Comparing Energy Bills

There are two factors one must consider when comparing one's heating and cooling bills from one year to the next. They are outside the home and inside the home. On the outside of the home the two things that affect your bill are the weather and energy prices. These are considered to be variables, meaning they will probably not be the same from one year to the next. However, there are constants that we can use to measure and verify from one year to the next. They are kilowatt/hrs., therms, gallons and pounds for energy. For the weather, there are degree-days. All these are constants and are accepted by the bureau of measurements and standards. They remain the same forever.

Let's say you got a gas bill for Jan. 2001, which was much higher than Jan. 2000 gas bill. The way to measure and verify if this increase is justified, is to call your Utility and ask for the degree-days for the months you have concern with and the therms you consumed for those periods. Let's say for the month of Jan. 2001 there are 1,000 degree-days and you consumed 150 therms. For the month of Jan. 2000 there are 800 degree-days and you consumed 120 therms. If you divide Jan.'s, 2000 degree-days into Jan.'s, 2001 (1000 / 800 = 1.25) there is a 25% increase in degree-days in Jan. 2001 compared to Jan. 2000.

If you did the same with the therms consumed for the periods (150 / 120 = 1.25) you will also see there is a 25% increase in consumption of therms for the period of concern. When you compare the dollar amounts for the two periods, you find out that the increase is more than 25%. It would not be difficult to compare increases in cost per therm, service fees or increase usage in a particular tier price. In most cases the discrepancy between the two periods can be justified and/or explained. The same can be done for pounds of propane, gallons of oil or kilowatt/hrs. of electricity. It could be done for periods like November to March.

But what happens if the two periods don't justify the increase? Then the factor of inside the home comes into play. The topics on this site are designed to assists you there.