And don't forget the very simple things. Like switching off a room's lights when you leave it.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

That saves energy too.

Come on, throw a hissy fit and call me an unamerican Commie who wants to tell you how to live.

[NMDemDist2]

1. i always turn off the lights. my grandmother was obsessive about it

once I forgot and she made me walk in and out 50 times turning off the light each time

it's so automatic if the light isn't on, as I leave I hit the switch anyway and turn it on :rofl:

but then I laugh and turn it off

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. I sometimes switch it off with people inside. Cries of "HEY!" ensue. -nt

[RufusTFirefly]

3. Yes, it does. But more importantly...

...it makes you pay more attention to your overall energy consumption.

A lot of people poo-poo these steps because of the relatively minor effect they have on energy consumption. (One trip to the mall in a Hummer probably trumps a few days of carelessly burning light bulbs.) But I think the more important effect is in what used to be called "consciousness raising." Post-Depression Americans as a general rule pay very little attention to their energy consumption unless it costs them some serious money. On the other hand, many Depression-era Americans -- those that are still with us -- have never lost the instinct to be frugal and efficient.

[Rage for Order]

4. That depends...

There was a story on my local news a few days ago on this topic. If it's an incandescent light, turn it off. If it's a fluorescent light, don't turn it off unless you're going to be out of the room for at least 15 minutes. Something to do with the amount of power consumed while running for 15 minutes versus the amount of power needed to turn the light on.

[SaveOurDemocracy]

5. interesting ... can we verify this??

I'd hate to be doing the wrong thing, trying to do the right thing.

[Rage for Order]

6. Here's one site...

I put this question into Ask.com

"should we turn out the lights when leaving a room?"

Lots of links came up, but here's something from the first link:

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_249.html

"...The rule of thumb is that if you're going to be out of the room for more than 15 minutes, you'll save money by turning out the (fluorescent) lights."

"If you've got incandescent bulbs, you needn't sweat the possibility of burning them out or wasting electricity by diddling the switch too much. It does take a slight extra shot of electricity--called the "inrush current"--to boost the tungsten filament of a bulb up to operating temperature. But the amount involved is less than it would take to burn the bulb continuously for even a couple seconds."

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

11. OK. 3 seconds is 1/300th of 15 minutes. This means...

The power consumption of the power-up process is in the order of 6000 watts. Assuming it takes 3 seconds for the bulb to light up. If it takes less (which it does if the starter is in good condition) it's much more.

And what about those starter-less bulbs, like the one below? There's no way in hell they're sucking 6000 watts for 3 seconds, or worse, 18000 watts for 1 second.

I seriously doubt that's true.

[Rage for Order]

17. Check out the links that are returned by Ask.com in post #6

I think the 15 minute guideline only refers to standard fluorescent lights, but i could be wrong as i didn't go into the links too thoroughly.

[Reterr]

7. kick

:kick:

[Lone_Star_Dem]

8. What do you people want from me!!!!11!!!!

What's next? My first born son?? Well, you're outta luck 'cause I never had one!

You damn people on DU expect me to do too much to save this freakin' planet. I'll be dead before she blows anyway. What the hell do I care!!11!1



How was that? Hey, I tried. :shrug:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

13. Yeah, you tried, but your mind is not fit to this kind of operation. -nt

[Rosa Luxemburg]

9. look no lights, just the light of your laptop screen (on battery)

where are the solar powered laptops?

[deepthought42]

10. I've been good about doing that lately...

and turning off my computer and unplugging it at the end of the day, because I usually don't use it much during the week.

I wouldn't call you names... :hug:

[nam78_two]

12. K &R/nt

[tridim]

14. I've done that for years, but I go over to my neighbor's house..

and he has about a dozen lights on just on the first floor. I give him shit about it all the time and he always leaves them on. They're all incandescent bulbs, no CFL of course. "But my electric bill is so low!", he says. :eyes:

Unfortunately all our efforts to save energy are completely offset by idiots like my neighbor. Oh, and he drives an SUV that gets 14mpg too. It's okay though (according to him), since he can afford the gas.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

15. I've seen idiots do the SUV brag in DU.

I don't CARE that you can afford it, MORON. If you WASTE things and are PROUD of it, you're a MORON! Sheesh!

[prolesunited]

16. Well, in that case, we might as well be cavemen!!!

And, you really are a Commie Pinko Dirtbag. ;-)

[Nevernose]

18. I've turned COMPLETELY into my grandfather.

The one who stormed the beaches at Normandy to fight the fascists?

I keep a flashlight next to the thermostat so I can check it at night. THe flashlight doesn't even have batteries -- it's one of those shake'ums.

The only lights I have that aren't CF are those that haven't burned out yet. Because of course I'm way to cheap -- er, I meant "frugal" -- to actually switch a 25 cent bulb until it burns out, even if it ends up costing me money in the long run.

In the summer time, I quiz the neighbors on their power bill. The average owner of my size square footage, in July, seems to be in the 300-350 dollar range. Using more electricity and more CFs, I'm a hundred dollars less than them.

The lights outside, two of them, in the most needed places, are combo motion/night lights. They only come on when there is both motion AND it's dark outside (Lowe's,a nd the old ones were unattractive anyway).

The air filters are supposed to be changed once a month. Most people do it once a year. I check weekly, just to make sure.

Mostly I run around shouting at my kid, "Who left the TV/Lights/Radio/Smoke Aalarm when nobody was in the room!?!" As often as not, the answer is, "YOU did, jerk," but I still ask anyway, if just to maintain good form.

You ever see that episode of Family Guy (or was that "The Simpsons?") when the family claims that Peter, the Dad, has preternatural thermostat-sensing abilities? And it turns out he does? That's me.

Granted, I'm also pathologically afraid a cabinet door will remain open when it's not supposed to, leading to numerous battery-less flashlight, midnight inspections of the kitchen, but the point still stands

[orleans]

19. replace the regular bulbs with cfls and join us at:

http://onebillionbulbs.com/Group/DU

"Democratic Underground (DU)

Open to members, friends, supporters, and anyone else interested in democratic/progressive values including the care of our earth. "

[NaturalHigh]

20. Can someone please explain this to my kids?

When I tell them, it seems to fall on deaf ears.