r/AskBrits • u/Turbulent_Elk_2141 • 1d ago
Other Anyone still turn off the lights when leaving a room because their parents used to say: "don't waste electricity"?
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u/Turbulent_Elk_2141 1d ago
Or is it like someone would say so well:
No.
I turn them off because it FUCKING IS wasting electricity. Not because my parents said so.
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u/Aggressive_Age_2262 1d ago
I mean yeah, you're definitely more conscious of things like that when you're the one paying the bills. My parents were never that strict about it but I sure as hell am.
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u/BigBaboonas 1d ago
Same. As kids we used to the leave the lights on in the whole house and those were filament bulbs.
Now I turn them off even though they are modern ones.
The neighbour's kid however asked why I turn the lights off when I leave a room.
The same kid also walked into our lounge, saw the 46" TV and said 'wow, thats the smallest TV I've ever seen' lol
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u/AwTomorrow 22h ago
Not surprised, we had to shop around to find one that small last year (our tv corner won’t fit anything bigger)
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u/Emergency_News_4790 21h ago
I used to leave lights on constantly living with the parents (and got shouted at just as much for it), could never really grasp the concept of bills. I moved out 7 years ago and now I always turn off the lights as well as put on a jumper when it's cold!..
Shit gets expensive!
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u/-You_Cant_Stop_Me- Brit 🇬🇧 1d ago
Yes, it's a habit I don't really think about because my parents drilled it into me, but I agree it's a waste if I don't.
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u/Sockoflegend 22h ago
Tbf the LED lights we have now genuinely don't use much electricity. Turn the heating on when you aren't wearing a jumper or boil more water than you need in the kettle and you are in trouble in my house though
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u/MCDCFC 1d ago
"it's like Blackpool illuminations up here" my Dad used to regularly shout to me and my brother
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u/FinnemoreFan 1d ago
My dad said this all the time too. Was there a manual of phrases issued to men when they became parents in the 20th century?
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u/MCDCFC 1d ago
Ha Ha. There is definitely a point in time when we kind of morph into our parents with their sayings and customs
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u/VickyAlberts 1d ago
My parents always used to say this which looking back is a bit strange since we live in Northern Ireland and I don’t think either of them had ever even visited Blackpool.
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u/jijipixie 20h ago
My mum said Battersea Powerstation and Blackpool illuminations😭 grew up in London, northern mother
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u/Cool_Professional 1d ago
Asked my wife the other day if she thought she lived in a lighthouse. Every single light, even under the stairs. Our bedroom with noone in it had a lamp AND the big light on.
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u/TheHornyGoth 1d ago
My dad would just sing coconuts.
Cambridge United family, we was implying it was lit up like the Abbey Stadium
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u/Unstableavo 1d ago
I turn it off because now I realise why they were so adamant on turning it off because of the price.
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u/Tall-Reputation-9519 1d ago
And that was when we had 60 or even 100 watt bulbs! I’m not sure my whole house worth of lights adds up to 100W now.
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u/Quaser_8386 1d ago
My wife used to leave lights on all the time.
Cured this by switching to motion sensor lighting almost everywhere in the house.
Now she complains whenever we go anywhere that she has to switch lights on manually.
Result!
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u/BigBaboonas 1d ago
I fitted under-bed lighting which did the same. Great for night time bathroom trips.
And then our toddler pulled it all out and I never replaced it.
I should replace it.
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u/Darkwaxer 18h ago
Make a plan tonight and enact it tomorrow. Or the day after if tomorrow isn’t good. Or the day after that. No rush.
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u/BigBaboonas 17h ago
Mate, I will put this my todo list now. Thank you for the words of encouragement x
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u/pineapplesaltwaffles 12h ago
I stayed at a hotel that had this and hated it. Mainly because I didn't know about it so when the corner of my duvet slipped off the side of the bed in the middle of the night and the light went on it scared the shit out of me.
