What to expect on your September 2024 bill
Temperatures reached 100 degrees or higher 15 times in August and the average temperature was 88.9 degrees, forcing air conditioners to work overtime to keep the indoors comfortable.
After a mild July, the Texas heat came in full force, increasing air condition use by about 18%, based on the Cooling Degree Days (CDD). CoServ Members should expect electricity usage to be higher in August than it was in July. However, the heat wasn't nearly as bad as it was last August.
CDD assumes that at 65 degrees, no air conditioning is needed. Every degree above that is a CDD. So, if the average temperature for a day is 100 degrees, that’s 35 CDD. By adding those up during a given week or month, you can compare two periods of time, providing a clearer picture of why energy usage increased or decreased.
| July | August | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average temperature | 85.1 | 88.9 | 3.8 degrees warmer |
| Cooling Degree Days | 630 | 746 | +18% more AC use |
| Utilities and the federal government measure the impact of weather on energy usage by calculating Cooling Degree Days (CDD) and Heating Degree Days (HDD). To calculate the CDD, take the average temperature for a day and subtract it from 65. The higher the number, the more air conditioning will be needed to keep your home comfortable. Click here for more information on calculating CDD. | |||
The average high temperature was 99 degrees, 4.7 degrees more than July. But that’s mild compared to the average high of 104.2 degrees last August. The nights offered little relief from the heat with average lows of 78.7 degrees. The temperature stayed above 80 degrees on 13 nights.
The heat dome prevented rainfall from reaching North Texas, with the exception of a few stray storms that dumped less than half an inch of rain. Rainfall for the month was 1.77 inches below normal.
That changed quickly as the calendar turned to September, though, with storms bringing rain to North Texas in the early days of the month. Cooler days are on the horizon and before you know it, we’ll be talking about Heating Degree Days!
