Warwickshire News Mine

In total 17 children’s centres in Warwickshire have taken almost 5,000 low energy light bulbs in the last couple of weeks.

The centres are now distributing the bulbs to local families and this means that if people replace their 100 watt tungsten bulbs with the 20 watt low energy bulbs there will be huge savings from the 5,000 bulbs.

If the 100 watt bulbs are replaced with low energy ones the combined savings for the households will be £70,000 a year and reduce the amount of CO2 they send into the atmosphere by 301 tonnes (assuming the light bulbs are on for five hours a day).

To put this in perspective, 301 tonnes of CO2 is roughly the equivalent to the heating and lighting CO2 emissions of about five primary schools.

All of the light bulbs have been provided free of charge to Warwickshire County Council as part of Powergen’s Energy Efficiency Commitment Scheme.

One of the centres to collect 440 of the bulbs is the Camp Hill Early Years Centre in Nuneaton, where Centre Manager Denise Galland said: “We’re very pleased to be working with the county council and the Switch it Off campaign. We will be doing out bit to encourage local families to switch it off in their homes and reduce their fuel bills, as well as help reduce the impacts of climate change.”

Switch it Off week is building up to an event on Friday, November 2, from 4.30pm until 6.30pm where everyone is being urged to try and use as little electricity as possible as part of a Big Switch Off.

Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council, Worcestershire County Council, and the Warwickshire Energy Efficiency Advice Centre, are leading the way with many other partners this year to drive home ‘Switch it Off’.

If everyone in Warwickshire, Coventry and Worcestershire stopped leaving appliances on stand by it would prevent 86,322 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere through wasted electricity and save more than £20m (enough to pay the annual electricity bill for 71,953 homes).

Carbon dioxide is the main climate change causing gas. In the UK, the energy we use to heat and power our homes accounts for 27 per cent of our total carbon dioxide emissions and this continues to rise.

Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “It really doesn’t take a lot to think about saving energy. You are not only saving the planet from the comfort of your own home, but also cutting your own energy bill by up to 25 per cent.

”It’s interesting to see how people behave towards energy. Prices have gone up massively in recent years, yet the vast majority of people remain unaware of what they are spending on their energy. People will drive out of their way to get a penny off a litre of petrol, yet ask them what a kilowatt hour of electricity costs them and they won’t have a clue.”

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.

Link to WCC