Warwickshire News Mine

Bars and restaurants around the county are urging householders to switch everything off at home and enjoy a low energy candlelit meal out.

And already many bars and restaurants and backing the campaign, with an astonishing early take up from the town of Henley-in-Arden where seven different establishments have already signed up.

Cllr George Atkinson, the county councillor for the town of Henley, said: “I’m delighted with the early support the local businesses have shown to this year’s Switch it Off, hopefully we’ll see this repeated around Warwickshire.

“Switch it Off is now becoming a recognised annual event in Warwickshire and hopefully this year we’ll once again see some great results.”

If businesses are interested in joining the Switch it Off candlelit meal event, running throughout Switch it Off week from October 20-24, they should visit http://www.enjoywarwickshire.com for more information.

Warwickshire County Council will again this year be working with partner authorities Coventry and Worcestershire, plus Warwickshire Energy Advice Centre, Central Networks and a multitude of other partners to drive home the message that families could save £200 a year by simply switching off items at home that are currently on stand by.

The aim of Switch it Off is to get people to think about doing the little things in their home to save energy, little things which can then have a huge impact on bills.

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 spend on electricity can be slashed by 25 per cent by switching off.

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.

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).

This year’s Switch it Off campaign will be launched on Monday, October 20, culminating on Friday, October 24, when everyone in Coventry, Warwickshire and Worcestershire, will be asked to Switch it Off and use as little electricity as possible between the hours of 4.30pm and 6.30pm. 

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. And for the latest offers from bars and restaurants taking part in the candlelit meal promotion see http://www.enjoywarwickshire.com

Link to WCC