Since hybrid and remote working became mainstream, one question keeps coming up in flatshares and shared households across the UK: if I'm home all day and you're not, should I pay more for utilities?
The short answer is yes, probably — but the real question is how much more, and how to calculate it in a way everyone considers fair.
This guide breaks down the actual energy cost difference between working from home and going to an office, gives you a practical formula for splitting utility bills fairly, and covers the tricky edge cases that come up in real households.
The honest answer: it depends on the home, the season, and the person — but the numbers are not trivial.
According to research from the Energy Saving Trust and various energy suppliers, a full-time home worker typically adds around £2–£4 per working day to a household's energy bills compared to being at the office. Over a 47-week working year, that's roughly £470–£940 in additional annual energy costs.
| Category | Estimated extra cost (full-time WFH) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Heating | £300–£600/yr | Biggest variable — depends on home insulation and thermostat habits |
| Electricity (devices) | £80–£150/yr | Laptop, monitors, phone charging, lighting |
| Kettle and appliances | £30–£60/yr | Making tea/coffee, microwave lunches |
| Water | £15–£30/yr | Extra toilet flushes, hand washing — minimal difference |
| Total extra | ~£425–£840/yr | ~£35–£70/month additional |
These are rough estimates, not precise measurements. A flat with poor insulation in winter will be at the high end; a well-insulated home in a mild climate will be at the low end. But the directional point is clear: working from home five days a week does add meaningfully to the bills.
Rather than trying to measure exact energy consumption (which is effectively impossible without smart submeters), the most practical and widely-accepted approach is to split utility bills in proportion to days spent at home during working hours.
Here's how it works:
You don't need to be precise to the decimal point. The goal is a number both people feel reflects reality — not an audit.
Sam works from home 5 days/week. Chris goes to the office 4 days/week, WFH Fridays. Monthly utility bills: £120.
| Person | WFH days/week | In-office days | Approx. share | Monthly bill |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam (full WFH) | 5 | 0 | 62% | £74 |
| Chris (hybrid) | 1 | 4 | 38% | £46 |
| Total | 100% | £120 |
Sam pays £28 more per month — roughly £340 per year — to reflect the extra daytime energy use. This is a defensible number and, importantly, it's one that both parties can understand and verify.
The same principle applies. Each person's WFH days become their "daytime score," and the bill is split proportionally. With three people, you simply have three shares instead of two.
| Person | WFH days/week | Score (WFH days + 1.5 for evenings/weekends) | Share % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alex (full WFH) | 5 | 6.5 | 43% |
| Jordan (hybrid 3 days) | 3 | 4.5 | 30% |
| Sam (office only) | 0 | 1.5 | 10% |
| Note: base evening/weekend score divided equally across 3 | |||
In practice, most households eyeball a reasonable adjustment rather than calculating precise scores. "Alex pays 40%, Jordan pays 35%, Sam pays 25%" is a perfectly reasonable outcome to agree on — it doesn't need to be a mathematical proof.
Not all utility bills are equally affected by WFH patterns. Here's a sensible guide:
| Bill | Recommended split | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Gas / heating | WFH-adjusted | Biggest impact — heating a home during the day is expensive |
| Electricity | WFH-adjusted | Devices, lighting, cooking at home |
| Broadband | Equal split | Fixed cost, everyone uses it — WFH user may justify paying slightly more if they use it heavily for video calls |
| Water | Equal split | Difference is too small to justify complexity |
| Council tax | Equal split | Fixed cost regardless of occupancy patterns |
| TV licence | Equal split | Fixed cost |
Broadband is a fixed monthly cost regardless of how much it's used, so splitting it equally is usually fine. The main exception: if one person works from home full-time and regularly uses video calls that push the household to upgrade to a faster (more expensive) package, it's reasonable for them to pay a larger share — or for the household to agree that the employer should help cover it.
Worth knowing: in the UK, HMRC allows employees who work from home to claim a £6/week working from home allowance (up to £312/year tax-free) to cover household costs including broadband and utilities. If you work from home and haven't claimed this, check whether you're eligible.
Working patterns change — new jobs, return to office mandates, going freelance, parental leave. Build in a simple review: "if anyone's working pattern changes significantly, we'll recalculate the split."
This takes the personal edge off the conversation. It's not "you need to pay more now you're home all the time" — it's "we agreed we'd adjust this when patterns changed."
For some households, the difference in WFH days is minor (e.g., both flatmates WFH 3 days each), or the bills are low enough that the adjustment is only £10–15/month. In this case, a simple equal split and a general awareness that things roughly even out is a perfectly reasonable approach.
The goal is a fair arrangement both people feel comfortable with — not a perfectly optimised formula. Sometimes equal-split-and-forget is the right answer.