Companies 'lose £160m a year' through leaving the lights on

A company-wide difficulty in locating the office light switches appears to be behind the increasing amount of money firms lose by keeping their lights on 24/7.

According to research carried out by Green Office Week, British businesses are losing £160 million a year through the stubbornness of the last person to leave the office to turn off the lights.

Gregg Corbett, marketing director at Avery, the organisation behind Green Office Week, explained that many companies still believe the process of reducing their energy consumption comes at too great a financial cost.

"Leaving the lights on is just one example. The truth is, in a business with poor environmental practices, staff often leave personal computer monitors on, open windows when the heating is on and leave printers on overnight. When you add all of these energy wasting factors together, it's easy to see that a vast amount of money is being completely wasted," he commented.

"It's clear that the day to day actions of staff really do have a direct impact on an organisation's finances, particularly when it comes to utility bills."

And a reluctance to turn off switches and sockets at the end of the working day does not just take its toll on company finances - research shows over-illumination can have an effect on our health, too. Constructiondigital.com reports that too much artificial light can cause stress, headaches and eyestrain in the office, and may even be linked to higher rates of breast cancer in women because of the inhibition of melatonin production.

"Most lighting fixtures, especially exterior lighting, are poorly designed and throw much of their light uselessly into the atmosphere or where it is not needed," the news source argued, adding that properly shielded lighting as well as high efficiency, low-luminosity emitting lights are the first step towards combating over-illumination.