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As soon as the calendar flicks over and you switch from using the air conditioner to using your heater, your lightbulb is 100% efficient. (Indeed, if you have

As soon as the calendar flicks over and you switch from using the air conditioner to using your heater, your lightbulb is 100% efficient. (Indeed, if you have a furnace for your central heating, and the ductwork passes outside the heated volume of your house, it's more efficient for you to leave the TV on than it is for the furnace to heat your house, because none of the TV's waste heat escapes the heated volume.) Most of what people consider to be "green" is irrational during the winter. They'll turn the lights out but run a space heater.

imurray 17y ago
This is a common misconception. 1) reducing electricity consumption will reduce use of fossil fuels in power stations (in most parts of the world). Burning fuel in your own home bypasses the inefficient conversion to electricity. 2) if you are going to heat your home with electricity you can be more than “100% efficient” by using a heat pump, so you still wouldn’t want to do it with light bulbs and TVs.
- holygoat 17y ago
  How does using an electric heater instead of waste heat from electrical appliances reduce the use of fossil fuels? Same transport mechanism, same source, same efficiency. The only way to reduce electricity consumption is improved insulation. I agree with you if you have a wood-burning stove.
  - imurray 17y ago
    If you use a standard electric heater, like a bar heater, I agree with you. Heat pumps can out-perform heaters (they seem to have >100% “efficiency”) by working in a different way. Rather than spending 1kWh to heat a room, you spend 1kWh to move 4kWh of heat from outside into the room.
- Daishiman 17y ago
  What? Power stations are far, far more efficient at converting fuel to energy than home heaters. Large turbines are incredibly efficient, and their design has efficiency as a top priority. Power plants are designed to burn fuel efficiently and transmit as much energy as possible.

imurray 17y ago

This is a common misconception. 1) reducing electricity consumption will reduce use of fossil fuels in power stations (in most parts of the world). Burning fuel in your own home bypasses the inefficient conversion to electricity. 2) if you are going to heat your home with electricity you can be more than “100% efficient” by using a heat pump, so you still wouldn’t want to do it with light bulbs and TVs.

holygoat 17y ago
How does using an electric heater instead of waste heat from electrical appliances reduce the use of fossil fuels? Same transport mechanism, same source, same efficiency. The only way to reduce electricity consumption is improved insulation. I agree with you if you have a wood-burning stove.
- imurray 17y ago
  If you use a standard electric heater, like a bar heater, I agree with you. Heat pumps can out-perform heaters (they seem to have >100% “efficiency”) by working in a different way. Rather than spending 1kWh to heat a room, you spend 1kWh to move 4kWh of heat from outside into the room.
Daishiman 17y ago
What? Power stations are far, far more efficient at converting fuel to energy than home heaters. Large turbines are incredibly efficient, and their design has efficiency as a top priority. Power plants are designed to burn fuel efficiently and transmit as much energy as possible.