Warming table

I don't know what they are called, but it's like a low (for dining even?) square table that has a heater underneath, and you put a blanket over it, so when everyone sits down, they can be warm. Does it use up a lot of energy? Like if we forget to turn it off during the work hours every single day, how much money is being wasted?

It is called a kotatsu..Never mind how much money you would be wasting ..you just have to make sure not to let it on when leave the home, perhaps by using a timer.

Aren't all your small appliances on power bars or plugs with a on/off switch? you have to remember to turn them off, just like you have to remember to take your wallet, keys, glasses, dentures, underwear etc. etc. when you are going out.

Oh, I certainly agree.

Actually, I'm home a lot during the day though, but the reason I ask is because family members don't do stuff like:

*Turn off the light at night every night (when sleeping),

*Turn off the TV at night every night (trouble with this one is that leaving it on eventually helps them to fall asleep),

*Leave the kotatsu on during the day every day (it's in their bedroom),

*Sometimes forget to turn off the water when filling up the tub,

*Don't check the water as it's filling up to make sure it's not too cold (sometimes resulting in having to drain the water and add more hot water),

*Don't cover the bathtub when it's filled with hot water,

I've asked them before, but I don't know, they just keep forgetting, or will do so but always forget soon after.

I know I could do it for them (turn things off, cover the tub, etc) but I am way too busy to do that, let alone even remember to do that. Plus, we are starting to save up for a future plan of ours and so I am just looking for small (but when all put together, might add up to a fair amount of money?) ways to keep our cost budget down.

So I was thinking of holding a small family meeting to ask all members to PLEASE cooperate (and it will also help them to develop good habits). If I can have some idea of whether it would just be an insignificant amount of savings or a fairly significant amount of savings, that might either help my argument or make me just use some other arguments.

Also, I really am just simply curious on my part to know whether it does use up a lot of energy.

Does it use up a lot of energy? Like if we forget to turn it off during the work hours every single day, how much money is being wasted?

Kotatsu are essentially electric heaters mounted under a table. So yes, they are a relatively inefficient heating method and can use quite a bit of energy. Your results may vary, but I would estimate that we spend about 3000-5000 yen more per month just by using the kotatsu in the winter, but we only use it in the evenings. So I think you could easily be wasting away a few 10,000 yen per winter per kotatsu, which, while it won't buy you a house, is still a significant chunk of wasted cash.

Actually, I'm home a lot during the day though, but the reason I ask is because family members don't do stuff like:

*Turn off the light at night every night (when sleeping),

*Turn off the TV at night every night (trouble with this one is that leaving it on eventually helps them to fall asleep),

*Leave the kotatsu on during the day every day (it's in their bedroom),

*Sometimes forget to turn off the water when filling up the tub,

*Don't check the water as it's filling up to make sure it's not too cold (sometimes resulting in having to drain the water and add more hot water),

*Don't cover the bathtub when it's filled with hot water,

It sounds like you have more serious energy wasting problems than simply leaving on the kotatsu during the day. Changing your families habits will be difficult, but be proactive wherever you can and try to conserve by putting timers on some of the appliances (tv for example) and installing low wattage light bulbs. And you may find it easier to alter some of your habits rather than your family's, i.e. you filling the bath, if you are serious about saving. On the other hand you may just have to live with some waste, such as a personal kotatsu, in the interest of family harmony.

MomotaroPeachBoy,

In order to know how much money is being "spent," the best thing you can do is to check your kotatsu' manual and make a calculation. Or you can contact the kotatsu maker and let them do that for you.

But if you want to know if it uses up a lot of energy or not, I think it depends on what you compare it with and how you use them. Kotatsu uses energy, of course, but so does wall-type airconditioners and stand-up style heaters.

For example, kotatsu only warms one part of the room and just half of your body, but the human body is made so that as long as your legs are warm you need not warm the upper part of your body so much. In other words, by using kotatsu you might be able to get more comfort with less energy, depending on what you find comfortable.

Also, you can save energy by using a thick cover as well as a decent mat between the floor. The amount of energy/money used depends on how you set the temperture knob as well.

By the way, the downside of kotatsu is that it makes you not want to move out of it any more.

At least, I know for sure that our kotatsu saves a lot money than our gas floor-heating, because my son used the floor-heating so much last month that it blew our bills, so my husband gave him a warning, and now he's turned up the electric air-conditioner instead!

Well, so much for that, and let's turn to your family. Keeping the kotatsu on when noone's using it is indeed a waste of energy.

Are you asking them to turn it off the minute they go into bed?

Are you making them pay for what they are wasting?

Have you considered taking the kotatsu out of their bedroom?

By doing so, your family will physically remember that it is "uncomfortable" and "inconvenient" for them to forget to turn off the switch.

Or are you using automatic timers and other devices that will free you from relying on human memories?

For example, we have a big TV in our living room, but we also have portable ones. Those who wish to watch TV in bed uses the portable ones, and then you can turn them off easily without getting out of bed.

When your tub is empty, do you have your tub fully covered only leaving the spot below your faucet? Then you wouldn't have to worry so much about the heat running away.

Here are a couple of things to turn your tub water off at a certain level. If you go to a DIY shop, you might find more.
http://www.sessui-club.com/home/hv-83m.htm
http://store.shopping.yahoo.co.jp/ayahadio/4973987840012.html

Finally, are you asking them to correct one mistake at a time? Because if you ask for a lot of things at once, these kind of people tend to get their minds go blank. You need to ask them to correct only one thing, and then when you feel that it's finally accomplished, you can move on to the next.

Meantime, you need to make it your habit and routine to check everything the minute they make a move, and frankly I don't see why you can't do it when you're at home most of the time.

Lastly, may I suggest you to consult your ward office or city hall to see if you can hire a non-profit interpreter to accompany you to any non-profit gathering for people with ADHD or the like. I attended one of them and the people gave me great tips to make our life easier.

Saving money, I'm sure, is important to you, but saving energy is important to all of us who live on this aging planet. Good luck.

MomotaroPeachBoy,

I'd just like to add that my suggestions are based on your other threads where you mentioned that you are living with your elderly father-in-law. I'm assuming that the offending kotatsu is in his room (and possibly that it is his house since you mention saving up for a house of your own), and that's where the family harmony stuff comes into play. If thats not the case, then perhaps a more authoritative stance is in order like Uco suggests.

Thank you yllwsmrf for pointing that out. If that is the case, my ideas may not necessarily be appropriate. In any case, I wasn just hoping they will be of help in some sort of way.

But then, I must say that if it's an elderly father-in-law, the younger housewife is expected to look after the switching off of things.