Working from home, trying to save of electricty bill, economical room heater?

irishjohn

I am wondering if there is any work you could take to your local library and do it there? Maybe use their heat and light instead of your own on the colder days when they may even be quiet and not busy?

This would only work of course if you are not required to make calls to clients etc.

mickym

Good idea Irish John, but dont think i need to take things that extreme to remove me from my home.

Im just looking for methods to keep me warm during office hours that dont require me to put the electric central heating on whilst im at home on my own i the day.

Boxman

PlutoinCapricorn wrote: »

If you are not self employed, unfortunately there is less scope for claiming heating expenses.

So are you working at home by choice, or has your employer told you to, and is this official i.e. in writing?

If it is your own choice, then there is not much that can be done. What you save on travelling costs may be lost on utilities.

I do not claim to be an expert but as long as your employer requires you to work from home and you have a room dedicated to an office I respectfully suggest that you may well be entitled to set a proportion of your heating, lighting, water, house insurance and Council charges against tax. Watch out for any capital gains implications though (not very likely but theoretically possible). Take advice from your tax office, you have nothing to lose. Difficult to advise on the proportion as it depends on your circumstances but I would imagine you can think in the region of 20% or so.

As I am sure you are aware, you can also claim for any reasonable general office costs incurred (eg stationery, computer consumables, internet costs, work portion of phone bill) which are not reimbursed by your employer, also any car business usage at 40p per mile for first 10k miles - you must keep good records though. Remember the magic phrase "Any costs totally and wholly incurred in connection with your employment".

CrashUK

mickym wrote: »

We currently rent, and as so, im not too keen on insulating the loft out of my own pocket for us to then leave in a year or so.

As for wall cavity insulating, as we both work and are without kids (although we are trying for a family!) we dont seem to qualify for any of the grants.

Personally i think the loft could be better insulated, but ive got a feeling the landlord wouldnt see this as an essential fix for him to undertake.

Your landlord may qualifty for cavity/loft so talk to them about it. if they come to sell they house then it would be good for them. They also grants for installing new heating system..

PlutoinCapricorn

Boxman, I think that you are talking about the expenses that sole traders can legitimately claim. As I said, employees who work at home by choice are not entitled to anything, and those whose contract of employment states that they must work at home usually get just a flat rate of £2 per week.

lemontart

epsilondraconis wrote: »

I've worked from home for the last 4 years and haven't switched on the heating. I do occasionally have a burst of warmth from a hair dryer though to keep me going. Have you tried using some fingerless gloves, also perhaps have a candle on the desk (obviously being careful not to leave it unattended etc). The candle not only gives out some heat, but give a nice glow and so helps keep you warm.

oher I like that candles - I sell candles so have a ready stock of nice scented ones and the betterware books I do have some fingerless thermal gloves - I can chalk them up to legitimate expenses and get them at discount - seriously though extra layers of clothes or a thermal vest is a good way - may sound old fashioned or what granny used to say but they work and the cost is a one off expense of buying them, t j hughes usually have mens ones at £2,99 which I have (I am a female) 1/2 the price of the womens one and as no one gets to see them does not really matter that they are mens.

Wheat bags are good too that you can heat in microwave to put about body.

I rarely puting heating on prefer to get a hot water bottle and sit in bed to get warm

Wickedkitten

I find it a lot easier by getting used to being cold before it gets really cold. It is a bit uncomfortable at first but after awhile you get used to it and can easily sit around with just a dressing gown. Before we moved down from Scotland, I could quite easily sit with the windows open during the day and be fine whilst my OH would say he was freezing because he was used to being in a warm office all day.

MrCarrot

Don't work in your dressing gown for a start :rotfl:

Wear a fleece and have a blanket around you, with a hot water bottle. Sounds like a joke but you'll be as snug as a bug and it won't cost a penny other than getting the hot water bottle warm.

dannymccann

Its ok everyone saying layer up but I find with layers I just cant get comfortable (as a bloke, if you know what I mean :rotfl: )

I find if my feet are warm the rest of me is warm, so invest in some 'bed socks' and some decent slippers. Eliminate any draughts as wind chill is the biggest enemy here. Eating a hot dinner will also help, something like soup with oven baked baguette / toasted sandwich / stir fry, all quick and easy and go down well with a cup of tea. Also I find if you are feeling cold in the house, go for a 5 minute walk outside (dont get overly dressed up to keep warm outside though) then come back inside, you wont understand just how warm it is in the house after that

If you have a dog let it lay on your feet to keep you warm :beer:

mickym

On a comparison though. Is heating a small room with a fan/oil radiator going to be cheaper than running the central heating for the whole 2 bed bungalow?

Getting chilly since the weekend so will need to get something sorted soon!