Single Households "waste energy"

Reading article "Single Households "waste energy"" - Reply to this / 3 comment(s)
I would have thought that it was pretty obvious that they waste energy and water for that matter, with single 25+ males being the worst culprits....

Yes there are some things that are used hand in hand with the number of people in a house, but things like watching TV - whether there's 1 or 5 people watching, it's the same amount of power; the fridge and freezer take the same amount of energy to run (if not more as they aren't stocked as well) plus all of the extra gadgets single people often have around as a source of entertainment / relaxation because there aren't people around to talk to and do things with. They're more likely to put in a half load of washing therefore waste water and electricity. Housing with communal facilities would definitely help.

There's also the footprint element - look at how much space one person needs and then 2 and 3 etc. Eventhough we live in a decent sized house, it's not 3 times the size of the flat I had when I lived on my own. I should think that couples living in a block of flats are the most "economical" as heating costs are less, likewise cooling (other flats are great insulation!).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5232028.stm 

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1. Re: Single Households by ladycaff, 1491 days ago

   As a single householder, I have to dispute this. I think the article was highlighting the fact it tended to be younger single men that were using the most energy rather than single householders. As a single householder, my water usage is low (also have a meter to confirm this), my waste is minimal (thank you to the worms who compost for me) and my energy bills are low as don't have children who think a home should be lit up like a christmas tree! I think the article was highlighting lifestyle rather than single people and wether you are single or multiple households, it is the choices you make about consumption rather than the amount of people you live with that indicated energy use. Frankly, to say that we have extra gadgets to amuse ourselves is laughable-another reason that my bills are so low is that I'm always out socialising!

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2. Re: Single Households by ecosrights, 1491 days ago

   You make a very valid point that although some single householders are the worst offenders, it's also in a single household that it is easiest to make an impact - you can control your usage of utiliites and creation of waste much more easily than a family can.

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3. Re: Single Households by jane, 1488 days ago

   This is definitely a subject that a lot of "one person" households feel strongly about, and quite rightly so - it's too much of a generalisation (but then so are a lot of these "studies")...
   
   TreeHugger have recently posted an article on it:
   
   http://Singles need TreeHugger most (or to join the discussion on ecolocal!)

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