Sonia Mirza

Think Carefully Before Macro Hedging Your Life/Work/Oil Exposures

Fair enough. Except regarding: (a) many people wouldn't heat or cool their home during the day if they weren't working there,

I was assuming the opposite for 2 reasons; 1 - family (X goes to work, someone is in the house needing heat/ac). 2 - If this doesn't apply, when it gets MAD hot - people do not leave the AC turned off when at work, perhaps at a lower setting likewise with heating when it's below 0 out there...but oh well. I have no quantifiable statistics on this anyway...

Think Carefully Before Macro Hedging Your Life/Work/Oil Exposures

"about the impact on energy consumption of more people working from home. The downside is that heating and air conditioning use a ton of energy, and having each individual heat or cool their home during the work day may actually use more energy than commuting"

1. not if you do not use as much electricity/A/C as an office might - you're assuming if we put everyone who was trying to hedge their positions in an office, and let them do it from their homes...Remember, those homes (whether the person is in the office or not) would likely be consuming energy while the office was running also...You could also work outside under a tree - fresh air and whatnot. Size of house vs office, # of ACs in house vs office, # of ACs simultaneously on in all rooms in house vs office.

2. how many miles is the commute? what type of vehicle is being used in the commute? A hummer or a bike, err I mean prius?

While you present one extreme version of a response Ralph, in all likelihood, if this were tested, I do think you'd be proven wrong.