Glossary · Energy, bills & ratings
Weather normalization
Also called: weather-normalized · weather-normalizing · weather-adjusted
Adjusting energy use for how cold or hot a period was, using degree-days, so bills from different years or homes can be compared fairly.
What it means
A cold winter raises heating use even if nothing about the house changed, so an auditor divides heating energy by the heating degree-days for the same billing period, or scales it to a typical year. Comparing weather-normalized use before and after an upgrade shows the real savings. EIA uses degree-days the same way to model and compare energy use across months and regions.
Why it matters in an audit
Without it, a mild winter can make an upgrade look better than it is, and a harsh one can hide real savings.
Typical numbers
Reference values with their sources. Your energy advisor’s report gives the figure for your own house.
| What | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Basic method | Heating use per degree-day = heating energy ÷ heating degree-days for the same billing period | Arithmetic |