At a time when covid has forced many people to work from home, it offers a significant opportunity to consider energy waste in major cities worldwide. I am now retired but when working I flew extensively around the world, returning mostly to London, and often late at night. I was struck by the huge amount of office and other lighting, seen from many miles away, that appeared to be left blazing all night. At that time I wrote to MP John Redwood and to then PM David Cameron pointing out that a more thoughtful approach should provide major savings. I received polite (probably standard) responses along the lines that “someone would have a look at it”.
I fail to understand why anything other that safety requires huge office blocks to be lit all night, not to mention all the advertising hoardings. The number of people likely to see these at three o’clock in the morning must be small. It must be simple technically to create automatic switching off at night for, say, four or five hours for non-essential lighting, at what I guess would be a modest cost.
As I have said the pandemic has created 1 – much less office occupation; 2 – a need for businesses to minimise costs in the recovery period (not to mention their re-assessment of office requirements),
3 – global warming contamination, inline with government commitments and 4 – The chance to lead a global opportunity.
Little cost/significant benefits – not too many of those around, I would suggest.
I hesitate to say this, but if by any chance you were to consider my proposal for an award I would ask you to provide it directly to the NHS staff.
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