Businesses count the energy cost of Christmas

The amount of energy used by office equipment in the UK left on standby over the Christmas period is enough to roast 4.4 million turkeys, according to research by Canon UK.

With many offices closing over the 10 day Christmas period PCs, printers, photocopiers and faxes not completely turned off could also microwave 268 million mince pies or power more than 350,000 standard Christmas tree lights for 10 days.

David Smith, marketing director, Canon Business Solutions 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.'

The research shows that almost 19,000 tonnes of Co2 emissions would also be produced by these machines, enough to fill the same number of standard sized (25 million) swimming pools. The research estimates the electricity bill to UK PLC this Christmas could reach up to £8.66m.

'It is the responsibility of manufacturers to provide the solutions to support a greener workplace in addition to offering simple advice on energy saving,' said Smith.

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Further Reading:

Power shortage hits IT

How IT can reduce its power use

Energy must not cost the earth