This dial shows the amount of electricity that was being used in England, Scotland and Wales (in Gigawatts) when E-Day finished. The difference between normal 'business-as-usual' demand for electricity was very difficult to show on a minute by minute basis. In winter demand can peak at around 60GW. In summer, when everyone is outside and fewer lights are on it peaks at about 35GW.
E-Day's final meter reading for the UK indicates that there has been a small percentage increase in electricity use, compared to normal expectations, and that E-Day had little or no effect on demand.
The two lines on this graph plot E-Day's latest electricity usage in Gigawatts (green) against the normal 'business as usual' prediction (red). E-Day's total energy saving has been calculated as a percentage of the 'business as usual' total predicted by National Grid. National Grid has to predict demand every day, so that the country's lights are always kept on.
Note:
E-Day did not succeed in cutting the UK's electricity demand. The drop in temperature between Wed 27 Feb and Thurs 28 Feb days probably caused this, as a result of more lights and heating being left on than were originally predicted. The National Grid refined their assessments, based on actual weather data, during Thursday afternoon but I am afraid that E-Day did not achieve the scale of public awareness or participation needed to have a measurable effect. I will do my best to learn the relevant lessons for next time. Thank you to everyone who helped me or left something off specially as their contribution to E-Day, and this Leave It Off experiment. Please enjoy E-Day's solution, video and science sections which all worked well. Warmest regards, Matt