my house to be crystal clean all the time. Dust can be a hazard in any home, so I am extra careful every time I clean up. The blades can get dusty, but a vacuum cleaner with a long wand is enough to do the job.
Bottom Line – Would I recommend a Ceiling Fan for a Home Office?
The ceiling fans worked wonders in my warm Brisbane home, and I did exactly as Nick told me. I keep the air conditioner set on a higher temperature. I’m finding this way, it consumes less energy, but the room now feels much cooler because of the fan. So not only am I now saving money from my electricity bill, but the comfort level in my home office and throughout the entire house is much higher, and it’s all thanks to some good classic ceiling fans.
If you’re finding yourself working from home a lot more now and looking for a way to feel more comfortable in your home office, then I would recommend installing a ceiling fan.
Jenny Agoston is first and foremost a mum of two beautiful girls. She works from home on her online business which provides learning resources for high school teachers and loves the flexibility this gives her to spend quality time with her family.
