We have come to the end of the very first One Week and I am pleased to say it seems to have been a huge success.
I really grateful to the many people, businesses and households that have been joining in, whether it be simply keeping unnecessary lights off, eating dinner by candle light or even more extreme measures. At the GP surgery where I work, everyone has been diligent in keeping lights off when not needed and in turning computers and monitors off at the wall throughout the week and the preliminary readings compared to the week before show a really significant saving. It will be a day or so before I get the full figures all sorted so stay tuned for that.
One of the highlights for me has been seeing the superb efforts from the local schools around Henley. They have really embraced the concept and it's very encouraging to see how enthusiastic the children have been. From spot checks on lights, assemblies highlighting the project, no tech Tuesdays and an hour without power, the efforts from teachers and students alike is very much appreciated.
My week has been interesting.
At work, I have been working in minimum light where possible and taking part in all of those measures already mentioned. Having dreamt it all up though, I felt an obligation to really go all out to show what can be done. As such, at home I have practically lived in darkness for the week. The TV and all other appliances have remained unplugged for the duration. Of course, I've had to charge my phone and laptop but once done, the chargers have been unplugged at the wall. I have had ice cold showers all week, which I must say has actually been quite refreshing. The hardest part was to ensure the kettle saw no action for seven days which meant I have not had a tea or coffee for that period. In the spirit of One Week, that means I didn't have any at work or from coffee shops either.
Although it's not something that I have previously been even remotely excited about, I must confess I could barely wait to check my meter readings this afternoon to see how I had done in comparison to the week before.
I'm pleased to say that I managed to save 20kWh over the week, which is equivalent to the power needed to boil 200 kettles.
Importantly, while there were some minor inconveniences this week, it was still entirely achievable and made no discernible impact on my daily routine. I got everything I needed doing done. And it was actually quite fun. Cosy nights in with candles instead of lights is a bit of a change after all. Some of my colleagues have said they actually found it more calming without the glare of the main lights on at the surgery and all of that is leaving out the other obvious benefit - saving money!
But all of these are secondary benefits. One Week's primary focus is on addressing a national or even international issue that effects everyone and in the case of energy, that is one of supply against demand, affordability and cost of living and, crucially, climate and biodiversity. In taking a big chunk out of consumption in a short space of time, One Week can impact on all of the above.
If every household in the UK saved what I did over one week, it would equate roughly to 494 million kWh (bare in mind this is a low estimate as I live in a relatively small flat), which is equivalent to 790,400 barrels of oil.
One Week serves as a demonstration of what we can do with a bit of collaboration whilst also representing a chance for us to readjust some perspective on the things we take for granted.
As a pilot initiative, One Week has shown that there are enormous amounts of otherwise untapped potential just waiting to be utilised or saved. All that is lacking is awareness of the fact and a bit of coordination.
While this week may now be over, One Week is just getting started. Later this year, on a date yet to be confirmed, we will be doing it again, only much more widespread. Over the next week, I will be gathering evidence of everyone's achievements and producing more figures on how much we saved at the surgery amongst others. There may even be a bit of a video summarising it all. So keep following and let's make next time even more spectacular!
Ps. Don't forget there's still time to get your meter readings into the website or post how much you managed to save on twitter @oneweekuk or on instagram (one_week_uk). I'd love to hear how you got on.