Orion announces Earth Hour savings

March 28 2009

On Saturday 28 March 2009 at 8.30pm, Christchurch joined cities around the world in Earth Hour. Orion, a key supporter of Earth Hour for two years running, calculated the savings for Christchurch during Earth Hour at 8.1% - a pleasing result, although less than the impressive 12.8% achieved by Christchurch in 2008.

About 21.7 megawatt hours of electricity was saved - about what two New Zealand homes consume each year - which is the equivalent of 4.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Earth Hour is an initiative to demonstrate the importance of people taking simple steps every day to collectively reduce carbon emissions. It is about inspiring people to live more sustainably and take action on climate change. Globally hundeds of millions of people turned off their lights or unnecessary power appliances during the hour.

Christchurch's reduction in electricity use during Earth Hour

The amount of electricity used in Christchurch depends on temperature and weather conditions. Based on the average temperature in the city during Earth Hour, we estimate that the Christchurch community reduced electricity use during Earth Hour by: