Michelle Rochniak | 6/26/2025
Winter heating and summer cooling use a substantial amount of energy in your home. But which costs more on average?
You might think this simple question would have a simple answer. But the kind of energy you use in the winter probably isn’t the same energy you use in the summer. And when looking for an average cost, your neighbors may not use the same energy as you in either season, or at all. Energy sources won’t have the answers we need — we have to observe our climate instead.
Imagine if it was over 90°F every single day for all of July this year. That’s how many “extreme heat days” (above 90°F) that Region 5 of New York may experience over the course of a year by the end of the 2020s.
The Hudson River Estuary Program estimates that, by the end of the decade, the Hudson Valley will have between 19 and 31 days that are above 90°F every single year. The number of extreme heat days is doubling from the 10-12 days above 90°F in the baseline era of 1971-2000.
On the other side, there are “cold days,” where the temperature is at or below 32°F. In the Hudson Valley, there will be less cold days by the end of the decade, with Regions 2 (orange area on map) and 5 (green area) experiencing between 108 and 136 by the end of the decade compared to their baselines of 138 and 155. That’s a loss of almost three weeks of cold days in both regions.
While that indicates we’ll need less heating in the winters, we’ll need more energy to stay cool in the summers. The Hudson Valley regions used to have 1-2 heat waves a year with 4 days each during the baseline era. But by the end of the decade, both regions could have 3 or 4 heat waves a year — with 5 days each.
In 2020, environmental health scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health and the University of Washington published a study that examined severe weather-driven power outages in New York State between 2017 and 2020. The study suggests that, of all urban areas outside of New York City, the Hudson Valley and Long Island had the most severe weather-driven power outages. And power outages are more likely to happen when temperatures go above 86°F in all non-NYC urban areas. That means more power outages in Kingston are more likely as we see more days of 90°F or higher per year.
Our current backup generator system is also not enough. The energy grid is relatively stable for now. But when we do need backup energy, we tend to use diesel generators. Those generators cause a lot of air pollution and can further endanger our neighbors’ health.
While everyone will feel these changes, they’ll hit historically marginalized communities the most — who have already experienced the brunt of climate change up until and including now. It’s irresponsible to create a future where this is still the case.
While it isn’t clear what will cost more, summer cooling will likely use more resources as temperatures rise with energy costs. But no one, especially marginalized communities, should have to pay this rising price. If we don’t change now, we’ll keep contributing to an unjust, exclusive energy system.