A lot of factors affect your energy bill. While the amount of energy you use in response to soaring or plummeting local temperatures is one of them, sometimes weather far away from us can also affect our costs. And, speaking of weather, it’s not just extreme temperatures that can nudge our energy costs upward.

High Humidity and Your Energy Bill

We Georgians know how miserable high humidity makes us feel, whether we’re outdoors for a power walk or indoors on the stationary bike. When humidity rises in our homes (higher than 50-55 percent, the perspiration on our skin can’t evaporate), the urge is to turn the thermostat down so we can cool off. Turning your A/C way down to compensate for too much humidity will raise your bills unnecessarily.

If you’re running your air conditioner continuously and keeping your windows closed, then your home’s relative humidity should not be that high.

A hygrometer can reveal if your humidity is over 50-55 percent. If it is, then do the following:

• Change the air filter to promote better air flow.
• Have the evaporator coils cleaned or repaired if they’re not functioning.
• Have the A/C refrigerant checked and recharged.
• Fix plumbing leaks.
• Install a whole-home dehumidifier.

Other Weather Events, Near and Far

The price of energy is determined by supply, demand and how much gas or oil is stored. When catastrophic weather affects any of these factors, prices can go up.

For instance, whenever there is a heat wave, extreme pressure may be put on the energy infrastructure as energy is channeled toward the region experiencing the hot temperatures. Because demand is high in this one place, stores of gas to produce electricity are diminished, and costs go up.

When a power plant, refinery or part of the grid is knocked out by storms, costs may also rise. High water and air temperatures also affect how efficiently power plants can convert fuel to electricity.

If you’d like to know more about how weather affects your energy bill, contact Powers Heating and Air. We serve Peachtree City and the surrounding area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Peachtree City, Georgia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 770-487-2040.