Heat Pump Usage and Cost Through the Cold Snap January/February 2026

We have 4 all electric homes in southern WV near the New River Gorge National Park.

We just experienced a particularly cold winter, so I was curious to see how much heating our houses cost us. They have good heat pumps, but none of them have what I consider to be good insulation and air sealing. 

I was happy to see the TOTAL monthly cost was in the $600-700 range, pretty remarkable. Thermostats were set to 68-70F, electric cost is $.18/kwh. 

HVAC Energy Usage

January & February 2026 · Daikin Skyport · Four Properties

@$0.18 / kWh

Heat Pump

AHU (Air Handler)

Total

January

February

Game House GameHouse!

SYSTEM 1.5-ton Daikin Fit SIZE 800 sf FOUNDATION Over 800 sf garage

Component	Jan kWh	Feb kWh	Jan Cost	Feb Cost
Heat Pump	465.5	337.4	$83.79	$60.73
AHU	188.4	125.6	$33.91	$22.61
Total	653.9	463.0	$117.70	$83.34

Wizard House Main Room

SYSTEM 1.5-ton Daikin Fit SIZE 672 sf FOUNDATION Over semi-conditioned basement

Component	Jan kWh	Feb kWh	Jan Cost	Feb Cost
Heat Pump	576.6	475.0	$103.79	$85.50
AHU	172.7	242.0	$31.09	$43.56
Total	749.3	717.0	$134.87	$129.06

Mtn Escape

SYSTEM 3-ton Bosch 20 SEER SIZE 1,150 sf FOUNDATION Over crawlspace

Component	Jan kWh	Feb kWh	Jan Cost	Feb Cost
Heat Pump	1,010.0	642.0	$181.80	$115.56
AHU	615.2	772.7	$110.74	$139.09
Total	1,625.2	1,414.7	$292.54	$254.65

Mothmanor

SYSTEM 2-ton Carrier Infinity VNA8 (5-stage) SIZE 620 sf FOUNDATION Full basement, mostly above grade

Component	Jan kWh	Feb kWh	Jan Cost	Feb Cost
Heat Pump	618.2	482.8	$111.28	$86.90
AHU	327.9	256.8	$59.02	$46.22
Total	946.1	739.6	$170.30	$133.13

All Properties Combined

Property	Jan kWh	Feb kWh	Jan Cost	Feb Cost
Game House	653.9	463.0	$117.70	$83.34
Wizard House	749.3	717.0	$134.87	$129.06
Mtn Escape	1,625.2	1,414.7	$292.54	$254.65
Mothmanor	946.1	739.6	$170.30	$133.13
Grand Total	3,974.5	3,334.3	$715.41	$600.17

Daikin Skyport Estimate vs. Actual — Game House & Wizard House

Daikin Estimate Accuracy Game & Wizard Only

Game House

January

Actual 653.9 kWh

Daikin est. 591 kWh

Δ vs. estimate +62.9 kWh (+10.6%)

Actual

Daikin

February

Actual 463.0 kWh

Daikin est. 432 kWh

Δ vs. estimate +31.0 kWh (+7.2%)

Actual

Daikin

Wizard House

January

Actual 749.3 kWh

Daikin est. 644 kWh

Δ vs. estimate +105.3 kWh (+16.4%)

Actual

Daikin

February

Actual 717.0 kWh

Daikin est. 694 kWh

Δ vs. estimate +23.0 kWh (+3.3%)

Actual

Daikin

⚠ Daikin Skyport estimates consistently undercount actual usage — ranging from 3–16% below measured consumption. The Wizard House January gap (16.4%) was the largest discrepancy. Both houses tracked closer in February. Note: Daikin estimates are for the combined system; actual figures = Heat Pump + AHU.

SOURCE: DAIKIN SKYPORT CLOUD & UTILITY MONITORING · NATE ADAMS · MARCH 2026

​Considering this felt like a full Cleveland winter where I lived for 43 years, this seems like getting off easy!

You can see all of our themed short term rentals at appalachianescapes.net 

Here's the weather from those two months:​

Beckley, WV — Daily High & Low Temperatures

January & February 2026 · Raleigh County Memorial Airport (KBKW)

Daily High

Daily Low

32°F Freeze Line

Source: AccuWeather historical data