Why Emergency Heat Spikes Your Electric Bill

Cool Talk with Hartzell's | Your HVAC Questions, Answered! · Oct 12, 2026 · 23m · transcript

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CO-HOST: A homeowner in Yukon calls in February. "My electric bill is way up this month and the house feels fine." I ask one question. "What is your thermostat set to?" And they say, "Emergency heat. It was cold, so I figured that was the cold weather setting." DAVE: That is the most common emergency heat mistake there is. It is not a cold weather setting. It is a backup setting. Let me explain the difference.

I'm Dave Hartzell at Hartzell's Heat & Air in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. 47 years in the trade, Master HVAC license. On Cool Talk I cover the stuff central Oklahoma…