LadyLake Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 My electric bill is currently about 60% higher due to having my quilting studio in my home. We are moving soon and my quilting space will triple. Any ideas about how to reduce electical usage while retaining enough light to quilt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterfly Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Are you already using those energy saving, coil looking bulbs that take a little while to get bright? Jessica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Wow Joan that is a big jump. I didn't notice any spike at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gator Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I have track lighting all around my studio, I think I have over 20 bulbs. I didn't see a big jump in my bill however, the majority of the lights are the coil low energy bulbs. Connie in Va Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Come to think about it when we put in the additional lighting we did use the energy saving bulbs. I guess that saved us. I also have the lights so that I can turn on what I need only. 1/2 are on a different switch and I only turn those on when I need them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted September 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I wonder if the extra electric cost has more to do with all the laundry I've been doing to support my year-round sports son that changes clothes three times a day and just left for college. I think the ideas you mentioned about spot lighting high activity areas and using energy saving bulbs are good ones too. Maybe I shouldn't worry so much. We'll see!! Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmcclannan Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I didn't notice a significant increase in my bill either. Good Luck with tracking down the real culprit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollyrw Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Sky lights! Alex Anderson suggested I put them in my studio when I was building it. I also put my lights in zones so I don't need to have them all on at once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda G. Craig Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I agree with the others, Joan, the energy saving bulbs work super well and having the ability to turn off lights that you aren't needing necessarily is exactly what we've done for my new studio. All great ideas. Holly, you lucky girl to have sky lights! All that natural light would be beautiful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hollyrw Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I have sky lights but no bathroom. Actually, that forces me to take a break once in awhile and walk into the house so it's not bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delld Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Gee you all sound lucky. I'm down in FLA and our bill more than doubled this summer. Our town's contract ended with the company that provides the service and did they ever make up for the part in the contract that did not allow an increase for 10 years. Now we are really paying for it! Count your blessings! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smorris Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Hi Joan I havent noticed a spike in my electricity from using my longarm. I guess it is the extra washing. Also, I recently went around the house turning off all the standby equipment and saved nearly 20%. The clock on an oven uses the equivalent of a 2 bar electric fire on for 2 hours a day - at least thats what I read recently! Wish I could turn mine off. I would think if you gave your power company the specifications of the longarm motor they could tell you how much it would cost to use per hour. sue in australia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boni Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Originally posted by LadyLake I wonder if the extra electric cost has more to do with all the laundry I've been doing to support my year-round sports son that changes clothes three times a day and just left for college. I find things that create heat are sure to use a lot of electricity. Hot water, clothes heater, space heaters, incandescent light bulbs, halogen light bulbs, some appliances, and check other small electricals that have lights on all the time. Even leaving a phone charger or other chargers plugged in without the device will drain some power. Do we really need all those gadgets plugged in ALL the time? Have you ever turned off the lights at night and looked around your house at all the little red, green, blue, clocks, radio, DVD, etc. lights staring back at you? That's what I mean. It's no wonder our power bills are more now than a decade ago. Hope you find that your power consumption goes down with the empty nest. Ours did drastically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myrna Ficken Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 WOW that seems unreasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lizziesgirl Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I could talk to the Amish that we work with and see if they could come up with a treadle for the longarm. Might be kind of tricky to master but would be fun to watch...LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VictoriaG Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Joan, Do you have an auto shut off iron? The real energy guzzlers are those things that change temperature. Irons take a hefty dose of energy. That is also why "cool" florescent lights take less energy than the incandescent type that get real hot. If you are using your wash machine (hot water) more, or the dryer more, that also can explain the electric jump. Victoria G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boni Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Originally posted by lizziesgirl I could talk to the Amish that we work with and see if they could come up with a treadle for the longarm. Might be kind of tricky to master but would be fun to watch...LOL ROFLOL My DD is trying to build a treadle Singer for me. We laugh about this too! LA Treadle, LOL:P:P:P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 I actually did a little experiment over summer and unplugged anything I wasn't using on a daily basis like mixer, treadmill, fans, sewing machines, etc. I also started unplugging things like my computer, washer, dryer, etc and plugged then in only when being used. I charge things only until they are charged and no longer and use my dishwasher and washing machine on off hours - I can set mine to start in the middle of the night or early in the morning. I don't let my dryer run longer then needed - I find my clothes are totally dry before the buzzer goes off in my dryer to I take them out. I saved a wapping 30+% of my power bill just by doing this! I was totally amazed. Many items pull power just by being plugged in, even if they aren't being used. Is this a little inconvenient - sure, but it becomes habit and it doesn't take but a second to plug and unplug something. My power company was sending out monthly home energy reports which showed how you were doing - these reports were not in the power bill but a separate report. This helped me keep on track. I was really happy with the results. Try it, I think you'll be surprised as the results....Mercedes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Judi Posted September 8, 2009 Report Share Posted September 8, 2009 Leg powered LA....?!?!?!! now THAT would be something to see!! Good exercise while you work!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
njquiltergirl Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Hi. My husband is really into energy saving and changed all our light bulbs to flourescents. Here are some other things we do/do not do. Run the dishwasher during off-peak times Dry clothes on Perm. Press Do not use the heat to dry the dishes in the dishwasher, open the door to help air dry before putting them away Use cool water - not cold - to wash the clothes Unplug cell phone and other chargers when not in use Turn off computer monitor(s) when not sitting in front of them Turn off TV when not watching it Have all high effeciency - "E-STAR" rated appliances Use the sun for heat by opening the drapes Keep cold & drafts out by closing the drapes Every window has a curtain or insulated drape This year, we will add insulated shades to some windows Use a whole-house fan to cool Use window air-conditioners in rooms that are actually used, rather than central air (Our 4-bedroom house does fine on one AC upstairs and one down stairs) Suppliment heat in rooms we are actually using with oil-filled electric heaters (thanks Linda Stellar for this!!) Insulated attic Some things are extra work, for sure. Some things I'd rather take the easy route and not be so effecient but, over all it is not a big deal to take a few extra steps to use less oil and electricity. My DH studied this stuff in college and finds it fun to use less as time goes on. He can not wait to get a hybrid diesel car!! I do not think our big LAs use much more power than a regular DSM. TV/computer monitors, irons, heat and AC are probably the biggest energy users. It would be interesting to see what others do to use less power! Lisa APQS Liberty NJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadyLake Posted September 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Those are all great ideas; I think when we move we'll do some serious energy usage review. Speaking of leg-powered LAs, since we are moving soon, neither one of us is sleeping real well, so my husband went down to my quilting room to sleep on the floor. He said he rolled over in the middle of the night and heard this loud noise -- he had rolled onto my power fabric advance pedal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltingjoyful51 Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 We put all our electic stuff on power cords which we turn off when we go to bed or leave the house. We cut our bills by 30% in the first month. All our Computors,TV and anything that has a little light on it is turned off when not in use. I do the laundry at night too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newellyn Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 We used track lighting and have them wired in zones to the switches. My studio is large 20 X 37 so I only have the lights turned on in the zone I am actually working in not the whole room. We also used energy saver light bulbs. Good luck with your move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lindasewsit Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 I have a question...several of you mentioned doing the laundry or the dishwasher at "Off times".... what would make the difference of what time of day you use them? They are still using the same amount of energy....aren't they? Curious minds want to know~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercedes Posted September 9, 2009 Report Share Posted September 9, 2009 Most electric companies charge a premium rate during the "most used" timesframes. If you run your washer or dishwasher at off times the rates are lower and you are charged less....mercedes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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