Easy Weekly Poll, This Week: Energy conscious Options

[Tiuri]

Have you always wanted to know what makes your fellow FMF-ers tick?? How they feel about something?? What they like or dislike??

Well, now you can

Send me your suggestions for a poll in a PM and next week's Easy Weekly Poll could be your question

A few rules:
- This is meant to be fun, so no difficult, controversial or political questions.
- Try and limit the number of options

Are you energy conscious? Do you try to save energy? Do you switch off lights in empty rooms??

[AdrienAsche]

I pity whoever ends up with me. Because I'm paying my entire energy bill now, I turn off my surge protectors before I leave for the day, HATE leaving lights on, etc. Driving, I roll down my windows if I'm going under 45, and roll them up over that and use air conditioning. Even at the height of summer, because it saves gas.

[daikaioshin]

You don't sound *that* bad!

If I'm done with my tv, power goes off. If I'm not in a room, lights go off.

Wouldn't say it's being energy conscious; just logical.

[AdrienAsche]

You don't sound *that* bad!

If I'm done with my tv, power goes off. If I'm not in a room, lights go off.

Wouldn't say it's being energy conscious; just logical.

That is of course the best point to be energy-conscious. It saves MONEY. There are still way too many Americans who think that just because we're American and "free" that we shouldn't have to save this or that. Of course we don't HAVE to, but Christ, it's just smarter.

[daikaioshin]

Exactly. With the worldwide economy in turmoil we should be trying to reduce expenditure. We don't have central heating in our house, so what do we do in the winter? We guy Gas Tanks and use a Calor Gas heater instead of all the electric ones.

My dad has a habit of leaving the light on in the computer room while he spends over an hour downstairs. It may not seem like much being saved but I'll turn it off.

Plus we're not the kind of people who have the TV or Stereo on all day, and as soon as we're done it's turned off.

Obviously Summer is less expensive than Winter too...

[lubi]

Since I started paying the bills, yes. I wig I'd listened to my parents when I was younger.

[Corius]

Now I live on my own I'm very strict with the electricity

I spend £20 a month on electricity as a result. Which is pretty good.

[YORKSHIRE GUY]

I try, but I don't deny myself so put sometimes.

[Astron]

I totally do that.
I switch of the lights whenever the room is empty, which is a never ending task in my house given that my flatmates leave the lights on constantly.
Also TV and other electric gadgets.
I also switch of water boiler and heating when I feel it's unnecessary.
We had the lowest bill last winter ever because of me.

[ATD]

Plus we're not the kind of people who have the TV or Stereo on all day, and as soon as we're done it's turned off.

Now while I'm not one to leave lights on when I don't need them, and do turn off things that will be unused for some time, people who harp on about switching off (and I mean switching off as opposed to putting in to standby) things like your TV really get my goat. Not that you were doing that, you just mention TV's.

Example: my TV uses 0.2W in standby, it would need to be left in standby for 5000 hours to use 1 unit of electricity, which would cost me the vast sum of 11p.

Switching it totally off then means when I do use it it's starting from cold, adding extra stress to the components and shortening the life of the unit, meaning I will have to buy a new one sooner - not only costing me more than the 11p I might have saved, but increasing the overall use of electricity and the carbon footprint from the manufacturing/distribution process of the new unit.

Being energy efficient is great, but it's actually needs a bit more thought than just "Oh, lets turn everything off".

[Corius]

I keep things on standby based on the same principle you have applied above ATD.

I tried one month turning everything off and it didn't make a very noticeable difference in my consumption so I've returned to standby.

I couldn't cope living in a house where people leave lights and whatever turned on if they weren't using it...

[Parsifal]

I'm energy conscious whenever I remember to be (which isn't always).

Summer is my favorite season of the year. The one thing that I dislike about summer is the incessant air conditioning that pervades New York. You have to take a sweater with you when you go to the movies or a restaurant (and I NEVER go to the movies in the summertime wearing shorts. ). Some people like to turn their apartments into refrigerators. Most uncomfortable for me. It has happened that I've boarded a bus on a hot summer day wearing shorts and a t-shirt and it was so cold and uncomfortable in the bus that after a few stops I got out and walked the rest of the way.

