The amount of energy used by office equipment in the UK left on standby over the Christmas period would be enough to roast 4.4 million turkeys, predicts manufacturer Canon UK .
Many offices will close over the 10 day Christmas period, and it is predicted that half of the PCs in the offices will be left on over the Christmas holiday consuming 37.8 million kWh of energy. Other items like printers, photocopiers and faxes that are not completely switched off use the same amount of power that it would take to microwave 268 million mine pies or power over 350,000 standard Christmas tree lights for ten days.
David Smith, marketing director at Canon UK said, "It’s clear that some equipment needs to be left on over the Christmas period for security reasons but these amazing figures show that businesses that don’t turn off their PCs and printers are literally throwing money away as well as damaging the environment over the festive period. We have only looked at office equipment that is left in standby mode so imagine how much higher these figures could be if devices are left completely on."
Environmentally, Canon's research highlights that around 19,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide will unnecessarily be produced by these machines, this is enough to fill 19,000 25m swimming pools. The research estimates the electricity bill this Christmas could reach £8.66m.
Smith added, "It is the responsibility of manufacturers to provide the solutions to support a greener workplace in addition to offering simple advice on energy saving."
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