How to Estimate Cooling & Heating Costs

Estimate how much your utility bills will cost.

Depending on the region where you live, either heating or cooling costs will outweigh the other during winter and summer months. Sealing your home in areas such as the attic, basement and leaks around windows and doors can lead to a savings of approximately 10 percent of your total energy costs. There are online calculators that give you an estimate on your energy consumption, as well as specific information regarding heating and cooling costs. These calculators go into greater details of your home to arrive at an estimate of costs. Having an estimate on what you are paying annually will help in guiding future decisions of installing heating and cooling systems, along with saving you money.

Instructions

1. Take out your electric bills. Ideally, you will have saved either the paper or online statements for one year. If you do not have the statements readily available, you can contact your local electric company to request copies. Many electric companies will send you the information electronically.

2. Separate the summer months and winter months. It is not necessary to have the spring and fall months, unless your region had temperatures that required you to use either your heat or air conditioning.

3. Total the cost of KWH for one month, for example, 468kwh @ .090286 = $42.25 and multiply by the number of summer or winter months. This will give you the cost for the season.

4. Add the costs of the winter and summer months separately to arrive at an estimate of your costs. This estimate is for electrical cost only. Heating costs may vary depending on if you have gas, fuel or electric. If you use gas or fuel to heat your home, repeat Steps 1 to 4 with only the winter months to estimate your heating costs. Once you have these numbers, you will have all of your total costs.

References

• Energy Star: Utility Costs