If you were sitting in the dark at 8:30 p.m. on March 28, then you helped contribute to the dip that was reported in Jasper’s electricity consumption during Earth Hour 2009.

To show the impact of Earth Hour, ATCO Electric Jasper recorded the peak use of electricity as well as the average consumption for an hour starting at 8:30 p.m. on Saturdays through March.

For that hour on March 14 and 21, the temperature was 3C and Jasperites used an average of about 6,807 and 6,611 kilo-watt hours with peaks of 6.9 and 6.8 mega watts, respectively.

Earth Hour, which took place while it was 1C, saw a 0.4 mega watt dip in the peak usage as well as an average use of just 6,235 kilo-watt hours.

While these figures don’t show a massive drop in the use of electricity, ATCO also reported about an 8 per cent reduction for the entire day, which translates to about 500 kilo-watts for the day suggesting that people may have turned appliances and other non-essential electricity uses off for the day rather than just the hour.

Lori Rissling-Wynn, environmental stewardship coordinator for the town of Jasper, said that while it was hard to tell if the use was down because of the campaign, it was encouraging to see the drop in power consumption.

In an email, Rissling-Wynn wrote, “I think the campaign definitely raised awareness and got people to consider how with very little effort they can reduce their energy consumption.”

World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) website reported that Toronto saw usage drop by a little over 6 per cent during the hour, with recognizable landmarks such as the CN Tower flicking the switch.

Jasper reduced its consumption by 8.4 per cent when compared to March 14, and 5.7 per cent when compared to March 21.

Beginning in 2007 in Sydney, Earth Hour has become a world-wide phenomenon and the results of switching off the lights are slowly trickling through from across the globe from the 2,848 cities across 83 countries that took part in Earth Hour 2009. 

Lori’s list of ways to make every hour Earth Hour

1. Clean or replace air filters on furnaces and air conditioners at least once a month.

2. Clean the dryer’s lint filter after every load.

3. Lower the thermostat on water heaters to 55C.

4. Set refrigerator temperature at 2-3C and freezers at -18C.

5. Minimize oven door opening when in use.

6. Only use electric appliances when you need them.

7. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs to save money and energy.

8. Keep the thermostat at 20C in winter and 26C in summer.

9. Insulate homes as much as possible.

10. Use an energy efficient or electric lawnmower instead of a gas-powered one.

11. Replace old windows with energy efficient ones.

12. Avoid use of wood stoves and fireplaces when air quality is poor.

13. Avoid slow-burning, smoldering fires. They produce the largest amount of pollution.

14. Use solar power for home and water heating.

15. Walk or ride a bike instead of driving, whenever possible.

16. Keep vehicle tires properly inflated.

17. Ignite charcoal barbecues with an electric probe or other alternatives to lighter fluid.

18. Grow your own food.

–Adapted from Alberta Environment’s One Simple Act Campaign