The looming energy shortage in Europe is also affecting Switzerland, which is why the Swiss Federal Parliament has called for electricity savings. As a web hosting provider, we at FireStorm are of course dependent on the power supply and therefore make every effort to save electricity. At the same time, however, we also Measures for a possible power failure prepared. In this short report, we would like to explain to you how much electricity we were able to save in September 2022 and what we did to achieve this. – So we hope you enjoy reading this article!

Saving electricity is sometimes easier than you think and even small changes can make a comparatively big difference, as we would like to show you in this article.

 The initial situation: Call for energy and electricity savings in Switzerland

On 31 August 2022, the Swiss Federal Council decided to launch a nationwide energy saving campaign. So instead of restrictions or even bans, both private individuals and businesses will be encouraged to save energy. To this end, the Federal Council is sharing energy-saving tips for both private households and businesses on the energieschweiz.ch website:

Energy-saving tips for private households

1. Heating
2. Cooking with a lid
3. Turn off lights
4. Switch off appliances properly
5. Showering instead of bathing

Energy saving tips for businesses

1. Reduce temperature at night
2. Adjust operating times
3. Close refrigerators and freezers
4. Eliminate leaks in the compressed air network
5. Replace fluorescent lamps

Currently, as well as in the coming months, it is not only important for Switzerland to produce more electricity, but also to save more electricity in order to counteract the impending energy shortage.

13 percent electricity savings in Switzerland & 39 percent electricity savings at FireStorm

Already in the month after the launch of the energy-saving campaign, the first successes could be seen. This is because the energy consumption of Swiss households and companies fell by 13 percent in September 2022 compared to the average of the last seven years. We at FireStorm were also able to contribute to this great achievement. Our electricity savings in September 2022 were exactly 39 percent.

Although we at FireStorm do not work in a dark office, we were able to save a full 39 per cent of electricity in September 2022, compared to an average of 13 per cent in Switzerland.

What did we do at FireStorm to save electricity?

In one of our previous blog articles, we already described how we prepare for a possible power outage. That article appeared at the end of August and included the tip to unplug unnecessary electrical appliances when a power outage occurs. Although we have fortunately not yet experienced a power cut in September 2022, we unplug unnecessary electrical appliances. So we only plug in these little-used electrical appliances when they are being used.

More crucially, we consistently turn off the lights and computers when we take breaks. Also, our workday at FireStorm now always ends with us turning off all screens, computers and other electrical appliances – not just leaving them on standby. In addition, we always double-check that all appliances and all lights in the rooms are turned off before leaving the building. So with these simple, small, new habits, we were able to save 39 per cent electricity in September.