It sounds like Europeans are more cost conscious about energy than Americans are. But Americans are getting heavier too which might explain why everyone wants to make summer indoors colder.

[daikaioshin]

Oh, the only thing I usually turn off is my TV. Otherwise my laptop is on standby most of the day only being turned off at night. However, we also don't have air con. So it's been doors and windows open all week!

[Ebenezer88]

I've always been as energy concious as I can, especially when I've lived alone. My ex was terrible because money wasn't an issue and isn't very eco friendly at all, so I got fed up of arguing with him about it.

I do things like only put the right amount of water in the kettle, make sure lights are turned off, only put heating on when it's needed (which isn't very often because I'm naturally a warm person) and on the whole I don't see how I could do anything more ...

[jumbler]

Plus we're not the kind of people who have the TV or Stereo on all day, and as soon as we're done it's turned off.

Now while I'm not one to leave lights on when I don't need them, and do turn off things that will be unused for some time, people who harp on about switching off (and I mean switching off as opposed to putting in to standby) things like your TV really get my goat. Not that you were doing that, you just mention TV's.

Example: my TV uses 0.2W in standby, it would need to be left in standby for 5000 hours to use 1 unit of electricity, which would cost me the vast sum of 11p.

Switching it totally off then means when I do use it it's starting from cold, adding extra stress to the components and shortening the life of the unit, meaning I will have to buy a new one sooner - not only costing me more than the 11p I might have saved, but increasing the overall use of electricity and the carbon footprint from the manufacturing/distribution process of the new unit.

Being energy efficient is great, but it's actually needs a bit more thought than just "Oh, lets turn everything off".

Same here. Actually, my new tv set can't be turned off (except at the wall). Presumably because it's so energy-efficient. A good reason for replacing analogue sets, come to think of it.

I also read once that with traditional lightbulbs, the greatest stress to the filament was when being switched on - just like a car battery (or any appliance, come to think of it) - because of the power surge that occurs. So really, I try not to keep clicking lights/appliances on or off, unless I need to. Besides, it's just annoying, especially when it's dark/cold in winter, and you're just trying to scrabble around to put the lights on.

Having said that, I don't use ceiling lights much at all. Only in the bathroom/kitchen. The kitchen light I do keep on after it starts to get dark (I mean really dark, so that'd be after about 7-0-ish now). Everywhere else, I use table lamps, and 8w bulbs. I like the warm, cosy feel.

I never use lights in the daytime (even if it's cloudy). Only once it gets dark (but after then, until I go to bed).

I don't leave things on for the sake of it, either. I've always used power-save on my PC here, turn the screen off when I'm not using it (mainly because I've lost 3 previous screens due to malfunction, I suspect was due to switching to standby mode). OH, and the HD/DVD recorder is on power-save too.

The only light I leave running 24/7 sometimes is the front light. I used to have a fitting with a light sensor on it, so it would go off when it got light, and on when it was dark. But the last winter killed it, and it was a pain (used PLC lightbulbs) so I just had a normal one and use an 18w in it.

The only thing I leave running is the radio, sometimes - 'cos it has earphones in it, so I forget...

Now I live on my own I'm very strict with the electricity

I spend £20 a month on electricity as a result. Which is pretty good.

Pretty much what I spend. I like to keep my electric bill around £50/quarter. About 400/500 units, something like that.

[Parsifal]

My electric bill last month was 197 kWh = $59.31 (incl. taxes).

[jumbler]

My electric bill last month was 197 kWh = $59.31 (incl. taxes).

That sounds steep.

It's not even particularly high, either. Do you use gas, or electric heating??

[jeffjones]

In that I can't stand waste yeah, but people nitpicking about pennies drives me mad. I turn the hot water off when I leave the house in the morning and stuff like that but I've had it on all day today cos I have a houseguest. You just have to be sensible.

[Kev]

I'm very energy conscious. I've been paying my own bills for the past 27 years so I've become very adept at it.

[Boy1der]

I"m conscious about all resources, especially water, I never leave the tap running. I unplug unused electrical appliances that I'm not using like fans, blender, toaster etc.
The saving money is a plus but I do it because I hate being wasteful.