The amount of energy used by office equipment -? PCs, printers, photocopiers and fax machines -? left on standby over the holidays is enough to roast 4.4m turkeys, which is also enough power to microwave 268m mince pies or more than 350,000 standard Christmas tree lights for 10 days, according to research by Canon UK (via Green Business News).
The research shows that almost 19,000 tons of C02 emissions would also be produced by these machines, enough to fill the same number of standard sized swimming pools, for offices closed for 10 days.
“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," said David Smith, marketing director, Canon Business Solutions, Canon UK. " 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."
Canon’s top tips for when you leave the office for Christmas:
