In America we think big, so we always forgive a little slack and assume things will work out more or less equal in the end. The Germans don’t. Germans worry about making sure things are done exactly, every single time.
If you ask a German why he doesn’t like ice in his drink, he will respond with an answer such as that the ice will melt and make the drink too watery. He may not consciously know it, but the German is lying to you, because the real reason the German doesn’t want ice in his drink is because it takes away his ability to see whether he received a drink that was filled with exactly the correct quantity of liquid. That is why every single glass in Germany has a line drawn on it to indicate the exact level for a fair drink. 0.19 or 0.21 liters of diet coke just doesn’t cut it, the glass must be filled to 0.2000 ± 0 liters.
In fact, Germans are so obsessed with making things exactly fair that they have a system of paying for public broadcasting, wherein each household tells a federal agency which of the following they have in their possession: a television set, radio, car radio, computer monitor, mobile phone, and navigation system. Because you could possibly use these devices to garner information from the public broadcasts, you must pay a monthly fee for each of these devices.
That’s right, in 2008, Germany still tries to find the families who don’t own a television set to make sure they aren’t unfairly forced to pay for public broadcasting. It costs Germany about 250 million dollars a year to figure out which 25 people out of the 80 million in their country don’t own a television set and shouldn’t be forced to pay for a public good.
The majority of the 79,999,975 people that do own a television set will actually unplug this TV from the outlet when they are not watching it, so that they can save on electricity, since that tiny little red light on the front and the little circuit to watch for the remote control signal together consume 0.1 Watts. In America, we say “Aw shucks, forget about it, it’s a drop in the bucket”, whereas the Germans say, “Hey cut that out, it’s another drop in our bucket!”
When you live in an apartment in Germany, it will benefit you to also sweat the small stuff, since your actual utility costs will with 100% certainty be checked against your projected costs included in the rent, and you will be forced to pay every cent of consumption beyond the projections.
A warning is in order for Americans that decide to live abroad in Germany: The utility company probably has to enter your apartment to read the meters (since Germans aren’t smart enough to put them outside like we do). Since this is an inconvenience to everyone involved, they will only do it once or twice a year. Since your energy conservation habits are likely much different than the previous German tenants, you will get a huge bill after 6 or 12 months for all the extra energy you used. Either learn to cut down your energy consumption or keep some extra cash on hand for this nasty surprise.
deutsche Übersetzung für Astrid ein/ausblenden
Hallo Astrid, ich bins,
hier die Übersetzung:
Wann bekomme ich die fünf Euro wieder?
In Amerika denken wir groß und so vergeben wir einer kleinen Flaute immer, weil wir denken, dass am Ende mehr oder weniger das Gleiche herauskommen wird. Die Deutschen nicht. Sie versuchen immer sicherzustellen, dass die Dinge exakt richtig gemacht werden, jedes einzelne Mal.
Wenn Sie einen Deutschen fragen, warum er keine Eiswürfel in seinem Getränk mag, wird er antworten, dass das Eis schmelzen wird und sein Getränk verwässert. Es mag ihm vielleicht nicht bewusst sein, aber er lügt Sie an, denn der echte Grund, warum der Deutsche kein Eis in seinem Getränk haben möchte, ist, weil es ihm die Möglichkeit nimmt, zu überprüfen, ob er ein Getränk erhalten hat, das exakt mit der korrekten Menge Flüssigkeit gefüllt ist. Aus diesem Grund hat jedes Glas in Deutschland einen aufgemalten Strich, der das Füllmaß für ein gerechtes Getränk kennzeichnet. 0,19 oder 0,21 Liter Cola light bringt es einfach nicht, das Glas muss bis 0,2000 ± 0 Liter gefüllt sein.
Deutsche sind so besessen davon, Sachen ganz gerecht zu machen, dass Sie ein System dafür haben, für den öffentlichen Rundfunk zu bezahlen, indem jeder Haushalt einer Bundesstelle sagt, welches der folgenden Dinge in ihrem Besitz ist: ein Fernseher, Radio, Autoradio, Computerbildschirm, Mobiltelefon und/oder ein Navigationsgerät. Weil Sie vielleicht eines dieser Geräte dazu nutzen könnten, Informationen aus dem öffentlichen Rundfunk zu beziehen, müssen Sie eine monatliche Gebühr für jedes dieser Geräte bezahlen.
Das ist richtig, im Jahre 2008 versucht Deutschland immer noch, die Familien zu finden, die keinen Fernseher besitzen, damit sie nicht ungerechterweise dazu genötigt werden, für den öffentlichen Rundfunk zu bezahlen. Es kostet Deutschland jährlich ungefähr 250 Millionen Dollar um herauszufinden, welche 25 Menschen von den 80 Millionen in ihrem Land keinen Fernseher besitzen und somit nicht dazu gezwungen werden sollten, für ein öffentliches Gut zu bezahlen.
Die Mehrheit der 79.999.975 Menschen, die einen Fernseher haben, ziehen den Stecker aus der Dose, wann immer sie gerade nicht fernsehen, so dass sie Strom sparen können, da dieses kleine rote Licht an der Vorderseite und der kleine Stromkreis, der das Fernbedienungssignal empfängt, zusammen 0,1 Watt verbrauchen. In Amerika sagen wir “Ach egal, vergiss es, das ist ein kleiner Tropfen auf den heissen Stein” während die Deutschen sagen “Hey, hör damit auf, es ist ein weiterer Tropfen auf den heissen Stein!”. Wenn Sie in einer Wohnung in Deutschland wohnen, kommt es Ihnen zugute, auch auf die kleinen Dinge zu achten, denn mit 100%iger Sicherheit werden Ihre tatsächlichen Stromkosten mit denen verglichen, die Sie (im Vorfeld geschätzt) als Teil der Mietnebenkosten bezahlen, und jeden Cent, der über den geschätzten Wert hinausgeht, werden Sie nachzahlen müssen.
Hier eine Warnung für Amerikaner, die sich dazu entschliessen, in Deutschland zu wohnen: Das Stromversorgungsunternehmen muss wahrscheinlich in Ihre Wohnung, damit es den Stromzähler ablesen kann (da Deutsche nicht schlau genug sind, diesen nach draussen zu legen, wie wir). Da dies eine Schwierigkeit für alle Beteiligten darstellt, machen sie es nur ein- oder zweimal pro Jahr. Da Ihre Energiesparmaßnahmen sehr wahrscheinlich von denen der deutschen Vormieter abweichen, werden Sie nach 6 oder 12 Monaten eine riesige Rechnung bekommen für all den extra Strom den Sie verbraucht haben. Lernen Sie entweder, Ihren Energieverbrauch zu verringern oder halten Sie ein bisschen Erspartes bereit für diese böse Überraschung.
Gruss,
John
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July 4th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
If the bill ist that huge at the end of the year, the energy for that little red light might not be just drop in the bucket…
July 4th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Let me guess: You just got your electricity bill, right?
July 4th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I live in America now. See FAQ.
July 4th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Exactness usually has priority over graciousness in Germany, and there will always be someone to tell you off. Way too many sticklers in this country…
July 4th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
If you turn off your CRT TV, the power won’t be used only for the tiny light, but also for the heating of the cathode ray tube, which consumpts most of the power. Unplugging it (or using the switch at the tv itself) can save much money, and if you see that every power adapter, even if it doesn’t supply a devace, consupts power, you can save even more.
July 4th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
I mesured the power consuption of the little tiny red lights and it is really nothing compared to my computer, so like the convenience of remotely switching my TV on.
But I do use the powersaving lights, and used last year just 1450kwh, very nice, every month just 30€ for power.
July 4th, 2008 at 5:56 pm
While being aware of the humorous tone of the post (yes, I laughed
) my environmental conscience kicked in and I just wanted to make this remark: Even if the “tiny red light” doesn’t consume that much power (and I second what Martin said), just multiply that power by, say, 50 million? (I am not sure how many households there are in Germany.) Now suddenly that little wasted power becomes A LOT wasted power, even with the new energy efficient technology.
So, I think if everyone is just a little more conscious not about his or her own actions but how they multiply on the grand scale, shutting down that “red light” (which I use as a metaphor for every kind of wasted energy) really can make a difference.
Okay, here the lesson endeth
July 4th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
Sorry for the double post, of course I meant to say:
“…ittle more conscious not JUST about his or her own…”
July 4th, 2008 at 6:05 pm
If only that “red light” consumed just 0.1 W… many devices consume a lot more, though, often in the 5–10 W range. And that means 10–20 € per year per device.
July 4th, 2008 at 6:29 pm
First, I wish you a happy Independence Day!
> It costs Germany about 250 million dollars a year to figure out which 25 people out of the 80 million in their country don’t own a television set and shouldn’t be forced to pay for a public good.
No, that is not really the case. It’s a little bit like Americans pay their VAT. An American told me that you have to tell the IRS (? or that service which is in charge for that tax) that value of transactions which you done in the last year.
So the GEZ (the agency) pays people for spying around to find out who owns a TV and didn’t register it, so didn’t pay for it. I don’t think that so many people would pay without that. Who many people would drive to fast, if there would not be any form of speeding traps?
>“Aw shucks, forget about it, it’s a drop in the bucket”
But one drop x 82 or 303 million… Could be enough to fill a huge pool…?
So it would not be worse, if the Americans would get a piece of that attitude. The Ministry for Environment of Germany says we could save 14 million tons of co2 emission in a year, if we would not use the standby “option”.
July 4th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
489€ over my “projected use” in 6 months! And I didn’t even own a TV with a power-draining red light of death.
Also, what’s the deal with your TV’s anyways?? When I hit the “power on” button, I expect my TV to turn on. In Germany, you have to turn it on and then turn the channel for it to decide to finally kick into gear. That’s another extra, useless step away from effieciency, Deutschland!
*wagging finger*
July 4th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
P.S. I ripped up every GEZ letter that I ever got! HA HA
July 4th, 2008 at 7:04 pm
Yeah, I told the people at the first hotel that I was staying at that my TV was broken, because nothing happened when I hit the power button. Of course since it was German service, they just ignored me and told me too bad.
Later I figured out you have to actually change the channel to make the TV turn on.
July 4th, 2008 at 8:36 pm
my TV switches itself off after 1 hour of “standby”, no more “wasted energy for a red light”
July 4th, 2008 at 9:10 pm
Hmmm, that’s exactly how we are. Never thought of it that way.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:32 pm
I have a hi-fi radio receiver here with three modes “on” (plays music), “standby” (can be switched to “on” with the remote), and “switched off” (needs physically switching it on again).
It consumes verified 30W from the mains - in any of those three modes. The only way to make the darn thing consume less than 30W is to unplug it.
Ergo: Unless you have verified that the “standby” or “off” mode does use significantly less than your overall daily average energy consumption, you ARE better off unplugging the unused stuff.
July 4th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
> you will be forced to pay every cent of consumption
> beyond the projections.
That’s a pain in the ass. The upside is, if you use less, you’ll get back every overpaid cent and the prepayment will be lowered accordingly for the next year. Unless, of course, the price increase has eaten up your no-interest “savings” in the utility company’s bank…
Another good thing about having the meters inside the apartment (which they aren’t as least as often as they are) is that you’ll have to call or e-mail the company to tell them your consumption and you can LIE to them!
July 4th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
Yes, but then you forget that most people have better things to do with their time than verifying the standby consumption of their hi-fi.
Or, to look at it from another angle, you could’ve taken the time (and wattage) that you used to verify that, and you could have planted a tree, cleaned a park, hugged a hippy, or done something else much more helpful to the environment. Opportunity costs, baby.
