COLD WEATHER DRIVES ENERGY USE HIGHER
It’s easy to forget how dramatically a cold snap can affect your bill when most of the winter weather has been mild. This graph shows how cold temperatures can significantly increase energy usage. The red and blue lines are the day’s high and low temperatures. As a frigid Arctic blast arrived on Jan. 14, this member’s DAILY usage (as seen in the green usage bars) skyrocketed.
Ordinarily, this member’s home uses very little energy until cold weather arrives and stays until Jan. 17. Just as an example, on Jan. 13, the temperature reached about 63 degrees for a high and 23 for a low. On Jan. 14, the high was about 22 degrees and the low dropped to about 13. If the thermostat is set to 75, that’s a huge 50+-degree difference during the day and 60+-degree difference at night that the heating unit must overcome. Compare that to the 25-degree difference an air conditioner must overcome to keep indoor temperatures at 75 degrees on a 100-degree day.
As the winter storm descended on Texas from Jan. 14-17, the member used 1,080 kWh in just four days. This is more than the member used in the 16 days prior to the winter storm (1,052 kWh from Dec 29-Jan 13).
Some people make the mistake of believing if they don’t touch their thermostats, it shouldn’t affect usage. However, when outside temperatures drop so dramatically, heating units must use more electricity to maintain the desired temperature indoors. ALSO, while heat pumps do use less energy and are far more efficient than space heaters (space heaters can also significantly increase your usage), heat pumps become less efficient and often switch to “emergency heat” or “resistance heat” when temperatures drop to the lower 30s. That can increase energy usage by up to three times.
Make sure your HVAC system is running efficiently. We also offer members a $100 HVAC Tune-Up Rebate to help make sure your system is running at optimal levels.
Here are some tips to save energy in winter:
Get Tips on Winter Energy Savings
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