"Schneider's glasses"

Unsuccessful recipe

For educational reasons, "Krone" columnist Robert Schneider took drastic measures.

(Bild: P. Huber)

As a responsible father, "Krone" columnist Robert Schneider wanted to teach his three sons how to conserve electricity. However, he has reached his limits.

I'm still one of those people who intuitively saves electricity, turns off the lights when they're not needed, shuts down the computer at night and so on. I imagine that this saves energy and brings me a little closer to the 2040 climate target, even though the electricity bill is getting more and more expensive. My three boys see things differently. "The economy has to grow," says the older one and leaves the lights in his room on all night. He never switches off the computer. It's bad for the SSD. I have tried gentle discussions, pocket money increases and inhuman shouting. Without any significant result.

Meet Julia, who also has three boys. My youngest is friends with her youngest. "How do you teach them to save electricity?" - "Quite simply," she replies. "I consistently turn off the relevant fuses in their rooms. Until they get the message."

The next day, I can hardly wait for the boys to go to bed. "Turn off the lights in your rooms!" - "Let's do it!" I hear the middle one shout. He's only saying that so that he can be quiet in front of me. The lights don't go out, of course. I tighten the fuses. All three of them are immediately in the kitchen. "Why has the power gone out?" - "Not in the kitchen. Think about it," I reply sibylline. - "Dad, what the fuck?" The big boy demands a parents' council. The right to electricity is a basic human right. Besides, he had just been downloading an important update for school. "Sure, for school," I reply and of course I don't believe a word of it.

The parents' council gets loud. At least I force them to promise to use energy more sparingly in future. It works brilliantly the next evening. The next evening, it's all over again. I also read on the Internet that it's dangerous to simply unscrew fuses. Because it could damage the connected appliances. I now go on my nightly rounds again and switch the lights off manually.