This year, the campaign involved the opportunity to enter a prize draw with BetterPoints by pledging to participate in the switch off. Thank you to everyone who pledged (over 400 of you!) and made an extra effort to switch off equipment and lights before the Christmas break.
Energy savings
We’ve once again seen some impressive reductions in electricity and energy use during the holiday period and are delighted to report that further savings were made in the 2024-25 Christmas period compared with the corresponding period in 2023-24.
Electricity
Thanks to your efforts we saw some fantastic reductions in electricity consumption on campus:
- Consumption was 47% lower than a 'typical' period
- Daily average consumption on main campus through the 2024-25 Christmas closure was 1.7% down on 2023-24
Heating
- Consumption was 27% lower than a 'typical' period
- Daily average consumption on main campus through the 2024-25 Christmas closure was almost 2.5% down on 2023-24
Switch Off prize draw winners
We are delighted to announce the winners of the Switch Off pledge and prize draw are:
- 1st prize (£50 University Arms voucher): Sanya S
- 2nd prize (20,000 BetterPoints): Kate G
- 3rd prize (£10 Sheffield Gift Card): Laura H
The winners have been contacted through the BetterPoints app to receive their prize.
Let's continue our energy savings into the New Year
Our university community is committed to cutting our energy use, with targets to reduce our emissions to net zero. Many of the actions taken during the Big Christmas Switch Off can continue into the New Year, such as:
- switching off all electronics (that you safely can) and lights at the end of the day and over the weekend
- only using what you need - whether that's unplugging your devices when they've finished charging or turning radiators down when the weather is warmer
- lab users can reduce their impact further by supporting the implementation of LEAF across the University (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework)
Save energy at home
You can also save energy and reduce cost at home with these energy saving tips:
- Switch off standby: almost all electrical appliances can be turned off at the plug without upsetting their programming. Standby savers allow you to turn all your appliances off standby in one go to save electricity. Energy Savings Trust estimate that you can save around £45 in the UK by doing this.
- Turn off lights when you're not using them or when you leave a room. Additionally, switching to energy-saving light bulbs reduces energy use and cost.
- Turn down your thermostat: EDF Energy estimates that turning your thermostat just one degree lower could save up to £145 a year.