Current:Home > MarketsPhoenix residents ration air conditioning, fearing future electric bills, as record-breaking heat turns homes into "air fryers" -FundGuru
Phoenix residents ration air conditioning, fearing future electric bills, as record-breaking heat turns homes into "air fryers"
View
Date:2025-04-16 19:37:09
Saturday marked the 23rd straight day that temperatures have peaked at or above 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Phoenix.
Crispin Chavira, a paramedic and engineer with the Phoenix Fire Department, says this summer has been unrelenting.
"Someone calls in because they see somebody like, at the bus stop, that hasn't moved, and in 118-degree days that we've been having, and that is not normal," Chavira told CBS affiliate KPHO.
At Phoenix's Cortez Park, fire crews responded to a 911 call for a man in distress. The crews placed the man in a harness filled with ice and cool water, a technique that Phoenix fire Capt. Carl Chandler told KPHO saves lives.
"We put some of our IVs on ice...so we can cool that internal temperature quicker for individuals," Chandler said. "We also have come up with different ways of creating an ice bath immediately on scene."
Air conditioning, which made modern Phoenix even possible, is a lifeline.
When a cloudless sky combines with outdoor temperatures over 100, your house turns into an "air fryer" or "broiler," as the roof absorbs powerful heat and radiates it downward, said Jonathan Bean, co-director of the Institute for Energy Solutions at the University of Arizona. Bean knows this not only from his research, he also experienced it firsthand this weekend when his air conditioner broke.
"This level of heat that we are having in Phoenix right now is enormously dangerous, particularly for people who either don't have air conditioning or cannot afford to operate their air conditioner," said Evan Mallen, a senior analyst for Georgia Institute of Technology's Urban Climate Lab.
Yet some are cutting back on AC, trying to bear the heat, afraid of the high electricity bills that will soon arrive.
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 degrees Fahrenheit is a temperature she is willing to tolerate to keep her utility bill down.
By tracking the on-peak and off-peak schedule of her utility, Arizona Public Service, with the help of her NEST smart thermostat, Rabany keeps her home that hot from 4 to 7 p.m., the most expensive hours. She keeps fans running and has a cooling bed for Rigley, and they both try to get by until the utility's official peak hours pass.
"Those are the hours that I have it at the hottest I'm willing to have it because I have a dog," she said. Last month, Rabany said her utility bill was around $150.
Emily Schmidt's home cooling strategy in Tempe, Ariz. also centers around her dog. Air conditioning is "constantly a topic of conversation," with her partner, too, she said.
"Sometimes I wish I could have it 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 recent weeks, "I'm honestly afraid what the electric bill will be, which makes it really hard to budget with rent and other utilities."
Katie Martin, administrator of home improvements and community services at the Foundation for Senior Living, said she sees the pet issue, too. Older people on limited incomes are making dangerous tradeoffs and often won't come to cooling centers when they don't allow pets.
"In recent years we are finding that most of the seniors we serve are keeping their thermostat at 80 F to save money," she said.
Many also lack a support network of family or friends they can turn to in case of air conditioner breakdowns.
Breakdowns can be dangerous. Models from Georgia Tech show that indoors can be even hotter than outdoors, something people in poorly-insulated homes around the world are well acquainted with. "A single family, one-story detached home with a large, flat roof heats up by over 40 degrees in a matter of hours if they don't have air conditioning," Mallen said.
The Salvation Army has some 11 cooling stations across the Phoenix area. Lt. Colonel Ivan Wild, commander of the organization's southwest division, said some of the people visiting now can't afford their electricity bills or don't have adequate air conditioning.
"I spoke to one elderly lady and she that her air conditioning is just 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 as hot," he said.
While extreme heat happens every summer in Phoenix, Wild said that 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 water bottles in Arizona and Southern Nevada.
Marilyn Brown, regents professor of sustainable systems at Georgia Tech, said that high air conditioning bills also force people to cut spending in other areas. "People give up a lot, often, in order to run their air conditioner... they might have to give up on some medicine, the cost of the gasoline for their car to go to work or school," she said.
"That's why we have such an alarming cycle of poverty. It's hard to get out of it, especially once you get caught up in the energy burden and poverty," Brown added.
- In:
- Health
- Weather Forecast
- Salvation Army
- phoenix
veryGood! (822)
Related
- IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
- Shooting at a gathering in Baltimore leaves 1 dead and 7 others wounded, police say
- 1,600 gallons of firefighting chemicals containing PFAS are released in Maine
- A muscle car that time forgot? Revisiting the 1973 Pontiac GTO Colonnade
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- DNC comes to 'Little Palestine' as Gaza deaths top 40,000
- After months of intense hearings, final report on Lewiston mass shooting to be released
- University of Wisconsin president wants $855 million in new funding to stave off higher tuition
- Nevada attorney general revives 2020 fake electors case
- What time is the 'Love Island USA' Season 6 reunion? Cast, where to watch and stream
Ranking
- What to know about Tuesday’s US House primaries to replace Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz
- Biden’s offer of a path to US citizenship for spouses leaves some out
- Maker of prepared meals will hire 300 new workers in $6 million Georgia expansion
- Donald Trump posts fake Taylor Swift endorsement, Swifties for Trump AI images
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Winona Ryder Teases “Bittersweet” Final Season of Stranger Things
- Sicily Yacht Survivor Details End of the World Experience While Saving Her Baby Girl in Freak Storm
- A West Texas ranch and resort will limit water to residents amid fears its wells will run dry
Recommendation
Global Warming Set the Stage for Los Angeles Fires
Federal government grants first floating offshore wind power research lease to Maine
These Best All-Inclusive Resorts Make Girls’ Trip Planning as Fun as the Vacay
Doja Cat and Stranger Things' Joseph Quinn Pack on the PDA After Noah Schnapp DM Drama
Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
Charges dropped against man accused of fatally shooting a pregnant woman at a Missouri mall
Pregnant Brittany Mahomes Shares Adorable Glimpse at Bedtime Routine With Patrick and Their Kids
Former NFL player accused of urinating on fellow passenger on Dublin flight issues apology