July 4th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
Interestingly enough, I know some people (between age 25 and 30) who don’t own a TV. Because “the programme sucks anyway”…
July 4th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
You say there are just 25 people in Germany owning neither a TV nor radio nor any device which is able to receive radio waves. Even if i don’t know the exact number, i agree that the range of 25 is not unrealistic. But that’s just one half of the truth. The other half is, that millions of people in Germany pretend that just they of all people belong to those 25. ;o)
btw: Certainly you noticed, that English isn’t my native language. So please don’t take everything i say with a pinch of salt. On the other hand i’m quite willing to learn. So don’t hesitate correcting me wherever my attempt translating my thoughts into English resulted in complete nonsense.
July 4th, 2008 at 11:47 pm
True enough. When I was 17 I worked in a restaurant. The owner told me to put the ice in first and only then fill up the glass exactly to the mentioned line. It was really ridiculous.
July 5th, 2008 at 12:17 am
German idiom: “Kleinvieh macht auch Mist!” - “Little cattle* also makes crap!”
*The most fitting translation Leo.org gave me was “small livestock” - but I think my own creation sounds funnier!
July 5th, 2008 at 2:28 am
Don’t get me started about the GEZ.
July 5th, 2008 at 11:59 am
I really dislike the GEZ, too. 18 € per month for being able to watch 3 channels on TV that nobody watches anyway cause they are crap?! Argh.
Good thing I don´t pay cable extra, too, having DVBT. That would make me even angrier I think.
July 6th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Well, one idea behind the *Rundfunkgebühren* is to enable TV that is not dependant on trends and commercials, to be able to produce TV that is for example educating or has an certain cultural target.
Well that whole concept didn´t work out very well the past 20 years, that we had commercial TV now. Plus the whole GEZ agency and its implementation in law, combined with the attitude of the freelancing controllers is really ridiculus. Oh and don´t get me started on German radio. The only two stations i can listen to more than 5 minutes without wanting to kill the director or the moderator are MOTOR FM and Klassikradio.
PS: I had to pay 1760€ gas and power for the past 18 months, that´s about 2600 american dollars.
Cheers Kuang
July 6th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Yes John, you are right. Americans should conserve more energy. Although energy (electricity, gas) is cheap in America, you should do the environment something good and reduce pollution. One thing to accomplish this is to conserve energy. In Germany and Austria this is enforced by much higher energy costs. If you have to pay a month worth of salary only to feed electric devices while the have nothing usefull to do, you consider switching them off as an option.
July 6th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
Lang lebe der Eichstrich! Ich weiss auch nicht, warum sie mir in amerikanischen Bars das Glas bis zum Rand voll machen — als ob das irgendwer fehlerfrei bis zu seinem Tisch balancieren könnte.
July 6th, 2008 at 10:12 pm
Well, while Germans sweat the small things, Americans waste big time.
Every other night I see yet another lawn sprinkler that sprinkles the road. Even on days with lots of rain. And so it goes all directly from sprinkler to sewer. And whatever water does get to the lawn… well.. that just makes sure Americans can waste even more by mowing their lawns every week. And yes, you guessed it, they use only gas-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers.
You just cannot sell something to Americans unless it is huge, noisy, and consumes way too much energy.
Robert
July 7th, 2008 at 12:54 pm
50 million? 80 million? 79,999,975?
think realistic. most households have more than one tv.
1 main tv, 1 for the kitchen, 1 for every kid, one in the bedroom. all the bars with tv/s. all the storefronts showing off dozen of tvs. running in the night. tvs and monitors in the companies. displays in trains etc…
thats myriads of drops. just for ONE product: tv.
most of the tvs come with vcr, dvd/r, receiver/s.
add another myriad of drops.
REMEMBER, we are just talking about the STANDBY mode, not the drops needed to operate them.
then all the drops of connected, but not used devices.
thats not just a pool. thats an ocean! just for germany.