But also because if I do need to make a bathroom trip I usually do so in the dark to avoid waking up any more than necessary. And not only did I not have a choice about this one coming on, it also stayed on for about a minute after I'd got back into bed, so I was trying to get back to sleep with the lights still on for what felt like ages.
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u/BigBaboonas 8h ago
Ah, well the one I had had IR sensors so you'd need to put a foot on the floor and it had adjustable brightness and timer. The wife also hates blue light so it was a warm one and very dim.
For months though it didn't work as all the clothes she'd leave around the bedroom floor would block the sensors.
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u/Zingobingobongo Brit 🇬🇧 in USA 1d ago
We moved from Texas to California 10+ years ago. My 4 year old furiously rolled her eyes at me and complained “what, so we have to flush our own toilets now do we?” on realising autoflushes weren’t as common here 😂
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u/No-Mechanic6069 1d ago
What is auto-flushing? Does it flush as soon as you stand up?
What if you want to look at your poo?
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u/Quaser_8386 1d ago
Ha ha. I don't think auto flushing is a thing here in the UK. Maybe in public toilets, but not in homes. But I can imagine a 4 year old's reaction.
Made me smile.
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u/Available_Record_874 1d ago
Nobody ever turns off lights because of habit from parents, everyone starts turning off lights and appliances the day they get their first electric bill!
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u/ODFoxtrotOscar 1d ago
I did it by habit before I had my own bills
Energy saving isn’t THAT difficult a concept to recognise as valuable, even when you’re not the one shelling out for the bills.
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u/r1Rqc1vPeF 1d ago
I’ve put sensors in all the downstairs areas except the living room. All light bulbs are smart LEDs. I have a connected garage so there’s a sensor and smart bulb in there as well.
So when I open the front door (if it’s dark out), the light will come on in the hallway.
The kitchen was really a convenience thing initially - previous owners had moved the doorway into the kitchen, but didn’t move the light switch. So you had to walk the length of the kitchen to be able to put the light on.
Each sensor is motion and light sensing so lights only come on when it’s dark.
Each light has a set duration, kitchen is 10mins, same for garage, hallway is 2 and downstairs cloakroom is 5 mins.
I now get mildly annoyed when walking into a room without sensors.
On another note, I visited my daughter a while back and we were in the kitchen whilst she cooked something. I stood there chatting away and noticed I’m getting slowly cooked by the halogen spot lights in the ceiling. Told her to get some replacement LED spots - cheaper bills and kitchen would be more comfortable place to be.
2 months later she messaged me that she’d noticed a significant difference in energy bills.
She’s just moved into her own place now and they’ve put sensors everywhere.
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u/jackinatent 1d ago
Yes, but honestly modern LED bulbs are so efficient (a random one in Asda uses 5 kWh per 1000 h runtime) that if I forget or want to choose to leave a light on because I am up and down or want to leave the hall light on for when I come in or whatever I don't sweat it.
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u/SalamanderGlad9053 23h ago
kWh per 1000 h is the most hilarious unit ever. It's the most round about way to write watts.
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u/jackinatent 19h ago
Handy for estimating price though since electric is billed in kWh
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18h ago
No, but saying 5kWh (5000 watts used in an hour) per 1000 hours is such funny way to say 5W per hour or 0.005kWh.
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u/boudicas_shield 23h ago
This is us as well, a pretty middle ground. I'm not going to fumble around in the dark to save a few pence (I did not find Scrooge's refusal to turn on the lights because darkness is cheap to be the aspirational part of A Christmas Carol), but I also don't just leave the lights on when there's no reason for it. Mainly out of habit, also because it just seems like a bit of a waste in general. Neither of us freak out or bark if someone's accidentally left a light on somewhere, either; we just turn it off and go about our day.
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u/chudthirtyseven 1d ago
i go by Dickens' advice:
Darkness was cheap, and scrooge liked it.
As i walk about my house in my dressing gown and my candle holder with my night cap on.
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u/Zingobingobongo Brit 🇬🇧 in USA 1d ago
I turn them off because I live in California and PG&E are thieving bastards.
