How Does Cold Weather Affect Electricity?

When the temperature drops, you can expect your electricity bills to go up. But how does the cold weather affect electricity in the first place?

Well, one of the main reasons your bills are higher is because of your heating system. The amount of electricity a furnace or a heater requires ranges from 10,000 to 50,000 watts. Given the freezing weather outside, your HVAC systems need to work harder and use more electricity to warm up your home. 

So, how does temperature affect electricity? Does cold weather affect voltage? We have the answers in this article, so keep on reading. 

People Spend More Time Indoors

A good reason why your electricity bill goes up during winter is because people stay indoors all the time. Unfortunately, doing so increases your bills due to multiple appliances being used at once.

To give you an idea, here are additional devices people use more during the cold season:

• Electric blankets
• Water heaters
• Space heaters
• Extended usage of lighting
• Charging sockets

These appliances consumes a lot of energy and when used altogether, your electricity bills would increase as well.

Supply and Demand Play a Role in Bills

How does weather affect electricity usage? Well, as temperature decreases, the demand for power will go up. The available supply might not be enough for everyone—especially in areas with bitterly cold winters.

Due to high demand, electrical companies must use thermal power generation sources like gas and coal. These produce power fast and accommodate people’s needs, but they’re expensive. An increase in your bills is used to pay for these resources.

Generating Electricity Is Costly During Cold Weather

Have you ever wondered where your electricity comes from? It’s a fascinating process that looks like this:

1. An electricity generator produces power.
2. The electrical energy passes through power grids.  
3. After that, the power transfers to local networks or power lines in your street.
4. From there, electricity is sent to your home.

It sounds simple but this process is expensive, especially during winter. The power grids require usage fees that companies take from your electricity bills. If many households use energy at once, these grids do a lot more work and incur higher costs.

Electricity Saving Tips for the Cold Weather

While we can’t control the weather, we have the power to manage our energy consumption. As Here are some tips to make this easier:

1. Apply Weather Stripping and Draft Stoppers

One way to conserve electricity is to prevent warm air from escaping your home. Apply weatherstrips to your windows and place draft stoppers to the bottom of your doors to keep the warm air inside. 

Preserving the heat in your house and preventing cold air from entering will lessen your heater’s workload.

2. Close the Damper of a Fireplace When Not in Use

Leaving the damper open while the fireplace is in use is essential to let the smoke exit your home. But if the fireplace is not in use, close the damper so that no heat will escape. Otherwise, your HVAC systems would have to work twice as much to retain warmth inside your home.

3. Insulate Your Home

Is your home not yet insulated because of the expensive process? If so, know that home insulation affects energy efficiency.

A well-insulated home manages the heat flow from furnaces and retains warm temperatures in your room. Because of this, you don’t need to run your heating systems 24/7 and consume high amounts of electricity!

4. Don’t Forget to Unplug Unused Appliances

Plugged but unused appliances still consume power and adds to your bills. That said, it makes a lot of difference when you unplug your gadgets when not in use. Simultaneously, you’re also protecting your appliances from common winter electrical problems like power surges and fires. 

5. Make the Switch and Use LED Light Bulbs

Take this as a sign to finally change your fluorescent lights to LED lighting. The latter is cheaper and more energy efficient. Also LED bulbs provide you with better light quality and have a longer lifespan.

6. Make it a Habit to Conduct Annual Heating System Checkups

Faulty or old heating systems cause your electricity bills to increase since they’re not as efficient as before. They also require more energy to function properly. 

An effective heating solution is to check your HVAC systems before winter. A technician can spot if there are issues to repair or replacements that need to be done. With their help, they can also advise on whether your furnace needs to be entirely replaced.

Maintain the Condition of Your Heating System to Save Money

So, does cold affect electricity? It sure does! Replacing your boiler with furnaces can qualify you to earn incentives of up to $7,100. 

LG Home Comfort is here to provide heating solutions and furnace installations to residential homes in Toronto, Vaughan, Markham, Barrie, Oakville and Richmond Hill. 

Give us a call today for a service quote.