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We rented an airbnb, very nice, very luxurious. Had motion activated lights everywhere. We slept with the light on because it malfunctioned and there was no phy

We rented an airbnb, very nice, very luxurious. Had motion activated lights everywhere. We slept with the light on because it malfunctioned and there was no physical switch to turn it off -- we actually called the owner and he said there is no need, "they will turn off automatically". It is funny people can't envision things breaking... (And before you ask, the light was in a corridor but there was no door to the bedroom. The switch was stuck on because it was broken not because it overlooked the bed -- it did not)

Markoff 4y ago
- anigbrowl 4y ago
  That's not something most people want to do, might violate the Airbnb agreement, and who knows what else might go wrong when it came time to turn things back on? Maybe people just think it's a bad idea.
  - coldtea 4y ago
    Maybe those people are two afraid of BS eventuallities? I have anxiety and wouldn't think twice of doing that...
  - Markoff 4y ago
    surely I wouldn't care about some Airbnb agreement instead of sleeping with lights on, that's basically unusable apartment for me and breaks Airbnb agreement way more than trying to solve the issue if renter doesn't care to fix it immediately not sure what should go wrong when you switch on the power again, blackouts happen
- twawaaay 4y ago
  There are good reasons not to. A lot of apartments here have security devices which will call for assistance when the power is turned off. Then there are devices that expect power 24/7 like fridge. Also, since I was abroad, I relied on the Internet that was at the apartment that would be cut off if the power was turned off. Also... you know... there are these funny little devices called switches that allow you to turn individual devices on and off without cutting power to entire apartment. Just saying...
  - mejutoco 4y ago
    Breaker boxes, at least were I am, are split in areas, that you can switch off independently. Switching the area were the lights were and leaving kitchen and router solves all your concerns except the security devices when power is off (which I personally never saw). My first reaction would have been what OP suggested.
    - tverbeure 4y ago
      You'd be surprised how many older houses don't comply with current electrical codes. And even the current code in CA doesn't require separate circuits for each room. They require separate circuits for different functionality. E.g. lights vs power plugs.
      - Symbiote 4y ago
        Even easier then, just turn off the lights.
      - ilyt 4y ago
        Wouldn't that be... all of them? They were literally not build with code that didn't exist at the time. Why would that be surprising ?
    - ZiiS 4y ago
      You have obviously not been to the UK; breaker box will have a few illegible marker squiggles, most faded beyond reading, some with tape over and a second conflictibg squiggle. Even if you decode them then the fridge is just as likly to be on the hall as the kitchen
      - coldtea 4y ago
        Same here. You can still trivially try the various switches and see if they cut off the area of the house you're interested it. If the fridge is on the same circuit as the lights you want to kill, there goes you plan. But otherwise, it's fine. In most AirBnB's and rented rooms for short stays the fridge is empty or just has some water/sodas anyway, it's not like there would be the family's food for the month..
- pmontra 4y ago
  Maybe they don't have breaker boxes in every room or a breaker for every room, in a central box. Is that a requirement in your country? My house has several separated circuits but not one per room. And maybe all those people reading HN and clicking into the comments of this post are actually bots.
  - Markoff 4y ago
    then just disable all power, what do you need while you sleep? nothing, maybe AC but no AC beats sleeping with lights on, other than that it's only fridge which would be empty on their first night anyway obviously other more elegant solution would be unscrewing bulbs, but they may be not accessible
    - thfuran 4y ago
      >only fridge which would be empty on their first night anyway That's a bit of a weird claim. I'd say it's likely to be at its most full on the first night.
      - Markoff 4y ago
        Do you have usually fridge in airbnb place filled with anything else than just drinks (which would be fine also without refridgeration) on first evening after coming? Is the first thing you do in the afternoon after checking in airbnb place going to shop to buy tons of supplies to store them in fridge? I'd think people have better things to do on the first evening than shopping for groceries besides something small for dinner (if any) and those few dinner things would be fine even without fridge or not worth sleepless night with lights on.
        thfuran 4y ago
        Do you not eat breakfast? Or meat?
        Markoff 4y ago
- kortilla 4y ago
