Histograms of Heating and Cooling Degree Days
Histograms of Heating and Cooling Degree Days
Seasonal discomfort is measured by the deviation above or below a comfortable temperature. Exchange-traded futures on weather use the comfort level of 65° F in the U.S. cities listed in a variety of futures contracts. This allows people to trade on expected deviations in the climate and to hedge exposure in the energy used to make our environment comfortable.
The prices of futures contracts and the energy costs themselves are partially based on the historical record of deviations from 65° F in different locations. Here a heating degree day (hdd) count is incremented daily for each degree of mean temperature below 65° F. Similarly, a cooling degree day (cdd) count is incremented daily for each degree of mean temperature above 65° F.
The histograms display the cdd and hdd counts for the years 1980-2008, each year being a sample. Below them, the mean and standard deviations are listed.