How much does your shop cost you??

[Ben Cadotte]

It's easier for me to figure out due to the fact my shop has its own electrical service. If you really can't pin down what your actual energy costs are. What rates do you pay in your area.

I only have electric to my shop. I am charged .077 per kwh. Plus .077 per kwh for delivery (new to me). So I am roughly paying .154 per kwh. I have yet to have an electric bill over $20 though for the shop. It is not used everyday though (gone alot).

In the winter I heat with propane. Which last year averaged about $12 a day when I am in the shop all day (only heat when I am in it, no insulation).

Shop is part of my property so no rent.

[David G Baker]

Don't know about the electric cost but my natural gas heating costs about $35 a month in the Winter. 30X40X10' well insulated pole barn.

[Ben Cadotte]

Don't know about the electric cost but my natural gas heating costs about $35 a month in the Winter. 30X40X10' well insulated pole barn.

Wow. If I had that I would move in there. I paid just under $4,000 for heating oil this winter. :eek: 2,600 sqft house with very little insulation. It hurt bad. We just moved in last July. The house we were renting was only 700 sqft with very little insulation either. The oil bill killed me. Was not expecting that much. Now that warmer weather is here. The walls are comming down and insulation going in. Also upgrading the electrical as well.

[David G Baker]

Ben,
The attic insulation and venting is a high priority in you home. The walls are important as well but heat rises.
I lived in California for quite a few years and keeping the heat out was a major problem as well as getting it out of the attic. My experience with the heat taught me well on the importance of insulation. My home is an old farm house that lacks "good" insulation so that is a project planned for the near future.
I am lucky to live in an area where natural gas lines exist, many friends are not so lucky and pay through the roof for heating.

[Jim O'Dell]

I'm a weekender, and sometimes, like this last week, about an hour in the evenings. I also have separate electric service to the shop. No climate control, except the fan. Haven't had a bill over 6.00 yet. It's...well, I went to look at the current bill and...WHAT THE HECK???? All of a sudden, they are charging me a monthly fee of 4.99. Started last month. LOML didn't notice since the bill was with in a 1.50 of what it usually is. (4.82 for March, but 6.19 for April) So my kWh rate went from .134 to .687!! They aren't open to call today, but you can bet I'll be calling tomorrow. The point of no monthly fee was a big selling point when I signed up. Knowing I wouldn't be using much power, and I told them that up front.
Oh well, thanks for the thread so I went to look! Otherwise might not have known. But even at 6 or 7 bucks a month total fee, it's still cheap entertainment!! :D Jim.

[Karl Brogger]

Too much....

[Ben Cadotte]

Ben,
The attic insulation and venting is a high priority in you home. The walls are important as well but heat rises.
I lived in California for quite a few years and keeping the heat out was a major problem as well as getting it out of the attic. My experience with the heat taught me well on the importance of insulation. My home is an old farm house that lacks "good" insulation so that is a project planned for the near future.
I am lucky to live in an area where natural gas lines exist, many friends are not so lucky and pay through the roof for heating.

My house is a 100 year old colonial. It has an open attic that the previous owner finished. The rafters are insulated and are covered by sheeting. As far as I can tell. They used r-25 fiberglass (area that I could see). No insulation in the walls at all. The house has a mix a older romex and some knob and tube wiring. The ceiling plaster on the 2nd floor is showing signs of cracking.

So the plans are to take down the plaster (walls and ceiling). Remove wiring. Rewire to new codes (arc-fault in bedrooms) as well as add more outlets to each room. Insulate walls and 2nd floor ceiling. Money is a concern so I am going to start with the 2nd floor first. I will not have to open any 1st floor walls to run the wiring (one wall already open for new plumbing to a new bathroom we are putting in now). But most wiring can go up the center with the stairs. Its warm enough now that we can start doing the work without freezing ourselves out.

I have been tossing around geothermal, but to do that would need to do a loan. About $17,000 is my rough estimate. Have enough property could do deep well or horizontal piping method.