  Because fucking with the electrical system in someone else’s house is usually frowned on. Did you consider the insulin fridge in the garage you just shut off when you did that? How about the attic fan that keeps the place cool? The water softener that needed to do a recharge cycle. The electric vehicle plugged in that was waiting for night time trough to charge. etc, etc > edit: and now I'm 100% sure there are bots downvoting my comments, immediately downvoted less than minute from posting No, you’re just inconsiderate of people’s property.
  - Markoff 4y ago
    maybe read the comment I'm replying to about guy in rented whole airbnb apartment with faulty motion sensors who had to sleep with lights on instead of switching off power in breaker box (or unscrewing bulbs if accessible), not sure why would anyone renting Airbnb apartment had any of those in rented apartment you come out as completely ignorant of context who just gets angry for no reason
    - kortilla 4y ago
      I did read it. It doesn’t change how inappropriate it is to mess with the breaker boxes in other people’s property. The appropriate response was to contact the host. > you come out as completely ignorant of context Says the commenter who didn’t follow the context.
- Arrath 4y ago
  I wouldn't at all be surprised if the AirBNB in question had the utility room locked up to prevent the guest tampering with things. In my experience its about even odds whether or not you'd even be able to access things like the breaker box, water heater, or even the router.
  - Markoff 4y ago
    Not accessible breaker box sounds extremely dangerous and illegal.
    - Arrath 4y ago
      A goodly number of AirBNBs are flying in the face of local ordinances against short term stays and the like, why not flip a bird at the fire marshal while they do?
xbmcuser 4y ago
This reminds me a few years ago on a family holiday to malaysia I was sharing the room with my 10 year old cousin. I go downstairs to smoke suddenly his father calls me and tells me that my cousin called him crying in pitch black room as the lights went off. As he was lying on the bed reading a book motion censors did not detect any movement and the power cut off. Luckily he had his phone with him otherwise he would have been scarred for life. Why the fuck would they use motion censor for the light I would understand if they use it for the aircon or something but even then with the key card in the slot why would they set it like that.
- tasuki 4y ago
  > Luckily he had his phone with him otherwise he would have been scarred for life. From the lights turning off? A ten year old?
  - giraffe_lady 4y ago
    Could be just a hyperbolic turn of phrase. The commenter may not be a native english speaker. The kid may have a developmental disability or a specific recent trauma related to this. Who fucking knows, it's none of our business. The story contributes to the discussion and makes its point either which way, what do you get from calling out this detail like this?
    - coldtea 4y ago
      The parent may have a condition making him nitpicky, curious, and blunt (like Aspergers) or a specific professional or other curiosity related to this. Who fucking knows, what do you get from calling him out like this? See how it goes both ways?
      - tasuki 4y ago
        Hehe, I very much do have a condition making me nitpicky and excessively curious! Thank you, your comment made me smile :)
      - 4y ago
shangxiao 4y ago
> It is funny people can't envision things breaking... This is what enraged me about the Therac-25 design which ended up killing people. There's a whole report to read on the design, failure and follow up but to paraphrase the designers eliminated the physical locking mechanism and had this attitude that "oh it's electronic so it won't wear out and fail".
- pmontra 4y ago
  Therac-25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25 Software errors killing people with excessive radiation doses.
  - Thiez 4y ago
    It's a bit sad to see it coming up to regularly. On the one hand it's a very classic example of programming bugs leading to injury and death. On the other hand it's so long ago that bringing it up so often makes it seem like it's the only good example of dangerous software. Software must be pretty amazing and safe that we have to keep bringing up an example from the late 80s.
    - thatguy0900 4y ago
      More that software that is critical is written with some level of care, and then never touched again out of fear of breaking it. See all the stories of hospital machines running windows xp.
      - MobiusHorizons 4y ago
        That actually has a lot more to do with drivers not being provided by manufacturers for newer operating systems
    - smugma 4y ago
      It is useful to have a canonical example. Shared understanding of the problem, etc. It’s related to why memes exist.
erfgh 4y ago
Just turn it off at the fuse.
smitty1e 4y ago
Some fixtures may support yanking a bulb.
type0 4y ago
> It is funny people can't envision things breaking... By comparison the Clap switch is so simple that if it is quite at least you can sleep at night
nonethewiser 4y ago
Take out the bulbs.
- yencabulator 4y ago
  A lot of modern light fixtures have LEDs built in to the gadget, no separate "bulb".

