Which saves more energy and money: turning electronics off, or leaving them on constantly?

Question

My great uncle stays with us on some weekends and he doesn't turn ANYTHING off. He leaves the restroom light and fan on, the television on, and any lights he may use around the house constantly. When he goes to the kitchen to make a sandwich he leaves the refrigerator door wide open while he does it. He refuses to turn the coffee pot off if there's coffee left because he "may want some hot coffee later," but this scalds the coffee and makes my house REAK! He hasn't been here 24 hours and he's already driving me crazy!

I've tried inconspicuously following him around and turning off the lights, tv, and shutting the refrigerator, and I've tried being obvious about it.

I've even gently said something to him about turning off the lights and tv because it's wasting electricity and electricity is expensive. His reply to that was: "It's more expensive to have to turn them on because of the power surge they require to get started." All I could do was stare at him.

He's also the kind of person who ALWAYS to be right.

So what's the truth here, is it more cost and energy effective to leave the lights, tv, and fan on and the refrigerator door open, or turn them off/shut them?

Also, any suggestions on how to handle his stubbornness about this issue? He's older and probably set in his ways, but he's a guest here.

We have all flourescent bulbs except in the dimmers.

I know not to turn them on and off constantly, but when he leaves the room and doesn't plan on coming back for a while I think he should turn off the lights, even if they are cheaper to run than conventional bulbs. Considering this is my house and he's visiting here, shouldn't he respect my wishes even if he thinks they're "stupid?"

Answer 1

When any electrically powered device is on it uses power. When it is off it doesn't. The power surge to turn on lights that he is talking about isn't true. It is so small that it can be discounted. If your not using it, turn it off. But, also remember that some things like tvs, vcrs, etc. use energy when turned "off". They stay in a standby mode which uses energy. So the savings is less. Like your computer, by setting the monitor to "sleep" you save 75%.

Answer 2

Personal experience? A little of both depending on the appliance. For the lights I have a super tip that costs a bit to start with but saves a ton in the long run. GE has come out with these new lights flourecent lights that last a long time but save a ton of energy on your bill. The best value I found was at Walmart. I got like 8 or 10 bulbs for $10 I think. We also have a coffee pot that shuts itself off after 2 hours. This way if we forget we won't smell the stench, burn the house down if we leave and save electricity. Besides if he wants hot coffee he can always nuke it if you have a microwave. I found some fans don't use a lot of juice but I bet that fridge kills juice.

The "power surge" theory, I found, mainly applies to when the power to the fridge(whether it's unplugging/plugging midcycle or power plant outages - happened to me) is interupted continuously. Same prolly holds true for TVs and computers.

As for the stubborness, good luck. I have 2 painfully stubborn parents who won't listen to me and when my sister or I tell them something and we are right. Best of luck. Do try the light bulb thing though.

Answer 3

I agree with Renpen. Holding the frig door open causes the compressor to kick on to keep the unit cool. Flourescent light bulbs are the only type that use more energy and fail faster by being turned off and on. Better to leave them on. I have found that a plastic coffee carafe saves lots of energy and doesn't burn the coffee. I make a pot and pour it into the carafe to keep warm. He won't change his habits unless you insist on it.