Temperatures have reached a high of 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) or above for the entire month of July in Phoenix. Air conditioning, which made the modern Phoenix possible, is a lifesaver.
When a cloudless sky is combined with outside temperatures above 100 F, your home becomes an “air fryer” or “broiler” as the roof absorbs powerful heat and radiates it downward, said Jonathan Bean, co-director of the University of Arizona’s Institute for Energy Solutions. Bean knows this not only from his research, but he also experienced it firsthand this weekend when his air conditioner broke.
“This level of heat we’re having in Phoenix right now is extremely dangerous, especially for people who don’t have air conditioning or can’t afford to run their air conditioning,” said Evan Mallen, a senior analyst at the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Urban Climate Laboratory.
However, some are turning down the air conditioning, trying to cope with the heat, fearing the high electricity bills that will soon arrive.
Ross D. Franklin / AP
Camille Rabany, 29, has developed her own system to keep herself and her 10-month-old Saint Bernard Rigley cool during the Arizona heat wave. Through trial and error, Rabany found that 83 F is a temperature she is willing to tolerate to keep her utility bill down.
By tracking the peak and off-peak hours of his public utility, Arizona Public Service, with the help of his NEST smart thermostat, Rabany keeps his house warm from 4 to 7 p.m., the most expensive hours. He keeps the fans going and has a cooling bed for Rigley, and they both try to get by until the company’s official rush hours pass.
“Those are the hours I have him at his best and I’m willing to have him because I have a dog,” she said. Last month, Rabany said her utility bill was about $150.
Emily Schmidt’s home cooling strategy in Tempe, Arizona also centers around her dog. Air conditioning is “constantly a topic of conversation,” also with his partner, he said.
“Sometimes I wish it was cooler, but we have to balance saving money and making sure the house isn’t too hot for our pets.”
With the unrelenting heat of the last few weeks, “I’m honestly scared of what the electricity bill is going to be, which makes budgeting with rent and other utilities very difficult.”
Katie Martin, administrator of home improvements and community services for the Foundation for Senior Living, said she also sees the problem with pets. Seniors on limited incomes are making dangerous trades and often won’t come to cooling centers when they don’t allow pets.
“We’re finding in the last few years that most of the seniors we serve keep the thermostat at 80 F to save money,” he said.
Many also don’t have a support network of family or friends to turn to in the event of an air conditioner breakdown.
Breakdowns can be dangerous. Georgia Tech’s models show that it can be even hotter inside than outside, something people in poorly insulated homes around the world know well. “A single-story single-family home with a large flat roof heats up to over 40 degrees in a matter of hours if they don’t have air conditioning,” Mallen said.
The Salvation Army has about 11 cooling stations in the Phoenix area. Lt. Col. Ivan Wild, commander of the organization’s southwest division, said some of the people visiting now can’t pay their electricity bills or don’t have adequate air conditioning.
“I talked to an old lady and she says her air conditioner is so expensive to run. So she comes to the Salvation Army and stays for a few hours, socializes with other people and then goes home when it’s not so hot,” he said.
Ross D. Franklin / AP
Although extreme heat occurs every summer in Phoenix, Wild said a couple of Salvation Army cooling centers have reported seeing more people than last year. The Salvation Army estimates that since May 1, they have provided nearly 24,000 people with heat relief and distributed nearly 150,000 bottles of water in Arizona and southern Nevada.
Marilyn Brown, a professor of sustainable systems at Georgia Tech, said high air conditioning bills also force people to cut back on spending in other areas. “People give up a lot, often, to run their air conditioner … they may have to give up some medicine, the cost of gas to get their car to work or school,” he said.
“That’s why we have such an alarming cycle of poverty. It’s hard to break out of it, especially once you’re trapped in energy burden and poverty,” Brown added.
