The recent springlike weather makes it easy to forget about the bitter cold that blanketed southeastern Indiana during the first few weeks of February. The freezing temperatures forced heating systems at homes and businesses to work overtime to provide warmth and comfort. And as these systems operate harder and longer, they use more energy and that means higher energy bills.
According to Amy Spiller, president of Duke Energy Ohio & Kentucky, heating a space in the winter uses significantly more energy than cooling the same space in the summer. So even if your thermostat setting never changes, your heating system will run longer the colder it is outside, leading to increased energy usage and higher winter bills.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), this winter has been colder than winter 2019-20. According to the NWS in Wilmington, the average temperature, which includes the temperature throughout each day, not just the highs or lows, was 6.4 degrees lower in February compared to a year ago.
