King Charles orders his staff to turn down the thermostats to make Buckingham Palace greener
King Charles orders his staff to turn down the thermostats and turn off the heating in the pool to make Buckingham Palace greener
- Guests, staff and the royal family lived in winter temperatures of 19°C
- The staff are ‘trained’ to set the thermostat to 16C when rooms are empty
- The king also turned off the radiators and gas lamps at the weekend
King Charles has instructed his staff to turn down the thermostats to make Buckingham Palace greener.
Guests, staff and the royal family lived in temperatures of 19 °C (66 °F) in royal residences during the winter.
And the staff were ‘trained’ to reduce the temperature to 16C when the rooms were empty.
The frost also completely shut down the radiators over the weekend, as well as the remaining historic gas lamps – which continue to be electrified – ‘when it is safe’.
The King has now asked for the heating to be turned off completely in Buckingham Palace’s swimming pool, so it currently stands unused. The monarch’s targeted initiatives in all occupied royal palaces, including Windsor Castle, already seem to be paying off.
King Charles has instructed his staff to turn down the thermostats to make Buckingham Palace greener
The staff were ‘trained’ to reduce the temperature to 16C when the rooms were empty
They have led to a 19 percent reduction in natural gas and heating emissions in just one year.
A senior Palace official said the household had a “core goal” of improving environmental sustainability and incorporated this into every decision it makes.
They said: ‘His Majesty’s longstanding leadership in this space has reinforced the strategic importance of this issue to the Royal Household.
‘Our ambition is to be a leading best practice organization within the historic environment.’
A senior royal official added: “In the short term it’s about cutting our emissions where we can, adjusting room temperatures, reducing heating at weekends, turning off gas lights where it’s safe to do so.”
As Prince of Wales, Charles was known for introducing energy-saving measures to Clarence House.
This included installing energy monitors, getting his staff to cycle and, like his late mother, turning off the lights.
He previously recycled his bath water at Clarence House and runs his classic Aston Martin car on sustainable fuel made from cheese and wine.
As Prince of Wales, Charles was known for introducing energy-saving measures to Clarence House
Now that he is king, the royal family is moving very quickly towards net zero in terms of emissions.
Staff are considering installing heat pumps at Windsor Castle and fully electrifying the entire royal fleet.
On weekends, the lights are turned off and the staff joke that they will be sent to the Tower of London if they disobey.
Aircraft are encouraged to use sustainable jet fuel where possible and a larger share of renewable electricity is now being purchased.
There’s also been a 43 percent drop in business travel emissions due to fewer government applications for long-haul travel, though it seems unclear whether that will continue in the future.
The annual overview also shows an 11 percent decrease in waste production, which amounted to 1,349 tonnes this year.