Turned on to `Switch it off’
Warwickshire’s residents were turned on to ‘Switch it off’’ on Friday, with the county witnessing a huge dip in energy readings on the previous few days.
Every householder in Warwickshire was urged not to turn on their home appliances between 4.30pm and 6.30pm on Friday to demonstrate the energy to be saved.
The big turn off was arranged as part of Warwickshire County Council’s ‘Switch it off’ campaign to try and make everyone think about the needless items they have on every day around the home.
Turning off equipment at home such as TVs and videos on stand by can prevent thousands of tonnes of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere causing climate change, and slash home electricity bills by up to a quarter.
And thanks to monitoring from Central Networks it was revealed that on Friday the amount of electricity being used in the county plunged by 32 Megawatts when compared to the previous evening.
If the people of Warwickshire managed to achieve this dip in energy demand every evening it would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide going into the atmosphere by more than 5,000 tonnes a year and cut the amount being spent on electricity bills annually in Warwickshire by almost £1.2m. Carbon dioxide emissions are directly linked with speeding up the effects of global warming and climate change.
Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “Energy use on the Friday evening dropped to the lowest point of the week, when usually it’s the peak. I’d like to thank everyone in Warwickshire who took the time to think about switching it off. Hopefully the message will stay with an awful lot of our residents.
“Cutting down on electricity use at home, through simple actions like not having items on stand by, not only helps prevent climate change, but can also reduce your electricity bill by up to a quarter.”
A television watched for just four hours a day, yet left on stand by for the remaining 20 hours will cost £61 a year, similarly an inkjet printer left on stand by for 20 hours a day will cost £33 per year, these costs can be dramatically reduced by simply turning them off rather than leaving them on stand by.
For more information on taking steps to `Switch it off’ visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/switchitoff or call the energy advice hotline on 0800 512012.