Markoff 4y ago

anigbrowl 4y ago
That's not something most people want to do, might violate the Airbnb agreement, and who knows what else might go wrong when it came time to turn things back on? Maybe people just think it's a bad idea.
- coldtea 4y ago
  Maybe those people are two afraid of BS eventuallities? I have anxiety and wouldn't think twice of doing that...
- Markoff 4y ago
  surely I wouldn't care about some Airbnb agreement instead of sleeping with lights on, that's basically unusable apartment for me and breaks Airbnb agreement way more than trying to solve the issue if renter doesn't care to fix it immediately not sure what should go wrong when you switch on the power again, blackouts happen
twawaaay 4y ago
There are good reasons not to. A lot of apartments here have security devices which will call for assistance when the power is turned off. Then there are devices that expect power 24/7 like fridge. Also, since I was abroad, I relied on the Internet that was at the apartment that would be cut off if the power was turned off. Also... you know... there are these funny little devices called switches that allow you to turn individual devices on and off without cutting power to entire apartment. Just saying...
- mejutoco 4y ago
  Breaker boxes, at least were I am, are split in areas, that you can switch off independently. Switching the area were the lights were and leaving kitchen and router solves all your concerns except the security devices when power is off (which I personally never saw). My first reaction would have been what OP suggested.
  - tverbeure 4y ago
    You'd be surprised how many older houses don't comply with current electrical codes. And even the current code in CA doesn't require separate circuits for each room. They require separate circuits for different functionality. E.g. lights vs power plugs.
    - Symbiote 4y ago
      Even easier then, just turn off the lights.
    - ilyt 4y ago
      Wouldn't that be... all of them? They were literally not build with code that didn't exist at the time. Why would that be surprising ?
  - ZiiS 4y ago
    You have obviously not been to the UK; breaker box will have a few illegible marker squiggles, most faded beyond reading, some with tape over and a second conflictibg squiggle. Even if you decode them then the fridge is just as likly to be on the hall as the kitchen
    - coldtea 4y ago
      Same here. You can still trivially try the various switches and see if they cut off the area of the house you're interested it. If the fridge is on the same circuit as the lights you want to kill, there goes you plan. But otherwise, it's fine. In most AirBnB's and rented rooms for short stays the fridge is empty or just has some water/sodas anyway, it's not like there would be the family's food for the month..
pmontra 4y ago
Maybe they don't have breaker boxes in every room or a breaker for every room, in a central box. Is that a requirement in your country? My house has several separated circuits but not one per room. And maybe all those people reading HN and clicking into the comments of this post are actually bots.
- Markoff 4y ago
  then just disable all power, what do you need while you sleep? nothing, maybe AC but no AC beats sleeping with lights on, other than that it's only fridge which would be empty on their first night anyway obviously other more elegant solution would be unscrewing bulbs, but they may be not accessible
  - thfuran 4y ago
    >only fridge which would be empty on their first night anyway That's a bit of a weird claim. I'd say it's likely to be at its most full on the first night.
    - Markoff 4y ago
      Do you have usually fridge in airbnb place filled with anything else than just drinks (which would be fine also without refridgeration) on first evening after coming? Is the first thing you do in the afternoon after checking in airbnb place going to shop to buy tons of supplies to store them in fridge? I'd think people have better things to do on the first evening than shopping for groceries besides something small for dinner (if any) and those few dinner things would be fine even without fridge or not worth sleepless night with lights on.
      - thfuran 4y ago
        Do you not eat breakfast? Or meat?
        Markoff 4y ago
kortilla 4y ago
Because fucking with the electrical system in someone else’s house is usually frowned on. Did you consider the insulin fridge in the garage you just shut off when you did that? How about the attic fan that keeps the place cool? The water softener that needed to do a recharge cycle. The electric vehicle plugged in that was waiting for night time trough to charge. etc, etc > edit: and now I'm 100% sure there are bots downvoting my comments, immediately downvoted less than minute from posting No, you’re just inconsiderate of people’s property.
- Markoff 4y ago
  maybe read the comment I'm replying to about guy in rented whole airbnb apartment with faulty motion sensors who had to sleep with lights on instead of switching off power in breaker box (or unscrewing bulbs if accessible), not sure why would anyone renting Airbnb apartment had any of those in rented apartment you come out as completely ignorant of context who just gets angry for no reason
  - kortilla 4y ago
    I did read it. It doesn’t change how inappropriate it is to mess with the breaker boxes in other people’s property. The appropriate response was to contact the host. > you come out as completely ignorant of context Says the commenter who didn’t follow the context.
Arrath 4y ago
I wouldn't at all be surprised if the AirBNB in question had the utility room locked up to prevent the guest tampering with things. In my experience its about even odds whether or not you'd even be able to access things like the breaker box, water heater, or even the router.
- Markoff 4y ago
  Not accessible breaker box sounds extremely dangerous and illegal.
  - Arrath 4y ago
    A goodly number of AirBNBs are flying in the face of local ordinances against short term stays and the like, why not flip a bird at the fire marshal while they do?