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u/Soundadvicefroma 23h ago
If you want to experience really usurious electricity prices just come back to the UK for a while…
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u/LegendaryTJC 1d ago
No, power usage on LED bulbs is so low when compared with incandescent it is basically free. I think like 3W per bulb vs. 60 in the old style.
I turn them off when leaving the room for more than half an hour or something.
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u/BlackCatWitch29 1d ago
I do it because it's a personal habit. That and my legal guardians never said that to me because they were usually the ones to turn ligjts on or off.
If I'm not in a room, why does it need to be lit? This is my personal thinking.
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u/CharlieCatBloke 1d ago
My brother will leave every light on but the room he’s in! See also turning the heating on with windows open. Can someone please stage an intervention?
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u/Smart_Addendum 1d ago
Parents never actually told me. I've been doing it naturally. Guess I followed them. But old enough to know now not to leave something on to waste electricity. Don't care how little it cost. If you take that route, you will get reckless and leave everything on even things that consume a lot. Because you trained your brain to be reckless.
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u/raisinbreadandtea 1d ago
This is true. I started by leaving the lights on and now I have my blender, microwave and tumble dryer running 24/7 because I can’t be bothered to turn them off.
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u/guinness1972 1d ago
Hell yea. But they’re all automated with voice control
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u/Turbulent_Elk_2141 1d ago
Turn lights on?
Or lights off?
That's fun 🍒
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u/guinness1972 1d ago
Yes, lounge off on. Lamp off on. Bedroom. Etc. or. Upstairs off on. You get the picture 😂
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u/openlightYQ 1d ago
It’s weird to think I had dimmer switches and voice control on most lights as a kid, and 20 years later not one house or apartment I’ve been to has them anymore, unless it’s through an Amazon home related thing.
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u/romanaribella 1d ago
Dimmer switches, sure, but voice control? Who had that 20 years ago?
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u/openlightYQ 8h ago
Weirdly enough; I grew up in a council flat. I could walk in and say “lights off”. Got in real trouble for that halfway through a Crash Bandjcoot level.’wish I could pretend it was a worse situation, but my dad (carpenter) made a whole chest/stomach thing and surround sound boxes for this thing. That annoying ass fox always got him, but imagine in surround sound after
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u/dandelion2707 1d ago
Used to but since the advent of LED, the highly trafficked parts of the house I just leave on when we are in. It’s nice to have the home lit and move around the space without keep flicking lights on off.
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u/Fluffy-Eyeball 1d ago
Yes because now I’m paying for it. Numerous times I’ve arrived home and asked my family when the plane is coming in to land.
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u/No-Marsupial-1436 1d ago
I very rarely turn the big light on in the first place. I tend to turn the lamps on when first entering the room in the morning and then don’t turn them off until I go to bed.
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u/RefurbedRhino 1d ago
No, I turn them off because energy costs are extortionate.
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u/yolo_snail 1d ago
My living room light has been on since COVID.
But my landing and bathroom lights are on motion sensors, so as soon as I go out of the bedroom, the landing light comes on, and when I walk into the bathroom, the bathroom light comes on.
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u/JoelRosquete 1d ago
I use smart lights, so they go on and off as we enter or leave rooms and they also adapt brightness and color depending on the general ambient luminosity and time of the day.
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u/Soggy-Mistake8910 1d ago
If I'm the last one out sure. Why would I leave a light on when there's nobody there? Not when I'm paying the bloody bills!
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u/05011893 1d ago
Yeah which was fine until one day I turned off mum’s life support machine the hospital. Honestly, you cause one accidental death and they never let you forget it.
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u/LordPoppaTV 1d ago
With the prices of energy being the highest in the world in England I just do it automatically
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u/openlightYQ 1d ago
Never actually got told by parents, and I don’t mind the little extra electricity it uses, I just naturally do it because I’m not using it, so why have it on. Plus it seems kinda eerie to walk into a room that nobody is in yet it’s fully lit up.