[Ben Cadotte]

I'm a weekender, and sometimes, like this last week, about an hour in the evenings. I also have separate electric service to the shop. No climate control, except the fan. Haven't had a bill over 6.00 yet. It's...well, I went to look at the current bill and...WHAT THE HECK???? All of a sudden, they are charging me a monthly fee of 4.99. Started last month. LOML didn't notice since the bill was with in a 1.50 of what it usually is. (4.82 for March, but 6.19 for April) So my kWh rate went from .134 to .687!! They aren't open to call today, but you can bet I'll be calling tomorrow. The point of no monthly fee was a big selling point when I signed up. Knowing I wouldn't be using much power, and I told them that up front.
Oh well, thanks for the thread so I went to look! Otherwise might not have known. But even at 6 or 7 bucks a month total fee, it's still cheap entertainment!! :D Jim.

I am in the same boat. I travel for work alot and sometime gone over a month. When I am not home I have to pay minimum payment on the shop service. Its about $11 for minimum. What gets me is the minimum electric is $5 and some change. Then I have to pay nearly the same for minimum delivery of electric that wasn't delivered!! :mad:

This is only the second place I have heard of where utilities charge for delivery. I didn't know about it till I moved in and got my first bill. A coworker used to live in NJ and also had to pay delivery for utilities.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I, too, have to pay a minimum but so far my bills for electric have been in the very low 'teens.

The gas heat in my shop comes off the same meter as our home and water heater so I really don't know what it costs but.....if it had went up too much....SWCTCAAPAPTB (She Who Controls The Checking Account And Pays The Bills) would have LET ME KNOW ABOUT IT!
My shop is very well insulated, BTW.

[Rick Gooden]

My shop is about 550 sq. ft., electric heat, thru the wall ac. I spend anywhere between 3 and 10 hours a day in it. Minimum temp in winter is 55 degrees, maximum in summer is about 82 (ac runs almost all the time to control humidity). My highest winter bill around $120. summer around $150. It is on a separate meter. Reasonably well insulated.

[Rob Will]

The only time I turn my heat up is when Rick comes to visit.

Actually, my shop is on a common electrical service and I have no idea as to what it costs........ but I do intend to install an hour meter on the furnace and A/C to get a better idea.

Rob

[Dewey Torres]

Interesting thread... my shop is attached so it would be hard too tell. I am guessing somewhere between $20-$30 on the months when I am active. I have a new saw now so the numbers should go up :D

Dewey

[David G Baker]

Ben,
I have been looking at geothermal for several years and would have tried it except for the previous owner had a very high efficiency natural gas heater installed just prior to my buying the house so the economics don't work out in my favor at this time. I am reserving a good sized area of my property for geothermal piping in case I ever decide to go that way. I also have a small pond that could act as a reservoir if needed.
I don't have any knob and tube wiring but I do have some very old wiring in my second story that needs replaced along with some cracked plaster. The new insulation, wiring and plaster replacement will happen in the same project.
I am happy that I have a basement under most of the main house for wiring and plumbing convenience.

[Gene E Miller]

Greetings & Salutations,

My shop is on its own meter but here in Arkansas the rates are not
very good. With the AC running which I turn off at night unless the
temps stay above 80 at night my bill usually runs around $100 - $150
per month. I have 4 items that run on 220. The table saw, the AC, the
air compressor and a tankless hot water heater. I heat with propane
and a infred heater that is adjustable.

In the winter if I work out there I fire up the heater and after getting
up in the 50's turn it down to the lowest setting. Only when the temps
are predicted to be in the 20's or below do I let the heat stay on at night
and then only on low. I have plenty of insulation in the walls of of the
shop part and the bathroom and all of my water is in insulated walls.

Usually in the winter on average days I can leave the heat off all night
and the temp in the shop is still in the upper 40's the next morning.

Same with the AC, with it off all night temps are usually mid 60's in
the AM.

I was able to heat all winter on just 20% of a 250 gal propane tank so
that wasn't too bad.

