There’s a concept in heating and cooling homes that residents should be aware of, especially in these tough economic times. You need to become familiar with the term “degree days,” and how it relates to your energy use and utility bills. With our energy costs being some of the highest in the nation, it’s well worth becoming at least a little familiar with this concept.
Degree days are used to relate the outside temperature with the demand for energy based on that temperature. They can be used to fairly compare what energy bills would be in different areas of the country. They also can be used to see if new equipment or other energy-saving additions are doing the job they are designed to do.
Degree days are simple to figure out. Focusing on heating degree days first, you would find a day’s average temperature by adding the day’s high and low temperatures and then dividing the total by two. If the result if higher than a baseline comfortable temperature of 65, then the difference between the two numbers will be cooling degree days. If the average temperature is lower than 65, the difference reflects heating degree days.
You use records of past heating degree days (usually available from the National Weather Service) to see if money you’ve spent on insulation or a new air conditioner system is actually paying off.
Mr. Cool (aka Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning) is always here to serve the needs of the San Joaquin Valley. Do not hesitate to contact usfor services or even just questions. We are happy to help!
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about degree days and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Donald P Dick Air Conditioning services the greater Fresno area in California. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!