WFH - Increased appliance usage ticking time bomb

WFH Increased appliance usage ticking time bomb for household finances and environment

Research by property maintenance solution provider, Help me Fix, has revealed that the new normal of working from home could be costly for the nation, as increased use of household appliances reduces their lifespan, leading to a strain on household finances to replaces them, as well as the cost to the environment when it comes to disposing of them. 

A survey commissioned by Help me Fix found that more than half of us are now working from home regularly, 20% stating that they do so for the full working week. 

Hardly surprising then, that 93% of us also state we now use our household appliances more than ever as a result of working from home. 

The kettle is the most likely to see more use during working from home hours, with the washing machine, television, vacuum cleaner and microwave also seeing far more use than prior to the pandemic. 

At an average of 4.4 years, the kettle is the home appliance with the shortest lifespan, although the vacuum cleaner (6.5 years), television (7 years) and microwave (9years) aren’t far behind. 

With these appliances now seeing far more use than previously, many households may soon find they are hit with a string of faulty goods that need replacing at a time when our household finances are already stretched to breaking point. 

What’s more, there’s also the environmental impact of this increased use. Home appliances alone are thought to account for a third of residential electricity consumption - a major contributor to greenhouse gasses.

A recent report by the UN’s Global E-Waste Monitor in 2020also found that we generate over 50 million tonnes of e-waste every year around the world and, while it accounts for 70% of all toxic waste, just 12.5% is recycled. This is predicted to hit almost 75 tonnes by 2030, fuelled by higher consumption and shorter product life cycles. 

Ettan Bazil, CEO and Founder of Help me Fix said: 

“We’re sitting on a ticking time bomb when it comes to the increased use of our household appliances and the impact this is going to have, not just on our homes, but on the global environment. 

Many of us are now working from home on a regular basis and this means the use of our kettles, our televisions and many other household appliances has doubled, if not more. The initial worry there is the increased use of electricity not only with the cost of living spiralling, but also as a driving contributor to greenhouse gasses.

When you also consider that this increased usage will dramatically shorten the lifespan of these appliances, it means more money spent replacing them, as well as a huge increase in the amounts of e-waste heading to our landfills. 

Some additional consumption is avoidable, but we would urge those working from home to consider whether they need to have their TV running, if they need to put on that extra load of washing, or if there are other areas where they can reduce their usage without compromising the quality of their home working environment.”