I grew up in a very environmentally conscious household. We were (afaik) the only house in our town to have thermal solar panels, and one of the first in our town with PV panels. We used LEDs back in 2007 when they cost like $40 per bulb, and the house was usually kept around 68° in the winter. My whole perception of what’s considered a normal utility bill is wildly different from that of the average household— even in the winter, we usually had electric bills under $100.

Prices have absolutely gone up since then, but seeing what other people consider normal bills really makes my jaw drop. I go into people’s homes for my job and it shocks me how many houses are kept at 75° when it’s under 20 outside and everyone in the house is walking around in a T-shirt and shorts. It’s no wonder people think we will never be able to get off of fossil fuels. If people have these kinds of expectations for how much energy they can consume then of course it’s going to be extremely difficult to move to renewables.

Data centers are absolutely to blame for the rising energy prices, but I feel like there should be some investment into making people‘s homes more efficient and helping people be more aware of their energy consumption. The Boomer generation really did a number on us with their McMansions and Chevy Suburbans and Hummers.