I think you underestimate how much energy most commercial offices / buildings uses compared to a house.
Comment on Simple, right?
alvvayson@lemmy.world 8 months ago
In the winter, I emit more when I WFH.
At the office, I don’t need to heat my house. And my bike+train commute emits very little.
EditsHisComments@lemmy.world 8 months ago
LordKitsuna@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Presumably your house is not just a giant glass box though. If that office was not built and not heated it would offset your house Heating as well as everyone else’s.
Obviously not all offices are skyscrapers, but the ones that are are insanely wasteful. Fun fact Heating and Cooling to Greenhouse is expensive and that’s what skyscrapers are giant greenhouses they are wildly inefficient. And there are definitely tons of Industry that we just shove and to skyscrapers for literally no reason that they could be done from home without any change in workflow other than the lack of a commute
Hyperreality@kbin.social 8 months ago
Ah. This is a simple mistake.
You seem to think that owners of commercial properties switch off the lights, heating and/or AC when they're empty.
In reality they leave them on, then produce useful literature about how it's our fault the climate is fucked because we forgot to unplug a 12 volt phone charger.
Shialac@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Easy fix, eat the rich
SuckMyWang@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Short term increase in emissions for long term decrease
alvvayson@lemmy.world 8 months ago
This is the answer, I work in a corporate office that is heated regardless of whether I am present or not.
SkyeStarfall@lemmy.blahaj.zone 8 months ago
If working from home was standard, there’d be less need for offices, and less, smaller, offices would exist. Leading to less energy wasted in heating offices (as well as .kre space for residential).
nautilus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
Honestly fuck the downvotes, this shit ain’t our fault anyways. Tired of being told that it’s our job to fix the climate instead of the corporations that continue to make billions off of it
Mongostein@lemmy.ca 8 months ago
JuSt DOnT bUy FRoM tHEm!
That’s not a feasible option when our society has been set up so that not giving a shit about other people or the environment makes you tons of money.
nautilus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 months ago
while there is indeed no ethical consumption under capitalism, at this point it’s unrealistic to not participate in it
Unaware7013@kbin.social 8 months ago
Do you really turn your heat down a statistically significant amount for 8-10 hours yours a day when you are away from home?
alvvayson@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Yes, I do. It saves easily 50 kWh of natural gas consumption per day.
On the days nobody will be home, we just let the thermostaat on 13 degrees Celsius for the whole day. When we are home it’s 18 degrees during the day.
the_seven_sins@feddit.de 8 months ago
Assuming you are coming home every evening and not living in a really cold area, your house must be badly isolated if it cools down so significantly during the day.
alvvayson@lemmy.world 8 months ago
It’s reasonably insulated - above average for my location, but it does get cold in the winter.
Obviously, I’m only saving this heating fuel on the colder winter days.
LordKitsuna@lemmy.world 8 months ago
I don’t know about them specifically but my family generally did set the automatic timers on the thermostat. Down to 55 when no one was home back up to 68 slightly before people were supposed to be home
_number8_@lemmy.world 8 months ago
ok but what about everyone else
Duamerthrax@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Your home is still heated to above freezing and your office is also heated. There’s a net lose in HVAC requirements with WFH regardless.
SuckMyWang@lemmy.world 8 months ago
Great point, because the energy used to heat your office and power your train are imaginary
Spzi@lemm.ee 8 months ago
It’s economy of scale. A centralized building can be much more efficient than many individual houses. Big emphasis on CAN.
It all depends on how wasteful people are at home, wether they commute by train or bike (or how much car trips they do while WFH), and how responsible the office is managed.
The last studies I saw posted in Lemmy about this highlighted the nuance, while people jumped on the maximum possible saving as if that was real.