Compare winter heating with spring bills
A home enters simulated winter and spring electricity bills to see when costs return to their regular budget level.
Open TrackerInputs and calculation
| Month | Utility | Usage | Bill | Budget | Variance | Month change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-01 | electricity | 600 kWh | 150 | 100 | 50 | — |
| 2025-02 | electricity | 560 kWh | 140 | 100 | 40 | -10 (-6.6667%) |
| 2025-03 | electricity | 440 kWh | 110 | 100 | 10 | -30 (-21.4286%) |
| 2025-04 | electricity | 380 kWh | 95 | 100 | -5 | -15 (-13.6364%) |
January is 150 − 100 = 50 over and April is 95 − 100 = −5. Spending falls 55 between those endpoints.
What the comparison shows
April is the first month within budget. Using April alone to plan winter spending would miss the pattern shown by the sample.
Assumptions and limits
Weather is a possible explanation. Billing days, meter corrections and the unit rate need separate checks.
Related guides and examples
- Set a monthly utility budget
- Keep your local utility records portable
- Comparing utility bills across years without misleading yourself
- Air conditioning during an eight-hour window
- Shorten an air-conditioning schedule by two hours
- Separate a summer usage spike from a price change
- Estimate a humid week in the basement