I (26m) live with with two roommates (26m and 25m). I have the master bedroom, which includes a private bathroom. Over Christmas, both of my roommates left town to visit their families. My family only lives a couple hours away, so I didn’t leave until Christmas Eve, and was only gone for 3 days (I came back the day after Christmas).
Upon leaving, I left my bathroom light on. Since the bathroom is connected to my bedroom, the light only reflected in my personal space and not any shared areas. Growing up, my family always left a porch light on when we went on vacations. This was both to make it look like someone was home and and because it felt nice to come home to some light. I left the light on for the same reasons. Additionally, my cat stayed behind, and my room doesn’t get the best natural light, so I wanted her to have some light while I was gone.
On Christmas Day, one of my roommates came back early and noticed the light from under my door. After wishing a Merry Christmas in our group chat, he specifically called me out for this:
26m: Bruh did you leave with the lights still on in your room?
Me: I did, so that people think someone’s home
26m: In an apartment complext? Bruh why so paranoid
Me: Leaving a light on is not paranoid but alright
26m: Then turn it off when you’re away unless your cat is home? I feel like that isn’t a strange concept either
Me: I feel like it’s really not that deep
26m: Turning off the light isn’t either
Me: Ok so this conversation is pointless
26m: Then turn off lights if you’re not going to be home
25m: I think I’m going to have to be with (26m) on this one, it saves a lot on electricity. I do get your paranoia, especially during the holiday season, would having a night light work?
Since then, (now mid January), the situation keeps being brought up. Whenever I leave the apartment, I get messages asking whether I turned my lights off. One day, I was in my room doing schoolwork when I got a similar message, even though it was actually my other roommate who had left the apartment.
For additional context, I usually keep my bedroom door closed because one roommate likes to let neighborhood cats into the apartment, and I don’t want my cat to get fleas.
I get that leaving lights on can be seen as unnecessary, especially since we split the utility bill evenly (33% per). At the same time, it feels like a small, one-time thing that is still brought up weeks later.
NTA, your roommate sounds like a micromanager. Also, maybe I’m just old, but saying ‘bruh’ at 26 tells me he’s pretty immature too.
NTA unless your utility bill actually went up a massive amount due to the light being on. I would tell them that you’re tired of hearing about it and they need to stop policing your light usage.
Mathematically it will equate to maybe $2 for a couple of days. I had a similar disagreement with my partner. I wanted the lights off at night and he showed me based on our rates how it’s like 3 cents a night per bulb. Now that doesn’t cover the light pollution or safety aspect, but it really isn’t gonna increase your bill by much
if it’s an LED light the utility cost is negligible. toss an extra nickel their way I guess.
https://www.energybot.com/energy-usage/led-light-bulb.html
Do you have led lightbulbs? If so, the bill probably went up like $0.01 for those days. Just throw them a penny and call it a day. You could do the actual math with your electricity bill. Just take the price per kWh and wattage of the lights and how long it was on for.
If you were using halogen bulbs I could understand the annoyance.
So I don’t think you’re the asshole.. however, I do think you came off as defensive in your response to the initial confrontation… you could’ve said you leave the light on for your cat – which would be understandable. Maybe offer to take a little bit larger portion of the utilities bill? Not saying anything outstanding but maybe 38% rather than 33%?
Regardless, NTA
NTA. It’s a freaking light in your private room. Who the hell cares? Also the person saying it saves electricity? Yeah the least energy efficient light bulb cost about 75 cents to leave on 24/7 for three days. I’m really petty so I’d Venmo them a dollar and in the memo say “for the added expresses to our electric bill”.
Just want to point out that the cost of running one regular LED lightbulb 24/7 for a whole month would be about $2. The fear our parents instilled in us for leaving lights on is leftover from the time of incandescent lightbulbs, where one bulb left on for the same 24/7 for a month would cost about $10. Which would actually be costly because you used many bulbs throughout your house, leaving one on in a room you weren’t in actually impacted the bill. But unless you have incandescent bulbs, you leaving one light on for a few days would have cost a few cents.
OP, give them a quarter and tell them to keep the change.
NTA…it’s a light, it will have minimal impact on the electricity bill and if they are moaning that much about it toss them each a tenner and say it’s for all the extra electricity and be done with it.
NTA but anyone watching the house is going to notice it never goes off and will be able to tell that it’s not actually being occupied.
The better solution would be to have a lamp on an outlet timer so it looks like someone is home and turning the lamp on and off in the evenings and mornings.
NTA. Your roommate is!! Letting in other cats??? HORRIBLE for your cats health!!!
NTA. But do the math. You can easily take the wattage of the light and multiply it by the number of hours that it was on when you were not home and then use the electric companies website to find a kWh rate. Bonus petty points if the light in your bathroom was an LED. Then offer to pay the extra pennies on the electric bill this month. A 12w bulb on for 72 hours at 0.164/kWh is 14 cents. A 60W bulb for the same time is 70 cents. Give your roommates each 35 cents and tell them you are done talking about it.
tell your roomate to grow the fuck up 😂 hell man give me his contact and ill tell him, guys absolutely braindead if he thinks leaving a light on matters to the electric bill, says bruh at 26, guarantee you he sits on a videogame all day, which costs way more than a light being on. your roommates sound insufferable and it sucks your in the middle of it.