Early Cold Temperatures - Understanding the Impact of Cold Nights on Daily Usage

Cold days and nights of November and December brought an early winter to 2018. With 9 days in November at or below freezing and 6 days below 32° in the first two weeks of December, our members are feeling the chill through higher energy usage. In fact, residential kWh usage for November 2018 was 17% higher than the same month in 2017. December is on track for about the same increase in usage.

Cold temperatures really drive up energy usage, particularly for heat pumps when low temps drop below 30°. On average, the mercury dropping from 40° to 30° increases a home’s power use by sixteen kWh per day, almost $2 in energy. This increase can be greatly magnified for homes using resistance electric furnaces, electric space heaters or heat pumps with any mechanical problems that cause them to run on auxilliary heat strips more than normal.

Download the MyTCEMC app or sign up for daily usage alerts to get daily feedback about your energy usage. If you think you are experiencing extreme usage, schedule a free energy audit from Tri-County EMC.

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