Question about lightes in house

Billc · Jan 12, 2001

My wife likes to have every light on in the house. When I come home at night our house looks like a UFO. I'll ask why every outside and inside light is on, and she'll say for you so you can see. I'll explain about the elctric bill, she'll promise not do it again, but the next time I come home every light is on again, to be followed by the same conversation again.

Last night she said, "Bill, turning the lights off and on every time you enter/leave a room uses more electricity than if you had just left the lights on." This is the reason she'll turn a light on in a room and leave it on.

I redo homes and have a good working knowledge of plumbing and electricity. I've always compared electricity to plumbing. When the faucet is on you are using water, when it's off you're not, simple. I think it is the same way with electricity, when it's on it's on, when it's off it's off. Am I wrong?

I do know that florecents are a different ball game, I'm talking about regular light bulbs.

We have a really good bet about this. So those of you who know please give me the answer.

Bill Cook

M. Sullivan · Jan 12, 2001

Not the case. Start-up energy use exceeds static energy use due to heating of the components--not much to heat on a light bulb. Shut 'em off.

Recommend leaving computers on, due to start-up surges--only shut mine down when it crashes.

Boots · Jan 12, 2001

I agree with you Bill. Turn off the lights if you wan't to save Electricity. Ask her if it makes sense to leave the electric stove turned on, they operate much the same way, the stove just has a bigger piece of wire as the element.

As for the comparing plumbing to electricity, there was a group of little kid's touring where I work. One little girl said she couldn't figure out how that 'lectricity' got out through those overhead wire's. After a few failed attempts at explaining, a coworker finally told her the wire's were hollow like a pipe, and she accepted that answer. She may still believe this! /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Ya'll take care.
Boots

cowboydoc · Jan 12, 2001

Don't feel bad Bill. I do the same thing. I've got two little girls and my wife. I talked til I was blue in the face and the lights are still on all the time. I just go behind them and shut them off now. I don't know what it is about having to turn off a light. /w3tcompact/icons/crazy.gif

Richard

RobS · Jan 12, 2001

Lights are small potatoes... I'm trying to get my six year old to close the door when he heads out sledding /w3tcompact/icons/mad.gif

Rob

roysallis · Jan 12, 2001

My wife wants to leave the incandescent lights on and turn the fluorescent lights off. But what bugs me more than that is she always leaves the cap off of a ball point pen or leave the point clicked out. I have tried to get her to stop but it looks like I am going to have to live with it. I guess if that is the worst thing I have to complain about I will keep her another 38 years.

TWINKLE_TOES · Jan 12, 2001

Bill,

<font color=blue>Am I wrong?</font color=blue>

Bill you are not wrong, but your wife is correct/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Concede this one so ya can win on "new Sofa" or "new attachment" /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird · Jan 12, 2001

Must be a "female" thing; looks like we've all had the same problem. I spent years trying to teach a wife and two daughters that the little switch on the wall worked both directions and could be used to turn lights off as well as on./w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif

Bird

Branch · Jan 12, 2001

I went through this with 5 kids leaving every light on, inside and out. It drove me crazy until I installed the motion sensing light switches. The cost can add up but they pay form themselves in the long run especially when I could relax and not run around turning every light off. I think my kids would turn a light on just to get me to light up (they have cruel sense of humor). After experimenting with them I found that it was easier to just set them all to the max time on. That still beat the previous power usage 10 to 1.
My kids are all gone now and my wife has started turning all the lights on in our new house to simulate the kids being home. Empty nest syndrome has weird effects.

Good Luck
Branch