I don’t know about you, but my bill is always higher in winter. Sometimes, January or February bills are twice (or more) than May or October.

That will be true for almost everyone who uses electric heat to stay warm. In mid-January, our area experienced a cold snap that doubled some folks’ usage for a few days (including mine, shown below).

But why does that happen? It could be that we actually turn up our thermostats or pull out that extra space heater, which naturally would result in more power and a higher bill.

But even if we leave our thermostats at the same temperature no matter how the weather changes, we will still see our usage increase during cold snaps (or during summer heat waves for that matter). Heating systems have to fight harder against the colder days to keep us warm. If it’s 5 degrees outside and a thermostat is set to 65, that’s a 60-degree difference to achieve – it’s not so hard on a 35-degree day to raise 30 degrees, for example.

You can watch the HVAC vs. Mother Nature battle daily on your SmartHub account, which is a free option either online or through an app on your smartphone for all Okanogan County PUD customers. If you don’t have SmartHub yet, we’re happy to help you get set up. Not only can you check your usage, but you can check and pay your bill and save yourself a stamp or a trip to the office.