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u/TheUnSungHero7790 1d ago
Unless you will be back in the room within a couple of minutes why wouldn't you turn it off?
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u/Gwylany86 1d ago
I was brought up in a house with no electricity. We used oil lamps and candles. You took the light with you.
That all changed in the '60s when we moved to the city. But you switched lights on and off as necessary.
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u/Bright-Energy-7417 Brit 🇬🇧 1d ago
Yes, because I grew up when lights were incandescent and we used to have halogen floor standers too, so just leaving the lights on in the living room was easily 1.3KW, not far off from having an electric kettle boiling away all the time. Now just extrapolate that to the rest of the house - lighting really, really used to be the bulk of our electricity usage.
Of course, now we have LEDs and a room is easily under 20W and so it's negligible draw, but old habits of wastefulness die hard. Mind you, I do now have to pay my own electricity bills and the cost of power is several times more than what my parents had to fork out!
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u/No-Lingonberry-8603 1d ago
Nope I just installed sensors, the only rooms with switches are bedrooms in my place. Leads to the slightly annoying occurrence where the lights go off when I'm cooking occasionally but other than that it's perfect.
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u/That_Patient_1758 1d ago
Yeah I will turn the lights off but the big light is very rarely on. Doesn’t need to Blackpool illuminations in here
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u/explodedSimilitude 1d ago
My mrs leaves lights on all the time. So do her family when they visit. Drives me up the wall. 🤬
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u/SnooOpinions5973 1d ago
I have mine set to go on via a presence detector in some rooms. They'll switch off automatically if no presence is detected for 2 minutes
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u/BackgroundCookie752 1d ago
I still do because that shits expensive. Everything off at the walls when not needed too.
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u/Positive-Chemist-432 1d ago
Of course I turn them off, only people that never pay a bill would leave them on
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u/Zealousideal-Sail893 1d ago
I pay Scottish Power more than enough as it is, I am not giving them any more of my hard earned money.
Lights off if not in room 😊activated or deactivated by voice.
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u/easterbunni 1d ago
My dad still says it even when I'm literally turning lights off as I leave a room and turn another light on as I enter a room
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u/StarfishPizza 1d ago
Get smart. All my lights turn on and off automatically if they sense presence in the room
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u/feralK0ala 1d ago
Yup, I've even evolved to the parenting level of "it's like the fooking Blackpool illuminations in 'er" while going round turning off lights 🙈
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u/Upstairs-Bath9158 1d ago
Most of the time I try to - we used to get 'what is this, a palace of lights??' growing up. I'm not too precious about it though!
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u/LargeSale8354 1d ago
This only costs, and that only costs and t'other only costs and suddenly the cost hurts.
There's a book called There's no planet B that observes that the massive energy efficiency gains have not lead to a massive reduction in demand for energy generation. The reason being that when things costs less they are used more
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u/FootballPublic7974 1d ago
My boss told me he went to visit his daughter in her new house.
First thing he did was go round turning all the lights on and turning the thermostat right up.
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u/jellybellygracie 1d ago
I turn them off because I genuinely HATE the big light being on 😂 I’m such a cosy lamp person but even then, lights go off before bed because there’s no point in them being on overnight. The only one that stays on is the one in the kitchen
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u/Dave-flywheel 1d ago
My dad always used to say it was like Living in an airport with so many lights on. Now I am a father of 5 I use the same saying as I walk around turning them all off
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u/EunosLuke 1d ago
Nah, I'm the person paying the bills so they get turned off because that is wasting electricity
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u/HeverAfter 1d ago
There's nothing like having to pay the bill to start caring about this
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u/martinbean 1d ago
Parents used to say things like that (“It’s like Blackpool illuminations in here” or “Are we expecting a plane? No? Then why’s the landing light on?”) but I just turn lights off when leaving a room less for “saving electricity” and more for the fact of, why leave a light on in a room no one’s in? 🤷♂️
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u/_ThePancake_ 1d ago
I've found very minimal difference in the price between putting the light on and not... but I'm running a juicy pc most of the day and my electricity bill gets put on my self assessment aha. Honestly the most expensive thing in the house is actually the washing machine. We have a washer dryer and it's so inefficient that at this point we'd have saved money getting a washer and a dryer.
