Is Your Winter Electric Bill Higher?

Posted: March 2, 2021, 2:11 pm

temperatures showing how more energy is needed to heat when the outside temperatures are coldCold hard fact: Your house uses more energy in the winter.

Here is why:

In cold weather, home heating systems work much harder to keep the temperature inside comfortable.

Even if settings remain the same on the thermostat, the system runs longer to heat the home to the desired temperature when it is colder outside.

The more a heating system runs, the more it increases electric usage.

Energy Use Matters

Energy usage: The electric meter on homes measure the energy consumed – this is “usage”.

Electric rates: There is a charge for each kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumed – this is “rate”. In addition, bills include a base rate charge.

Monthly bills are largely determined by the amount of energy used – measured in kWh. Energy use is affected by the time spent at home and the number of devices used daily.

Track, compare, and analyze electric usage with PenLight’s MyMeter tool.