Energy saving obstructed?

Chrysalis

rp1974 said:

Maybe spending a little time on a forum such as this or Citizens Advice would help people along a little if their able to tear themselves away from social media and other such places that the majority of them get their "facts" from nowadays.
The amount of apparently sensible people that can barely tell you what their tariff is or what the applicable rates are,for example concerns me greatly,but what can you do when that's the sort of thing your up against?.
Only interest from many was the pound signs that appeared when the £400 handout was announced,which resulted in complaining that the money wasn't handed to them immediately to do with what they liked with.

I still think the fixed DD system been standardized over a number of years is what has made so many people ignorant.  The amount of people I have met who think their tariff is simply their DD amount is astonishing, the majority also think its a all you can eat deal as well.

People need educating so i was very saddened by the news that the campaign has been aborted for silly ideological reasons.

rp1974

Chrysalis said:
I still think the fixed DD system been standardized over a number of years is what has made so many people ignorant.  The amount of people I have met who think their tariff is simply their DD amount is astonishing, the majority also think its a all you can eat deal as well.

People need educating so i was very saddened by the news that the campaign has been aborted for silly ideological reasons.

Completely agree,only way some will pay the slightest attention to anything financial is if it hits them in the pocket.
I think that there's been a massive teaching/learning moment missed here.
Then again when there's a ready supply of handouts with someone else picking up the bill,what's the incentive?.

Miser1964

Around 15% of UK adults are regular smokers, despite decades of public health campaigns and a pack of 20 now costing £10. No amount of advertising will reach some people.

I'm thinking a good percentage of people have been turned-off Govt. information after what they now regard as the lies over COVID 

Spoonie_Turtle

Any useful campaign needs to be backed by relatable public figures, not the government. 

The government are perceived by those who most need this kind of help as being corrupt, out of touch, uncaring, patronising, self-serving, etc.  They've broken all trust (particularly with people who are still shielding, many of whom are also people who do need to use more energy than their healthy/abled peers) and if the government did manage to put out anything that might actually help it would likely, on the whole, be rejected in anger.  The past few years have been especially traumatic for several vulnerable communities and much of that is because of the government's behaviour and the precedent they set.  Then to have the person who ended up being our current PM repeatedly and very publicly insinuate that people claiming benefits are all scroungers capable of working just adds insult to the ongoing injury.

[Note: I'm not taking a political stance myself here, just stating the general views held by a lot of people.  I do think a good, effective campaign is desperately needed, but at this point the reality is that if it's backed by the government people aren't going to magically stop hurting and be able to embrace the advice.]

jimjames

Xbigman said:

This sort of campaign was always likely to get a poor reception on this forum but in reality there are a lot of people who have never even thought about saving energy for whom this kind of information might have been useful. The number of people I've spoken to who can't even understand an electric bill is frightening.

You only need to see some of the questions posted here to realise the benefit such a campaign could give.

[Deleted User]

jimjames said:

Xbigman said:

This sort of campaign was always likely to get a poor reception on this forum but in reality there are a lot of people who have never even thought about saving energy for whom this kind of information might have been useful. The number of people I've spoken to who can't even understand an electric bill is frightening.

You only need to see some of the questions posted here to realise the benefit such a campaign could give.

We would see exactly the same questions with or without an advertising campaign.

facade

There was a program all about energy saving and the cost of living on CH5 last night.

The usual stuff- wallow unwashed in your own filth wrapped in a musty blanket while the mould grows up your walls. (use dim bulbs so you can't see it)

They made a few ridiculous claims about how little it costs to cook in an air fryer too.

Ultrasonic

Miser1964 said:

Around 15% of UK adults are regular smokers, despite decades of public health campaigns and a pack of 20 now costing £10. No amount of advertising will reach some people.

I'm thinking a good percentage of people have been turned-off Govt. information after what they now regard as the lies over COVID 

Most things in life are imperfect when properly assessed. The appropriate reaction is to try to do better not conclude that it's pointless doing anything.

Smoking rates are dramatically lower than they use to be.

MattMattMattUK

jimjames said:

Xbigman said:

This sort of campaign was always likely to get a poor reception on this forum but in reality there are a lot of people who have never even thought about saving energy for whom this kind of information might have been useful. The number of people I've spoken to who can't even understand an electric bill is frightening.

You only need to see some of the questions posted here to realise the benefit such a campaign could give.

Or to realise it would be totally ineffective. Media has been saturated with information about energy costs, bills and how to save now for six months and it has not been out of the top five new headlines for more than a year. The information is available on gov.uk, the energy suppliers email customers multiple times a month, Ofgem and National Grid are running a national campaign, Martin Lewis pops up all over social media in videos talking about it etc. 

Some people do not want to learn and will not change their behaviour until the consequences of it hit them in the face, in this case very expensive energy bills. The amount of content in the media already means the horse has been lead to water, in most cases it has already had it's face forced down to the water's edge, if it refuses to drink there is little that can be done.

MattMattMattUK

Ultrasonic said:

Miser1964 said:

Around 15% of UK adults are regular smokers, despite decades of public health campaigns and a pack of 20 now costing £10. No amount of advertising will reach some people.

I'm thinking a good percentage of people have been turned-off Govt. information after what they now regard as the lies over COVID 

Most things in life are imperfect when properly assessed. The appropriate reaction is to try to do better not conclude that it's pointless doing anything.

However sometimes further expenditure or effort is not justified by the likely outcome.

Ultrasonic said:

Smoking rates are dramatically lower than they use to be.

Cost and it no longer being fashionable are the main factors in that now I think. However look at the rise of vaping amongst teens who have never smoked, people like fads and will regularly take actions that have negative outcomes to fit in. 

Some things are a balance, other things are very obviously negative. Even though it is not for me I can understand why some people occasionally gamble, partake in illegal drugs or eat McDonald's, what I cannot directly is those who do those things regularly to the point they have serious negative effects, although I do (attempt) to understand then from a psychological perspective, when you realise that people's power for self delusion is huge, as is many people's inability to delay gratification.