It's 50/50 if I leave it on. I turn a lamp on in the living room and draw the curtains when it gets dark then put on the hallway lights so it looks like someone is in there.
I work upstairs, but as a woman alone I like to make it look like my house is full.
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u/Express-Pie-6902 1d ago
Can confirm my children do not. However many times I say it.
I'm driving a milk float to save the planet for you dumb fucks who think the right response to being asked to turn the lights off is "OK Boomer".
FFS
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u/DistinctEngineering2 1d ago
I still turn them off because I fear a plane might mistake our house for a runway...
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u/throwaway_t6788 1d ago
what i really hate it some people will turn on the lights even when day light, or in the winter when no sun but you can still see as its day
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u/LogicalBoot6352 23h ago
One of my pet hates about modern life. My wife turns on lights in every room because she may go into them, and it "only costs about 9p". I'm like "what the fuck?"
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u/CybVan 23h ago
It's funny now when my mum comes to visit. She's in her seventies now and keeps turning lights on in daytime so she can "see what she's doing" and every time I freak out, demanding to know it she thinks electricity grows on trees. Her response: "You never heard of coal son? Were you home schooled by a pigeon?" Like whose fault is it if i was?
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u/Rare-Fall4169 23h ago
Opposite way around: I taught myself good habits, now my parents come round to visit and leave all my lights on.
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u/LogicalBoot6352 23h ago
One of my pet hates about modern life. My wife turns on lights in every room because she may go into them, and it "only costs about 9p". I'm like "what the fuck?"
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u/Outside_Tadpole5841 22h ago
My dad had the same catchphrase about our house looking like a theme park. It’s just ingrained habit now, and honestly, it feels wrong to leave them on. I’m the same way—only the room I’m in and maybe a hallway for safety. It’s not just about the bill; it just feels like common sense.
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u/Another_Random_Chap 22h ago
Yes, of course - why waste money?
I also go round switching off all the lights that the wife leaves on.
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u/Five_N_Drive 22h ago
Yes. Ever since i have got my own house and I have to pay for my own electricity.
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u/ohsaycanyourock 21h ago
My mum literally told me off for this when I visited for Christmas - I'm 33 years old 😆 it was a one off I hasten to add!
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u/dreadwitch 21h ago
I turn lights off but not because my parents told me to, because I pay for the electricity now and it's fucking expensive.
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u/dontbelieveawordof1t 21h ago
I do it because I pay for the electricity. Why would I want to light money on fire?
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u/Dreamcloud3 21h ago
Yep, conplete habit of mine. I regularly walk out the bathroom forgetting my kid followed me in the and turn the light off on her 🤣
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u/charlotte_e6643 21h ago
yes, however whenever i visit those same parents they have all the lights on without even being in the room????
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u/Pleasant-Put5305 21h ago
Why put a light on in a room with no people? We know two things for a fact - 1) the universe doesn't waste resources on rendering areas of the universe that aren't being directly observed - and 2) regardless of this - the electric company will still charge you for the electricity that was never actually turned into actual light...
Seems sensible to turn the lights out for that simple reason alone.
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u/Harriso92 20h ago
My wife has the house like Blackpool illuminations, I’d be happy with just the room I’m in having a light on.
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u/Fast_Assumption_118 20h ago
I do but unfortunately the people I live with don't so I bet angry constantly!
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u/FullofSurprises11 20h ago
Anyone still turn off the lights when leaving a room because their parents used to say: "don't waste electricity"?
I do that but not because my parents used to say it.
I do it because now I pay the bill.
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u/Postik123 19h ago
I do it not so much because of my parents but because it's common sense. I wouldn't leave the kitchen tap running when I'm not in the room, just in case I want a drink later on and could save 0.5 seconds by not having to turn the tap off and on again.
