If you have traveled in Europe and stayed in a hotel, you might have noticed that they are usually very efficient with their room electricity. When you enter the room, right by the door, there is a slot for the magnetic room key card. You have to insert the card for the power in the room to work. All the outlets and lights are off without this switch. There is no way to bypass it. It’s also not possible to leave the room and leave all the power on.

Recently we stayed at a Hilton hotel in Sacramento. It had such a slot that controlled the power in the room. It was the first time I had seen one of those in the U.S.

However, the slot already had a key card in it. When we asked the attendant, she said that the rooms get hot with the air conditioning off, so they insert the keys so the power works and the air conditioning can be on.

So why did they install the system in the first place, if they were not willing to use it the way it was intended to be used – to save power when the room is not occupied?

That’s why the United States has less than 5% of the world’s population but uses 25% of the world’s energy.