Remember to switch off this Christmas

On Christmas Eve, offices around the country will close for at least four days – apologies to our members in the restaurant and hospitality sector!  According to Canon, £8.66m is wasted on powering empty offices every Christmas.

To ensure you are not wasting unnecessary energy over this time we have put together a check list.  Try to get into the habit and adopt these tips during weekends too – according to the Carbon Trust, businesses waste around £6,000 a year by leaving lights, heating and equipment such as computer monitors and photocopiers on over weekends and bank holidays.

1. Switch off equipment

If you’re shutting down over the festive period, make sure you and your staff switch off any unnecessary equipment. This could include computers, photocopiers, fax machines or printers. According to the Carbon Trust, leaving a single computer and monitor on 24 hours a day can cost a business over £50 a year. Switching off PCs and monitors and enabling standby modes can reduce this £50 a year to just £15. Similarly, photocopiers give out a lot of heat, so if it’s not being used, turn it off!

2. Turn the heat down

It may be cold outside, but there’s no benefit to having a lovely warm office or work area if there is no-one there to feel the benefit. Before you leave for Christmas, turn your heating down a few degrees – each one degree reduction in temperature could result in savings of up to 8% on your energy bills. And if you or another staff member does have to come in over the festive season, your heating only needs to be set around 16 to 20 degrees. You could even stay snug by wearing your favourite Christmas jumper!

3. Treat yourself!

While it may not seem the most obvious Christmas present, investing in small cost measures such as energy efficient lightbulbs, cavity and wall insulation and time switches could result in huge savings throughout the year, not just at Christmas. For example, switching from halogen spotlights to LEDs could save up to 80% of energy used and reduce maintenance costs too, as they last much longer. If you’re serious about making your office more energy efficient, find out of you’re eligible for the government’s new Green Deal scheme to help finance energy efficiency measures.

4. Get employees involved

Make a pledge this Christmas to change employee behaviour when it comes to saving energy. Appoint an ‘energy champion’ to ensure everything is shut down over the festive season, and then continue this good behaviour into the New Year. They can assist by taking responsibility for initiating small-scale efficiency practices and remind fellow staff members of the everyday steps they can all undertake to bring energy usage down.

5. Switch off lights

Finally, switch off the lights before you leave for Christmas! A popular myth is that it’s not worth turning off fluorescent lights for short periods. This isn’t publish. Turning off a single 65 Watt fluorescent fitting, even just at break times, could save around £4 per year. If you’re prone to forgetting, fit lights and other equipment with timers or motion sensors to ensure everything is switched off automatically when there is no-one in the office.