Working from home saves on cars, trains and lunch at the bar, and the savings are real. Some, however, come back with the bills. Altroconsumo did the math at average market prices at the beginning of November 2026: a family in which someone works remotely five days a week spends between 460 and 485 euros more per year on electricity and gas.
The two typical families
The calculations concern two families, both in the house of residence, with a 3 kW meter and independent heating. The first is a couple without children in which one of them always works from home. In the second, the parents divide the week (one stays home for two days, the other three) and the child returns from school. Without smart working, the couple consumes 1,900 kWh of electricity per year and the family 2,700. For gas the starting point is the same for both: 1,400 standard cubic meters (Smc).
The air conditioner weighs more than the PC
On electricity, the heaviest item is the summer air conditioner, which adds 180 kWh per year (from 200 to 380). PCs and monitors are worth 130 kWh. The dishwasher, which runs more often for lunches, adds 40 and the lights left on for longer 28. Then there are scattered consumptions that cannot be attributed to a single appliance, equal to 5% of the starting ones (95 kWh for the couple, 135 for the family). In total, the couple consumes 473 kWh more (+24.9%) and the family of three 513 (+19%). In euros they cost 155.84 per year for the couple, around 20% of the initial bill, and 180.35 for the family, around 17%.
The heating, the dearest voice
The gas is affected by the heating being turned on during the hours when the house would otherwise remain empty. With an internal temperature between 19 and 20 degrees, the gas to heat the house rises by 15%, from 1,150 to 1,323 Smc. Another 19 Scm are used to cook lunch on the gas stove. The total reaches 1,592 Smc (+13.7%), i.e. 304 euros more per year. The figure is the same for the two families because they start from the same consumption. With the induction hob the cost of lunch is added to the electricity bill. For the rest, warns Altroconsumo, a lot depends on the insulation of the house, the climate zone and the efficiency of the system.
The final bill
The couple therefore spends 459.84 euros more per year, the family made up of three members 484.35. On average they are around 470 euros, around forty per month, which however are not spread over the year and are concentrated in the months of radiators and air conditioning. Altroconsumo reminds you that these are simulations and not a valid figure for every home. On the other side of the scale there are fuel, transport passes, meals out and sometimes a babysitter or dog walker. Then there are meal vouchers, for those who still receive them, to spend at the supermarket, even if not all shops accept them due to the commissions: about that. Altroconsumo has launched a campaign so that their value arrives directly in the paycheck, without further taxes. What remains is the time saved for travel, an item that will never be recorded on the bill.
