When I looked over my utility bills for the year, I was surprised that they were so much higher in the winter than the summer.
It’s definitely more expensive to operate the furnace in the colder months than to run the air conditioner in the warmer months.
At first, I was a little confused by this. I then did some research to find out why my heating bills are so much higher. There is actually a combination of factors that impact monthly expenses. For one thing, the furnace carries a much bigger workload. It gets extremely cold in my local area. While the summers can be hot and humid, they are as challenging or as long as the winters. I typically keep my thermostat set between 68 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit year round. On the hottest day in July, the outside temperature might climb up to twenty degrees above the thermostat. The coldest night in February can drop down to negative twenty five degrees. The winter temperatures are regularly below freezing, requiring the furnace to deal with a 40 or 50 degree difference. The heating system runs a lot more often and for longer cycles than the air conditioner, resulting in higher energy bills. An air conditioner pulls hot air out of the home and transfers it outdoors. The process is quite energy efficient. A furnace burns fossil fuels to create heat. The process is much more complex and uses more energy. I have done my best to minimize heating expenses. I am conscientious about replacing filters and scheduling professional maintenance every fall. I have programmed the thermostat to a lower temperature whenever the house is empty or my family is asleep.