Government controlled thermostats !

R

rgp

Well-known Member
Location
Milford,OH
Are becoming the 'norm' in some European countries . Could happen here , as per a short news blurb earlier this morning .

As I understand Spain is leading the way. There are several sites/links noting it , so just give it a google.
 

In the US, it's not the "Government" that controls certain thermostats, but it is a company that controls energy use in the home of its members to maximize the lowest energy cost and joining is purely voluntary. And yes, the company supposedly locked out customer use of their thermostats, as per agreement. I'm always amazed how some use the term "government" as it were some vicious beast from Mars, but everyone in the government is human, and somebody's neighbor, with a family and kids, and not one with a Martian birth certificate.???????
 
fuzzybuddy said:
In the US, it's not the "Government" that controls certain thermostats, but it is a company that controls energy use in the home of its members to maximize the lowest energy cost and joining is purely voluntary. And yes, the company supposedly locked out customer use of their thermostats, as per agreement. I'm always amazed how some use the term "government" as it were some vicious beast from Mars, but everyone in the government is human, and somebody's neighbor, with a family and kids, and not one with a Martian birth certificate.???????
Click to expand...
The fact is people are LOSING the freedom to chose the temperature of their own environments. Calling people human who would do such a thing to other humans is a misnomer at best.
 
While I agree with you @fuzzybuddy, the people in government are just like you and me, but as a body they do wield a lot of control over our lives. Of course, we give them that power when we elect them.

Rationing is nothing new. Right now, water is effectively being rationed in some dry communities. Lawns can only be watered on certain days for a certain length of time. As shortages get worse, we will see more of this. Nobody likes them, but it's a way to make sure everybody gets a fair share. The alternative is that those with the money get all they want and the little guy gets left out. Or, as in the case of the power grid, it gets overloaded and shuts down completely.

Supplies of many things are limited. And we are reaching those limits.
 
Last edited:
If we continue to act like children we shouldn’t be surprised that we are treated like children.

I believe that the shortages are real and we all need to do what we can to lower consumption or accept some form of rationing.

I’m afraid that today’s high prices, on all things, will look like a bargain in the next five years.
 
Grampa Don said:
While I agree with you @fuzzybuddy, the people in government are just like you and me, but as a body they do wield a lot of control over our lives. Of course, we give them that power when we elect them.

Rationing is nothing new. Right now, water is effectively being rationed in some dry communities. Lawns can only be watered on certain days for a certain length of time. As shortages get worse, we will see more of this. Nobody likes them, but it's a way to make sure everybody gets a fair share. The alternative is that those with the money get all they want and the little guy gets left out. Or, as in the case of the power grid, it gets overloaded and shuts down completely.

Supplies of many things are limited. And we are reaching those limits.
Click to expand...
Like I mentioned somewhere on forum recently, the company that provided electricity when I was a kid (different location) had rare but occasional brown-outs. I never knew of anyone throwing hissy-fits over it. Sometimes in life there are things we don't especially love, but adjusting to minor inconveniences is a part of life.
 
Aunt Bea said:
If we continue to act like children we shouldn’t be surprised that we are treated like children.

I believe that the shortages are real and we all need to do what we can to lower consumption or accept some form of rationing.

I’m afraid that today’s high prices, on all things, will look like a bargain in the next five years.
Click to expand...
boomers.jpeg
 
If people want to "center" their lives around their Smart Phone, and things like Alexa, etc., they run the risk of losing privacy or individual freedoms. If it goes to the "cloud", it can be accessed by everyone from the government to malicious hackers.
 
chic said:
The fact is people are LOSING the freedom to chose the temperature of their own environments.
Click to expand...
I'd guess only if sharing the power source with other people, if you get your own solar array and supply your own power for your heat/cooling then you wouldn't have to worry about sharing a potentially limited resource?
 
As one poster stated, it is NOT the "government" rationing electricity. The rolling brownouts, control of smart-stats, etc. is the utility. They have to do this to keep at least some electricity serving all customers.

Our electrical grids are old and in poor shape. None of the five grids have gone through much needed upgrades for many years. The demand for electricity has substantially increased. Cooling and/or heating for both residential and commercial. Electrical demands of all the electronic products being utilized by millions of people. So, you want "freedom" to utilize electricity at your own discretion? Since when is keeping your feet warm or your body cool a freedom guaranteed under the Constitution?? If we won't pay to increase capacity and upgrade the grids, how do you propose making unlimited electrical power available to everyone... every business... every manufacturing facility... every hospital... every school... every church... every bank...

Texas is in the worst shape of any right now. The utility has pocketed millions in profits from excessive rate fees, while doing nothing to weatherize they system. If Texas suffers another cold winter, more people will die. Therein lies a "government" at fault!!! Therein lies the guarantee of "life" under the Constitution taken from many be a Governor supported by a utility CEO.

I've often said wars will be fought over water the way we have seen wars fought over oil. We may see a similar scenario play out with electricity. Money has to be spent on our electric infrastructure. Conservation must happen re our water use. A more efficient means of desalinization of ocean water must happen to bring that water inland and fit for irrigation use and potable water use. But... it takes money. And, it takes a change in the political attitude about admitting we must address climate change.
 
It has already happened in Texas. Last extreme cold cycle, NEST thermostats were remotely re-set to lower temperatures in owners' home by the power companies.

HVAC company doing my semi-annual routine inspections keeps pushing me to have them install a NEST. I countered by asking them to install a manual T-stat I have to replace the electronic one on the hall wall. They say they can't install a customer owned T-stat but only one of their own (NEST) models.
 
In the UK, we have "smart meters" which were allegedly compulsory. No, it was compulsory to "ask", not to "install". So I held off and held off, then upon moving house, I found the place I moved to had one. I was very disappointed. Now my energy company email me every so often telling me how to use my energy that I pay them for :mad:
 
fuzzybuddy said:
In the US, it's not the "Government" that controls certain thermostats, but it is a company that controls energy use in the home of its members to maximize the lowest energy cost and joining is purely voluntary. And yes, the company supposedly locked out customer use of their thermostats, as per agreement. I'm always amazed how some use the term "government" as it were some vicious beast from Mars, but everyone in the government is human, and somebody's neighbor, with a family and kids, and not one with a Martian birth certificate.???????
Click to expand...
You're right in that first sentence. But power companies that install "savers" on homes and offices get a subsidy from federal, state, or local gov't.

You're not 100% correct about the rest, though. I agree that gov't officials are human, and have families, but they're not average citizens and don't have an average citizen attitude. Most believe they're entitled to better things, many are greedy and self-serving, some are fraudulent and even criminal, and I'm convinced that well over half of them don't genuinely care about the average citizen even while constantly competing for their votes.

Also, a majority of them live quite a distance from their nearest neighbor.
 
Don M. said:
If people want to "center" their lives around their Smart Phone, and things like Alexa, etc., they run the risk of losing privacy or individual freedoms. If it goes to the "cloud", it can be accessed by everyone from the government to malicious hackers.
Click to expand...

The above scares the crap outta me .... And I agree it could happen .... if it has not already done so ?!?!
 
Let it go to the cloud. Who cares? I don't. Nothing I do is of interest of anyone in power anyway.

It may be the only legacy I have. I still get junk mail in my father's and mother's name at his address. Dad died in 1996. Mom in 2008.
 
If someone is really upset with 78 degrees min temp, they could place a lamp with an incandescent bulb under the thermostat to simulate a warmer room and cause the ac to make it cooler.
 
...and our southern border is wide open and we multiply like rabbits and wonder why there's not enough energy to go around?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top