Ever encounter a very smart person who believes something so contrary to what you think could be the truth that you are left shaking your head? I'm not talking about religion or politics. I mean something that seems so quantifiable, so 'common-sense' - like home energy conservation.
Here's what happened. Keep in mind this is during the winter (key to his argument).
My boss (who's highly educated) has your typical suburban family and life, complete with all the mindless spending that often entails. His 2500ft2 home is illuminated by CFLs, and given the size of hte house, there are a lot of them.
Over the winter I was over there and couldn't help but notice that every light in every room was on, even though no one was in most of the rooms. Without thinking, every time I left a room I flipped the lightswitch off. "Leave them on, leave them on!" he keep saying.
As I was there I did a mental count - probably 25-30 bulbs all burning brightly, most of them on for 24hrs a day.
Finally I had to ask why he minded that I shut the lights off when I left a room.
His answer: "It's not that I mind you shutting them off, it's that there's just no reason to. Later I just have to turn them back on when you leave."
Me:"um... well what about electricity?"
Him: "Common [smug look on his face] - you know better than that. Any light is absorbed by the things around us and turns into heat. since we're heating the house already, you don't loose any energy leaving the lights on. It just slowly heats the room. There's no energy loss, at all. It's a zero sum game. What we'd save in lighting we'd pay for by heating the house a tiny bit more."
Me: "Um... ok... well they'll still burn out faster if you leave them on 24/7"
Him: "yeah, but not for years, especially if you aren't constantly turning them on and off. Plus, the bulbs cost less than a coke! [I'm assuming he's talking convenience-store, single bottle inflated prices]"
So is he completely nuts, or can he get away with this argument? I understand his "conservation of energy" theory but I've also calculated that he's using 8-10kw per day on lighting alone for a house where everyone is either asleep or away at school/work for the majority of each day. Thoughts?