Reviewed by: Lacey Muenstermann
Was your Huntsville utility bill high in January? If so, here’s why:
Reading time: 5 minutes
Sponsored
If you were surprised by a high utility bill to start the new year, we’re breaking down exactly why that was.
Spoiler alert, the answer is extreme cold temps. Keep reading to learn exactly why the wintery weather likely caused a spike in your bill, and what you can do to reduce your usage.
Understanding your utility bill: High Bill Breakdown
Height of “high bill season”
January marked the peak of the winter high bill season, aka those months of the year that have the most extreme temps (the middle of winter and summer).
Todd Long from Huntsville Utilities explained what causes those high bills:
“In high bill season, the main driver is usually the electric portion of your utilities, even if you have natural gas.
If your bill goes up, it was because of extreme outside temps—hot or cold.”
Todd Long, Huntsville Utilities
Understanding “Degree Days” on your utility bill
Let’s go back to the basics: why does heating your home cost so much? Understanding degree days can help. Let’s break it down:
- Degree days = the difference in the outside temperature to the mean temperature of 65°
- The higher the degree days, the more extreme the temperatures were.
- Learn more about degree days from Todd + Amanda
January may not have felt that different than December, but let’s compare the degree days:
- Degree Days in December 2024: 593
- Degree Days in January 2025: 861
That’s a big leap from December to January, which Todd and Amanda explain in their video.
“The colder it is outside, the more energy you will use.
Keep in mind that your AC systems are generally designed to only make up for about a 20° difference from the outside temperature.”
Amanda Tomczyk Kemp, Huntsville Utilities
Extreme cold temps caused higher utility bills
We all remember the snowy days in January, with up to seven inches of snow. Temps dipped down to the single digits for several days, and we had two cold snaps that month (one more cold stretch than usual).
Average temperature range vs recorded temps in Huntsville
December 2024 vs January 2025 (Huntsville Utilities)
This visualization from Huntsville Utilities shows that during January 2025, Huntsville experienced much lower temperatures than average, and compared to December.
Due to extreme cold and the degree days being 861, energy usage expenses were higher than usual.
The good news? You can expect your bills to start lowering now that cold temps have peaked.
Do’s + don’ts for energy efficiency + managing your expenses
So, what can we do at home to reduce our utility bill during extreme temperatures?
Todd and Amanda gave us their top tips for how to conserve energy:
Do:
- Bundle up in your house: Instead of turning up the heat (and wearing summer clothes), put on extra layers.
- Open curtains on sun-facing windows: Let the sun help heat your home.
- Set the thermostat as low as you’re comfortable: There is no set recommended temp, but this is a good rule of thumb.
- Use a programmable thermostat: Program or manually set your thermostat to a lower temp while you’re not home.
- Understand where your thermostat is: If your thermostat is in a cooler spot of your home, it could be reading a lower temperature than your home actually is. Ex: Amanda’s hallway thermostat is set to 64°, but her home is actually 68°.
Don’t:
- Shut off your HVAC system: Todd says this is the worst thing you can do—it could lead to frozen pipes or other damage.
- Turn on Emergency Heat: This is the biggest no-no for using excessive energy! This is meant for short-term emergencies—not regular usage.
- Use space heaters: They may make you warm quickly, but they use up a lot of energy and aren’t meant to heat large spaces (in other words, you won’t save money using a space heater over turning up your thermostat).
While these steps can mitigate your expenses, it’s impossible to completely eliminate higher costs during the extreme cold.
“Even if you are doing things to control your bill, it doesn’t mean your bill won’t go up, it means it won’t go up as much.
When there are extreme weather conditions, there is just no way to completely prevent your bill from going up.”
Todd Long, Huntsville Utilities
Resources from Huntsville Utilities
Huntsville Utilities is on call and out in the field for Huntsville residents. (Hville Blast + Huntsville Utilities)
When there are extreme cold temps and a high number of degree days, it’s expected that most Huntsville residents will have high utility bills.
If you want to see what your usage looks like down to the hour or even 15 minute increment, check out your usage on “MyAccount” through the Huntsville Utilities portal.
- Watch this tutorial for more info on accessing your usage breakdown
However, if you’ve noticed consistently high bills throughout the year, it may be worth investigating.
- Check out these for resources if you have concerns about regularly high bills
From the cold to the hot seasons, Huntsville Utilities is here to help you save money while getting the services you need.
Sponsored by:
Ad