xbmcuser 4y ago

This reminds me a few years ago on a family holiday to malaysia I was sharing the room with my 10 year old cousin. I go downstairs to smoke suddenly his father calls me and tells me that my cousin called him crying in pitch black room as the lights went off. As he was lying on the bed reading a book motion censors did not detect any movement and the power cut off. Luckily he had his phone with him otherwise he would have been scarred for life. Why the fuck would they use motion censor for the light I would understand if they use it for the aircon or something but even then with the key card in the slot why would they set it like that.

tasuki 4y ago
> Luckily he had his phone with him otherwise he would have been scarred for life. From the lights turning off? A ten year old?
- giraffe_lady 4y ago
  Could be just a hyperbolic turn of phrase. The commenter may not be a native english speaker. The kid may have a developmental disability or a specific recent trauma related to this. Who fucking knows, it's none of our business. The story contributes to the discussion and makes its point either which way, what do you get from calling out this detail like this?
  - coldtea 4y ago
    The parent may have a condition making him nitpicky, curious, and blunt (like Aspergers) or a specific professional or other curiosity related to this. Who fucking knows, what do you get from calling him out like this? See how it goes both ways?
    - tasuki 4y ago
      Hehe, I very much do have a condition making me nitpicky and excessively curious! Thank you, your comment made me smile :)
    - 4y ago

shangxiao 4y ago

> It is funny people can't envision things breaking... This is what enraged me about the Therac-25 design which ended up killing people. There's a whole report to read on the design, failure and follow up but to paraphrase the designers eliminated the physical locking mechanism and had this attitude that "oh it's electronic so it won't wear out and fail".

pmontra 4y ago
Therac-25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therac-25 Software errors killing people with excessive radiation doses.
- Thiez 4y ago
  It's a bit sad to see it coming up to regularly. On the one hand it's a very classic example of programming bugs leading to injury and death. On the other hand it's so long ago that bringing it up so often makes it seem like it's the only good example of dangerous software. Software must be pretty amazing and safe that we have to keep bringing up an example from the late 80s.
  - thatguy0900 4y ago
    More that software that is critical is written with some level of care, and then never touched again out of fear of breaking it. See all the stories of hospital machines running windows xp.
    - MobiusHorizons 4y ago
      That actually has a lot more to do with drivers not being provided by manufacturers for newer operating systems
  - smugma 4y ago
    It is useful to have a canonical example. Shared understanding of the problem, etc. It’s related to why memes exist.

erfgh 4y ago

Just turn it off at the fuse.

smitty1e 4y ago

Some fixtures may support yanking a bulb.

type0 4y ago

> It is funny people can't envision things breaking... By comparison the Clap switch is so simple that if it is quite at least you can sleep at night

nonethewiser 4y ago

Take out the bulbs.

yencabulator 4y ago
A lot of modern light fixtures have LEDs built in to the gadget, no separate "bulb".