Christmas Switch Off 2024 saves carbon equivalent to planting 3,744 trees!

Every year, we host our Christmas Switch Off, an energy-saving competition to see which department or hall can save the most energy during the Christmas closure to show how small actions can lead to big changes.  

The Switch Off in numbers

A huge thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s campaign, running from the 22nd December to the 2nd January. 562 students and staff pledged to switch off lights, computers, fridges, microwaves, lab equipment, and more – marking our highest participation ever! 

By taking part, you’ve achieved remarkable results:  

• We saved 1,145,066 kilowatt-hours, which is a combined saving of 225 tonnes of carbon, equivalent to planting 3,744 trees!*

• This also saved UCL an incredible £184,037 over the festive period. 

Winners

The Faculty of Laws are the winners of the 2024-25 Christmas Switch Off! You will receive £50 towards a community-building event for your efforts. 

Honorable mention goes to The Institute of Neurology, which had the highest number of pledges out of all departments and accommodation. 

Our prize draw winners will be contacted shortly about receiving their prize. 

Congratulations to our winners, and thank you to everyone who stepped up, switched off, and made a difference for Christmas! Together, we showed how small, thoughtful changes can significantly reduce energy waste, cut carbon emissions, and contribute to a more sustainable future.

What's next? 

We hope the achievements and results from the Switch Off spark your imagination – this isn’t just another record of what we’ve achieved in the last year, it’s a springboard for the future. Let’s build on this momentum and continue driving impactful, sustainable action across UCL.  

• 28 Days of Sustainability – Host a sustainability event for your society, department, or peers! From workshops and talks to movie nights and museum visits, this is your chance to inspire change! 
• Get involved as a student – From volunteering to joining a sustainability student society, there are countless ways to make an impact.  
• Get involved as staff – Lead by example and inspire your colleagues to incorporate sustainable practices in your workplace, by joining Green Impact, or if you work in labs, consider joining our LEAF programme.  

Stay tuned on our social media and website, for details about our Easter Switch Off!  

What is UCL doing to reduce energy use?  

Making our campus more energy efficient    

• Repairing existing and installing more controls for heating, cooling and lighting.      
• Working with the Energy Institute and others to link our heating system to on-campus weather stations helping to better match heating provision with demand.   
• Connecting our room bookings system with our heating control system so unoccupied rooms are not heated unnecessarily.     
• Undertaking surveys in buildings to implement more LED lighting and improve BMS controls to improve building performance and efficiency.   
• Adopting a fabric first approach for refurbishment and construction projects ensure less energy is needed from the offset.   

Streamlining our operations

• Continuing to work on the management of our buildings, to ensure they are working efficiently, with adjustments to our heating, lighting, and ventilation systems.  
• Opening hours of some buildings have been changed to reflect usage patterns. We have worked to ensure that there are no unreasonable impacts on teaching, research, or other business-critical activities. The Student Centre will remain open for 24/7 studying.    
• Consolidating our office space by moving all Central Professional Services (PS) teams to Bidborough House
• Encouraging departments to sign up to Green Impact and LEAF to create efficiencies which lead to energy reductions.

Making improvements to our IT services

• Consolidating data storage into data centres to improve energy efficiency and data security.   
• ISD is changing how power for Desktop@UCL computers is managed across campus. It is estimated it will save £500 a day.   

Savings calculations: 

• *On average, one tree can consume approximately 60kg of CO₂ from the atmosphere.   
• Carbon savings given are CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent).   
• Department winner: Calculated by percentage participation per department compared with the percentage energy saving of the department.   
• Hall winner: Calculated by taking the number of pledges per hall and dividing by the number of current occupied rooms to get a participation percentage.  
• Prize drawer winner: Chosen by random number generator. 
• The holiday period was from 22.12.2024 - 02.01.2025.  
• Savings compared to term time = 607,016 kWh.  
• Average weekday energy use during term time = 301,236 kWh.  
• Average weekday energy use during holidays = 238,706 kWh.  
• Average weekend energy use during term time = 262,910 kWh.  
• Average weekend energy use during holidays = 236,217 kWh.