Lights!

Mine likes the ambience of the half light too, pollyperkins, but I need the big light on. Usually I'm reading or sewing anyway, so can't do with a dim light. And if I'm not reading or sewing, the ambience just makes me nod off!

W are th opposite H likes dim light in th living room (he says it's a pleasant ambiance!) but I cant see to read etc. He also always turns th hall and stairs light off so I have to stumble around in the dark. I'm not wasteful of lights (in my opinion!) but I do like to be able to see!

Two DGDs are coming to stay at half term. Every light gets left on as they are apparently 'afraid of the dark' which means turning on all lights unless the sun is actually shining into the room and never turning one off. Ever. They seem to think switches only work one way - on. I spend all my time turning lights off again.

DS always over-fills the kettle but I don't like to say anything as he is making me coffee.

I have had a "white light bulb" in my living room now, the same bulb, for about 5 years. It gives off white light, not yellow and so helps with depression and SAD. It did cost me about £8 at the time I bought it but I do think I have had my money out of it.

Since my electric eater has left home, I now turn off any lights upstairs and use only battery operated candles (with remote control) in the living room when watching television. It is lovely and very cosy.

I haven't spent any money on gas or electric hardly since he left. There is money in my purse!!!

No problem with lights tonight as, got home after a visit to Barter Books to find we had a power cut. Thankfully we'd had a coffee at BB so we got fish and chips from Belfort chippy, lit the new log burner for the first time and settled down in front of it for the duration. Was glad of a cup of tea at midnight when the power came back on though. But was rather nice having no computer, TV or radio. Thank goodness for LED torches though! Was lovely to see Hattie stretched out in front of the fire for the first time. I think sighthounds are genetically tuned into cooking themselves in front of a fire even if they've never seen one before.

Our kitchen is east facing and in the morning it is often bright enough to manage but by the afternoon it is very dull as the sun does not get into the room.
If I am doing any cooking or such I need a decent light.

Mine turns lights off everywhere then complains he can't see to read! He also insists on 'watching' certain things on TV that I am not wanting to see and promptly falls asleep, so the TV is going for hours for nothing - sure that uses more than a light bulb!

Completely off thread, but Yorkshiregel was saying about photos fading in sunlight. If these are digitally printed images, the quality of ink and paper is quite variable. generally the original equipment manufacturers inks and paper are of archival quality and will last many years without fading. However the cheaper papers and ink, are much less colourfast. I used to print a lot of large images for exhibitions and competitions. Top quality papers and inks became far too expensive so I investigate the cheaper options, some were awful and faded in a few months, some whilst not as good as the OEM were acceptable and a fraction of the cost.

Aargh ! just today I was complaining ....went into the conservatory ...temperature is 30 degrees ....2000 watt heater on, plus the central heating electric radiator also 2000 watts ....he says he is COLD ....then he said why don't I make you a cup of tea and you can come and sit in here .....I said thank you but I do not wish to cook !! In the dining room in the evening, after he has left the conservatory, he complains it is cold (I have no heating on, I don't feel the cold (yet) ) but he is 83 (15 years older than me) so maybe I will when I get older ....but by then I probably won't be able to afford it !!!! He did complain about the cost .....but what can you do ? he blames it on me using the washing machine and occasionally the tumble dryer in winter ......so I had to point out it is his use of all this heating that sends the cost up ...plus he has his electric blanket on NOW all night ! (we have two single ones on the bed, for this reason ....mine has not been switched on yet !)...then it is my fault again because I fill the kettle ......when all the downlighters in the ceiling (his idea when the house was built !) go, then it will be floor lamps, as he is not allowed (supposedly !) to climb ladders any more (he does !) and there is no way I can get up to the ceiling to change the LED's ........candles perhaps !!

My DH is the one who turns everything off or down. He switches off lights even when I need them, I have to over ride the hot water as it is kept on a ridiculously short time on the timer, he turns the heating down or off, he has even been known to turn off the oven when I have a cake baking, saying the residual heat will finish the baking. He has always been the same and I don't expect he will ever change.

I was brought up to switch off lights and old habits die hard. My H on the other hand ...............!

