This happens in our house as well, with normal incandescent bulbs, and scattered circuits that are not connected to the washers circuit. Our old washer barely affected lights, only upon starting each cycle. Our upstairs bedroom is on it's own circuit with it's own box and is affected. Tried on different circuits and was the same. If you listen closely, fans are also affected. To me it seems this kind of machine would be using more electricity than something that maintains a steady speed with a transmission, rather than a computerized electric motor.