Finding ways to make your home more efficient has many benefits, whether that means contacting your HVAC contractor for help or assessing your heating oil usage. If you recently updated your home to be more energy-efficient, you should calculate degree days to see the effects of your upgrades. Here’s what you need to know. 

What Are Heating Degree Days?

Degree days are a way for energy industry experts to calculate outside air and temperature data, specifically the effects of outside air temperature on energy consumption. They’re time and temperature measurements to project how much heating and cooling you will need.

There are two versions based on the season. Heating degree days measure how much in degrees and how long in days the outside temperature was lower than the base temperature, which is typically 65°F. This can help determine how much energy is needed to heat a building or home.

Cooling degree days measure how much and how long outside air was higher in temperature than a base reading. This is used to figure out the energy needed to cool buildings and homes.

If the temperature stays consistently at 64°F for one day, it is below the base temperature by one degree, which means it is one heating degree day; however, if it stays at 60°F for one full day, that is five heating degree days. Degreedays.net offers an easy-to-use calculator to help you figure out degree days so you can track energy consumption in your house, especially when it comes to heating oil.

Once you have your degree days from the previous year’s winter, the next step is to divide what you spent on heating oil during the same time frame. This gives you an idea of energy savings you may have gotten from home improvements and efficiency upgrades.

Reasons to Calculate Degree Days

The best reason to use degree days is to see if your attempts at efficiency are working. The equation helps you track costs from year to year and gives you a clearer idea of how much energy you are consuming, especially during the winter. If you have recently had your HVAC contractor fix and seal air ducts or you have improved your home’s insulation, these calculations will prove that your investments were worthwhile. 

When you are ready to make your home energy-efficient, contact Thomaston Oil. Serving the West of the River region, as well as the entire state of Connecticut, this fully licensed heating oil and HVAC contractor brings more than 30 years of experience to every job. Their reliable team always ensures they get the job done. Call the HVAC contractors at (860) 283-4878 or stop by their website for more on their services.