Quick question

[ban-all-sheds]

I will concede that I haven't met anyone who didn't "understand" that a "100 fnargles" bulb uses more fnargles than a "50 fnargles" bulb. But I can assure you, though it seems you'll not want to accept this, the vast majority of the population really, genuinely cannot relate the "50 fnargles" rating of the bulb to the kilofnarglehours on their bill.

Do you really mean that?

Do you really mean that these people, no matter how much they think about it, really are utterly incapable of coming to understand it?

As has been pointed out before, to the vast majority of people, "kWH" is just some meaningless random jumble of letters.

Is that because they really do lack the mental capacity to understand it, no matter what they do, or is it because they just cannot be bothered to think?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

I beleive my central heating boiler is rated at 12kW, yet my gas is billed in M³. I have no idea how many M³ of gas my boiler uses per hour.

Fair enough.

Now please explain why, if you knew that your gas boiler used xm³ per hour and your hob also used xm³ per hour it would be perfectly reasonable and understandable for you to think that the gas used by one of them would cost you less than the gas used by the other.

This is exactly the same position the majority of non-electrical folk are in with regards the rating of a lightbulb compared the kilofnarglewatt hours their electricity is billed in.

No it isn't, but you will not admit that the vast majority of people who don't understand fail to do so not because they do not have the mental capacity but because they simply do not bother to think.

 

[cjard]

I beleive my central heating boiler is rated at 12kW, yet my gas is billed in M³. I have no idea how many M³ of gas my boiler uses per hour. This is exactly the same position the majority of non-electrical folk are in with regards the rating of a lightbulb compared the kilofnarglewatt hours their electricity is billed in.

Well, sure you do.. You know how many hours there are in the period from one gas bill to another so on average you can work out your boiler gas consumption per hour.

It's not really the same as electric because with the above you end up with a volume of gas per hour but you then need to know he energy content of a particular volume of gas to relate it to the power output of the boiler.. Ii.e. there is an extra step

Electric is simpler because you're sold energy by he unit of energy, not volume. I think most people would grasp that a 1 kilowatt fire left on for an hour uses 1 kilowatt hour, and if a kWh costs them 20p then the fire costs 20p an hour


Ultimately though, I'm curious.. What is the problem trying to be solved here? Are you trying to find a way of making elderly relatives more energy aware?

 

[cjard]

.

I know it's a waste to leave the gas fire on when I'm out at work, so I don't do it, but I honestly have no idea if it uses more or less gas than my cooker for example.

if it has no external flue and vents to the room like the job does then it's actually more efficient to use it to heat your home as none of its heat ends up in the outside world initially. It's not necessarily a waste either. If your house is so well insulated that a trickle from the gas fire can offset th emitted energy of the walls windows etc then by leaving it on trickle your house will be just as warm when you return as when you left. Compare that with letting it go cold and then turning in a 96 percent eficient boiler to consume a huge amount of gas and bully the house up to temp, you'll end up using more gas (due to the 4% heat that is lost out of the flue) and possible have to overheat the rooms to get to the same comfort level of warmth because all the surfaces of walls will have cooled and be acting to offset the effect of the warm air.

Just like some people know their lights use 'some' electricity, but have now idea how the amount of light they get is converted into £'s owed.

I think as mentioned elsewhere people do use watts to measure brightness but they do appreciate that more watts means more money. If they didn't they wouldn't buy energy saving mini fluorescent bulbs.. Something has to make these sedentary, dim, horrible colour bulbs attractive, and it's an appreciation of cheaper running costs. The cost of buying the bulb is high, but people appreciate that they last longer. I think that's the main factor in choosing to pay more for a cfl, not that the total cost of ownership will be less[/quote]

 

[bernardgreen]

Is that because they really do lack the mental capacity to understand it, no matter what they do, or is it because they just cannot be bothered to think?

It requires more than just thinking to learn a foreign language, some education is needed. Instead of berating people as non thinkers you could provide the education to help them learn the technical language of electricity.

 

[JohnW2]

I think most people would grasp that a 1 kilowatt fire left on for an hour uses 1 kilowatt hour, and if a kWh costs them 20p then the fire costs 20p an hour

Far from all people. More would probably 'grasp' that if "kilowatt-hour" was written out in full on their bills but, as has been said, a substantial number haven't got a clue what "kWh" means (and hence don't understand the significance of the "h").

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

More would probably 'grasp' that if "kilowatt-hour" was written out in full on their bills but, as has been said, a substantial number haven't got a clue what "kWh" means (and hence don't understand the significance of the "h").

So are you suggesting that these people have never seen things like "30mph"?

That they cannot grasp the idea that if they travel at 50mph for 1 hour they will cover a greater distance than if they travel at 30mph?

Every bill I receive has this on it:

Is my supplier unique? Do all the others not provide any explanation on theirs?

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Instead of berating people as non thinkers you could provide the education to help them learn the technical language of electricity.

See the image above. Are these people not able to read what it says on their bills?

 

[JohnW2]

<various things>

You're obviously having a quiet/boring day.

Kind Regards, John

 

[ban-all-sheds]

And you are obviously totally unable to put forward a reasonable explanation of why people, if they chose to put their mind to it, genuinely could not understand enough about how they are charged for electricity to realise that a 50W lamp is a 50W lamp is a 50W lamp.

 

[EddieM]

I will concede that I haven't met anyone who didn't "understand" that a "100 fnargles" bulb uses more fnargles than a "50 fnargles" bulb. But I can assure you, though it seems you'll not want to accept this, the vast majority of the population really, genuinely cannot relate the "50 fnargles" rating of the bulb to the kilofnarglehours on their bill.

Do you really mean that?

Do you really mean that these people, no matter how much they think about it, really are utterly incapable of coming to understand it?

As has been pointed out before, to the vast majority of people, "kWH" is just some meaningless random jumble of letters.

Is that because they really do lack the mental capacity to understand it, no matter what they do, or is it because they just cannot be bothered to think?

More along the lines of probably not in the slightest bit interested rather than too stupid.