“In America, we say “Aw shucks, forget about it, it’s a drop in the bucket”, whereas the Germans say, “Hey cut that out, it’s another drop in our bucket!”
at least we TRY.
you prefer to consume energy (and oil) like there is no tomorrow, polute the enviroment and whine about high energy prices.
continue and the only thing left to do is: whine. (or go to war for more energy.)
July 7th, 2008 at 1:32 pm
To play devil’s advocate, I say this:
I agree with the sentiment of most americans that they are wasteful, but I also am thankful for Energy Star, for that same reason (From: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.showProductGroup&pgw_code=TV )
“Earning the ENERGY STAR means a product meets strict energy efficiency guidelines set by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy. For TVs, it means they save energy when they are turned off.”
This does not say “Unplugged.” It says “Turned Off” AKA Red light of death. So, Compared with all the Americans who leave their tv’s plugged in, and will continue to do so, be glad for EnergyStar. Otherwise they would be wasting a lot more energy than what they already are.
July 7th, 2008 at 8:25 pm
sir said:
‘50 million? 80 million? 79,999,975?
think realistic. most households have more than one tv.’
Okay, sir, but the German fee has to be paid just once per person and place, not per device. I suppose the reason is, that no man is able to do two things at time, exept maybe chewing gum and walking across a street. Yes, i know, women are able to! Maybe the fee directive is older then the equal status of men and women? So they didn’t even think about it. Maybe i should tell them? They could multiply their profit! ;o)
Joking apart, in an normal household you normally have to pay the fee just once. Only further grown-ups who earn their own money and use their devices in their individual rooms (also a car can be such a room!) have to pay, too. Even a big company has to pay just once for all devices used in the same area (= all buildings on the same parcel of land). Sure, Germany would not be Germany if there would not exist losts of extra rules deviating from this basic rules. ;o)
July 8th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Since when does the GEZ charge you for mobiles, computer monitors (!) and navigation systems?
July 8th, 2008 at 10:28 pm
sorry, only in german:
http://www.tagesschau.de/wirtschaft/standby100.html
July 9th, 2008 at 8:52 am
@ Tarkus: Sir was not talking about the GEZ but about the energy wasted by all those TVs running in stand-by.
July 18th, 2008 at 11:55 am
OK, I just want to ad a little drop to those, woh postet above me… I didn’t read all of them, so if somebody else wrote this first, don’t pick on me
“Aw shucks, forget about it, it’s a drop in the bucket”
–> Well, it seems, that many Americans think this way… maybe its the reason, why America has such a huge demand on elitricity. Or probably this was one of the reasons of the disaster that ocurred on the east cost some time ago, when the elictricity network gave up.
So, maybe this drop in the bucket really IS something that matters
And maybe Arnold is not doing the wrong thing(s) in this matter in California.
Greetings!
October 30th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
“That’s right, in 2008, Germany still tries to find the families who don’t own a television set to make sure they aren’t unfairly forced to pay for public broadcasting.”
Well, that’s exactly what the GEZ is NOT about… They are there to make sure everyone pays, be it only for a single tv set that has been broken since the 90s, but couls be repaired and used easily.
If they were there to do what you said, they would accept Abmeldungen. Which they don’t really do… just google a bit.
June 19th, 2009 at 2:13 pm
At least we save energy!
November 10th, 2009 at 8:42 am
I personally don’t like the ice for all the bacteria and because cold drinks don’t do my stomach any good. It’s kindof the opposite of the American way of eating food luke warm instead of searing hot (even though this is due to the fact that you could sue the restaurant if you were dumb enough to eat it that way and get second degree burns).
We don’t put the meters outside because that would disclose information on our habits to our neighbours who live on the same floor (which is only marginally better than being plain stupid) and because people here really go around and steal electricity by tapping into any accessible wires that they can find (which makes more sense if you think about it).