Lights off for me when not in a room, like side lights on in the evening, and a little night light on the landing to see the way to the bathroom during the night!

My late DH was always leaving lights on, step-son used to walk into our sunny bathroom & always put the light on but never switched it off!!!!

Now I live on my own I only have essential lights on, uplighter in Lounge rather than "big light" & it gives enough light to get to kitchen & bathroom

I have a smart meter & it does help as you can see what you're using, oven is high usage (saving for combi microwave) & washer/dryer (essential as I haven't a washing line) but overall I'm careful in any case as I pay the bills

No you're not being OCD. It drives me nuts when I go round the house to find a light on in nearly every room when there's no-one in there. He tells me if costs fractions of a penny using low energy bulbs but for me ( a Yorkshire lass) that's still money! After 46 years together I have recognised that he'll never change but I still grouse about it and I still turn them off again.

I am "lights off" and DH is "lights on" but he does keep an eye on the consumption figures and makes sure that we don't spend too much. Now that we have invested in pv panels we make sure that the washing machine, the dishwasher or other 'power hungry' machines are mainly used when the sun is shining and it is surprising what a difference it makes in the better weather. Now that the winter is approaching and there is less power in the sun it really makes a difference to the numbers.

I also make sure that the sun doesn't fade stuff so am constantly repositioning the vertical blinds - at the same time as DH has been actively working against me. I keep explaining to him what I am doing and why and am hoping it will soon sink in! We didn't have to do this so much in our last home as the walls were so thick and light didn't flood the house so much as in our new home. DH is such a creature of habit!

Talking about sunshine fading the carpets. Here is a warning for anyone who likes to put photographs on display on the wall. We put some precious ones of the children in a large frame so we could display them in the bedroom. We did not bargain for the sun though. Some of the photographs, not all, faded so that you could hardly see them. We had not noticed as it was happening until it got quite obvious. Be careful what you leave in sunlight because it really can cause damage.

Two lights are left on in the house when we are not home. One is a light that comes on and switches off at different times. The other is a security light so anyone coming up the drive will trigger it.

Lamps on for me but only with low energy bulbs. I can't stand passing through the hall when it's dark so have a small lamp on all evening. My friend's DH follows her around switching lights off and when we visit, the hall and porch are completely black so hardly welcoming as one stumbles up the steps!

In our house, since I retired, my husband checks the smart meters every day to see how much we have spent, then goes upstairs leaving lights and TV on, comes back down later, leaving every upstairs lights and his music on. He then has the cheek to complain about the electricity we have used. It drives me mad. Don't even mention the central heating!

I used to pay the electricity bill and my DH would happily leave lights on. Now he pays it, I get nagged all the time.

I'm a lights off person - don't see the point in paying to light a room I'm not in - but DD is a lights on person who will even put ALL the lights on in the house if it's a grey day.
Luckily she runs her own household, as I would object to paying those bills!

Hmm... not sure I should tell you this... but we live in a tiny hamlet with no street lights. For 26 years we've kept our outside light on every night so people can find their way home !

I walk round switching lights off all the time. However, I have a habit of letting the bathroom extractor fan run on until all the steam has dissipated however long it takes. My DD often says I am beinf wasteful but I tell her how many thousands it would cost to change the tiles were they to become blackened with mould as they used to before we got the new bathroom without the fan.

I have observed that those who are generous in their outlook and expansive in their habits are often those who do not pay the bills and the ones who pay are frugal and prudent.

I've got a smart meter and it's interesting to see what appliances are actually costing.

When we are away (which is very often) I like to leave sequenced lights on around the house so that the house appears to be occupied.. Mrs P moaned about the cost, I worked it out to be a few pence a week, low wattage energy saving bulbs are very cheap to run.

Boiling a kettle of water uses about 3kw x 0.1 hrs = 0.3kw hrs, a 10w bulb would run for 30 hrs for the same cost.

Mine drives me mad switching lights off in rooms where I am actually doing something and need the light on. If I've left a light on somewhere it' because I'm coming back again in a minute with an armful of washing or a vacuum cleaner and won't have my hands free. I seem to be continually yelling "I'll let you know when want to break my legs!".