Gene

[Paul Greathouse]

My shop is a 30x50x12 pole barn with seperate 200amp service. Living in the deep south I'm used to the heat so the shop isn't air conditioned. I have 10' doors on each of the 30' sides that are usually open this time of year with a large 4' box fan blowing from one end to the other. I also have 3 windows on the south wall. I usually open them and place smaller box fans on the window sills for more air movement. It's very seldom but, when necessary, during the winter, I use a portable propane heater.

My water well runs off my shop service and I also have a chest freezer and a full size refrigerator in the shop. Other than an old Delta contractor tablesaw I don't have my large tools yet. I have been using one of the saw guide systems lately along with Compound miter saw, RO sanders, lunchbox planer and router table.

I just finished building a full set of kitchen cabinets and bath vanites for my son's house a couple months ago. I have a full time job so I'm not in the shop all day everyday, but working shift work like I do, I am probably in my shop more hours per month than most guys with a regular day only job. My electric bill topped out at $35/month while building the cabinets and has dropped back to about $26/month with more infrequent use.

I work for the electric company, shouldn't I get my electricity for free?:D

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I really don't know as there is no separate service for my shop. The shop is 12'x30' and is as well built and better insulated than my house. I use an electric space heater in the cold weather months for heat and when I am doing more work than usual it seems to tack on about $5-10 more a month. No air conditioning. I have a box fan and as long as I can have air moving across me I'm fine.

[Terry Achey]

750 sq .ft.; 9 foot ceilings; 6" walls and well insulated for PA climate. Biggest heat loss is overhead door. I calculated about $40 / month to heat my shop with a pellet stove. Turned on all winter set at 50 degrees except when I work in the shop which is most evenings and weekends. I crank it up to shirt weather when working.....about 65 degrees. Uses all outside air for combustion and is without doubt the best heating device I ever used. At previous locations I heated homes exclusivley with firewood and with coal. Hands down this is the simplest, cleanest alternate fuel heater. After four moths I collected only about one gallon of very fine ash. Could have went all winter without ever opening the ash door!

Electric is off the house meter. I'm guessing around $20 to $30 / month. Lots of lighting, regrigerator, tools, etc. I pay about $0.07 / kwh. Proably should figure in extra insurance coverage as an expense, too.

Biggest monthly expense is buying all those tools ands materials:eek:

[Gary Curtis]

500 ft/sq in far Northern California. New construction, with 6" walls and insulated door. I use a 220v. portable heater in winter. Electric rates here (because of a nearby dam) are amongst the lowest nationwide ---- 6.3 cents per kwh. That works out to be 25 ¢ per hour.

Gary Curtis

[John Thompson]

Not on separate service. I have a two car garage and 1/2 basement for about 1450 sq. feet. Small natural gas space heater in the garage (main shop) which would roast you if you wanted it too... but in Atlanta it is only used about 2-3 months a year max. I'm in the shop from 6-12 hours a day.

So... in winter with gas and electric maybe $40 a month. I don't have nor need air in the garage and leak off from the central heat and air back in the totally under-ground basement keeps it warm and cool all year. In the summer with no air and a large fan which is very comfortable.. probably around $15 a month.

Sarge..

[J. Z. Guest]

My electric bill goes up about $25 a month, and I work mostly weekends out there. In the winter, electric goes up about $40 a month, as I run a 1500W space heater and bundle up. (fleece sweatshirt under my shop jacket)

My shop is my one car garage in my 8 unit condo building. It has no outside walls except the garage door. I just accept that loss and don't work much when it is below 20°F.

[Adam Cavaliere]

I have actually wondered the same thing. Too bad the shop is in my attached garage. I actually wonder more about the cost to heat it than to run the items in it. I figure my other electronics far outweigh the machines in my shop. Sure they take more power, but it is much shorter lived. Sort of like the tortise and the hare.

[Robert McGowen]

Well, the way that I explain it to SWMBO is that the tools and power cost less than the amount that I make selling items made in the shop, so essentially everything in and about the shop is FREE......... ;):rolleyes:;):rolleyes::D