[Damogran6]

My aging mind can't remember the actual facts but it was determined that when someone has significantly more power than they had a need for (say, full batteries and a whole lot of solar) that it opened up interesting behaviors. We try hard to be as efficient as possible, but when you don't have to, it leads to interesting stuff. (like leave the lights on, leave the windows open with a space heater next to you, etc.)

[stoperaticless]

Name for it: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_paradox

[Damogran6]

But in the case of the solar pwer generation and storage, the added use didn't have a negative effect...There's no penalty for using more, so they use more.

[kypro]

I was told that in Russia nat gas is so cheap that they keep the heating on 24/7 and will often just open windows to regulate temperature. No idea how true this is and whether it just applies to offices / apartment complexes but this is what I was told.

[cyberax]

It's true! Old apartment buildings and offices were designed with district heating in mind.

The heating is provided via hot water radiators that are not at all adjustable, there are no thermostats in individual apartments! So if the weather is not very cold, your apartment can become too hot. While it's still sub-freezing outside.

Newer apartment buildings have adjustable radiators with thermostatic valves, but it's far from common.

[mopsi]

That's true. Proper ventilation with heat exchangers and all that is a very recent thing and not very widespread. Almost the entire housing stock, offices and other buildings were built without modern ventilation. Instead, buildings got windows with small separately openable sections (1/6 of the opening) known as fortochkas [1] for ventilation. They were a standard element of mass-built commieblocks [2] and it was common to overheat buildings so much that ventilation windows were left open all the time even in the winter. In modern times, when energy has a cost, they are often replaced with the latest well-insulated windows and kept shut to save money, which leads to molding issues due to insufficient ventilation.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortochka

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khrushchevka

[heavenlyblue]

My uncle in Moscow used to have his gas cooker on all the time in the kitchen.

[selimthegrim]

District heating maybe

[SoftTalker]

Yes, mine is when I'm at a hotel I set the AC much cooler than I would at home, and I take really long showers.