Warwickshire News Mine

Warwickshire County Council, working with Coventry City Council, Worcestershire County Council, Warwickshire Energy Efficiency Advice Centre and many other partners, called on as many people as possible to ‘Switch it Off’ between 4.30pm and 6.30pm on Friday evening.

And householders and organisations supported the campaign with a huge switch off.

Central Networks monitored the Big Switch Off on Friday evening and found a huge dip in the amount of energy used on the Friday evening, when compared to the evening before. This is even more significant as 4.30pm until 6.30pm is normally the peak energy point of every day.

Central Networks found that on Friday evening there was a 74 MegaWatt drop on Thursday night’s electricity demand – this is the equivalent to 15,416 typical three-bed detached houses turning off all their power for one year.

Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “I’m delighted to see the people of Warwickshire supporting this year’s campaign with our neighbours in Coventry and Worcestershire.

“The whole aim of the campaign was to get people thinking about the energy they are wasting in their home by leaving appliances on standby. It’s amazing how many did not realise the money they are wasting by leaving videos, TVs and other items on standby.”

Videos, set-top boxes, televisions and even the clocks on microwaves are using surprisingly high amounts of power everyday in our homes. The average family spends £400 a year on electricity and up to 25 per cent can be slashed from this by being more energy aware and switching off unused appliances.

According to the Energy Saving Trust nationally, 71 per cent of people regularly leave items on stand by in their homes, and 65 per cent of people leave lights on in rooms they are not using.

The threat of climate change is a real concern in today’s world. Rising temperatures, increased risk of flooding and extreme weather patterns, are just some of the likely effects of climate change. 

Carbon dioxide is the main climate change causing gas released into the atmosphere when we burn fossil fuels. 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.

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