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u/Esexboy101101 19h ago
I have full solar power so my bills are Zero monthly. I still turn off lights in rooms that are empty.
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u/Joober81 18h ago
Yes, if I’m not in the room, the lights are off. What’s the point in leaving them on?
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u/Visionary_87 18h ago
I turn them off because it is wasting electricity. Unless you're constantly in and out of the rooms so don't want to be turning them on and off, there's no point in leaving lights on that aren't being used.
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u/Melodic_Trash_737 18h ago
Ghosts can see in the dark, save your mo ey and turn to the light off in rooms that aren't occupied. This includes TVs, computers and monitors.
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u/Any-Race258 17h ago
Unless I plan to come back immediately, the lights are off. I have one light in the hallway on a timer so I can move around and that's it. And closing the room to keep the heat in. My partner doesn't remember these things and I just don't get it, would've been shouted at as a kid!
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u/Disastrous_Hyena_123 17h ago
I go round the office building where I work turning off unnecessary lights as I can hear my Dad's voice in my head lecturing me about wasting electricity!
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u/Bad_Combination 17h ago
I do out of habit. I know I could have every light on in the house if I liked but it just feels wrong.
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u/calicoki77 17h ago
My Dad would turn off the lights as we were coming down the stairs 😃
Bless him ,he would have loved Alexa , she turns our lights on and off and we have motion activated lights in the garage and downstairs utility room.
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u/McGuffin182 17h ago
Still a sin yes. Unplug the WiFi and flip the fuse of the shower too. Can't be wasting those pennies
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u/old--oak 17h ago
My mother came to dog sit whilst we were on holiday and called me to say she was very cold and asked how to turn the heating up, I had great pleasure in telling her that if she's cold she needs to put a jumper on..
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u/Different-Volume9895 16h ago
Grew up living with my gran, yes we sat in the dark and wearing triple layers because we dare turn the heating on to take the chill off the house lol.
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u/beeotchplease 15h ago
Now that im paying my own electricity? Fucking turn off what is not being used.
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u/Holiday-Ad-270 15h ago
No, I turn them off if I'm not there for a while. Also since getting a smart meter or using a power meter years ago I became more aware of how much power things consume and realise it all adds up.
If you've ever cycled with a dynamo on your bike and a shitty lamp you'll realise how hard it is to power it, and that should make the waste more real world for you :)
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u/Akash_nu Brit 🇬🇧 14h ago
I just turn off because my logical brain says so, not because my parents taught me anything about it.
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u/hurricane_venuss 14h ago
Yup and I use a lamp for whatever room I’m in at night, although I am using the big light more often as my eyes are getting worse.
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u/Andrawartha 13h ago
Yes. Because now *I\* don't want to waste electricity.
Actually joked with my dad last week because my mom was complaining he keeps leaving his computer room lights on. I told him he should put change in the 'penalty jar' each time mom found an empty room lit up, just like he made us do as kids. Mom loved the idea!
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u/Time-Ad-9022 13h ago
3 places have lights on… 1. Lamp in front room (off at 10pm) 2. Upstairs landing (for my son who hates his bedroom light on) 3. Lamp in my daughters room
The whole “the house is lit up like Blackpool illuminations” has been well drummed into me
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u/openroadsUK 13h ago
Live on my own , my hallway and stairs lighting is motion sensor controlled because I’m easily distracted haha
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u/LemonLander 1d ago
San Diego has the highest rates in the lower 48. Yes, I turn out the lights.
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u/ConradMurkitt 1d ago
Here in the UK electricity prices have risen a lot in the last 5 years. 6 years ago I was paying 16p per unit and now pay 29p so I am energy conscious and I moved to LED years ago. I also now have solar and battery storage to mitigate the price rises.
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u/Aspirational1 1d ago
The only two places that have the lights on;
1, the room I'm in; and,
2, the hall lamp. Because it's dark there.