Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States 2009 Report Legacy site

“Degree days” are a way of measuring the energy needed for heating and cooling by adding up how many degrees hotter or colder each day’s average temperature is from 65ºF over the course of a year. Colder locations have high numbers of heating degree days and low numbers of cooling degree days, while hotter locations have high numbers of cooling degree days and low numbers of heating degree days. Nationally, the demand for energy will increase in summer and decrease in winter. Cooling uses electricity while heating uses a combination of energy sources, so the overall effect nationally and in most regions will be an increased need for electricity. The projections shown in the chart are for late this century. The higher emissions scenario1 used here is referred to as “even higher” in figure from Global Climate Change section.  Image Reference: CMIP3-B2

References

• 1. [91] various. footnote 91., 2009.
• 2. [117] various. footnote 117., 2009.

Summary