A new study on indoor extreme heat connects these two burdens to reveal how the co-occurrence of escalating energy bills and dangerously hot homes in Miami-Dade County exacerbates health and well-being risks for vulnerable households across months of the year.
"Our findings help us understand which types of households are struggling with high indoor heat and high energy bills in a place like Miami, which is hot for many months of the year," said Lynée Turek-Hankins, the lead author of the study that was conducted during her doctoral studies at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science and the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy . "We expected low-income households would be impacted, but quantifying the risks underscores just how intense the burdens are. Some homes in the county are like greenhouses, in effect—hotter indoors than outdoors. We measured heat in homes with average 'feels like' temperatures above 100°F, for weeks on end, given the combined effects of temperature and humidity. Other households in our study pay up to a third of their income on electricity bills to cool their homes. At the same time, high indoor heat and energy bills are not a problem experienced by low-income households alone. College-educated households with moderate incomes are also seriously struggling with indoor heat and energy affordability in some cases. The issues are far reaching."
In the community-based study, published in the March issue of One Earth and conducted in collaboration with Catalyst Miami and the Miami-Dade County government, the researchers measured the heat–energy tradeoffs households face. They found that heat and energy burdens intensify with rising outdoor temperatures. Households can simultaneously experience both dangerous levels of heat and high energy bills, which together increase health, and well-being impacts and trade-offs when households forgo expenditures on food or health care, for example.
"We identify different factors that together put households at risk—related to income, building and air conditioning quality, and household structure, especially for single parent households. As the heat seasons grow ever hotter, our findings point to key avenues for policy responses that can protect residents at risk," said Katharine Mach , professor and chair of the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the Rosenstiel School.
The researchers identified four pathways that explain which households face burdens from dangerous heat exposure and unaffordable cooling costs, emphasizing that different response strategies are needed depending on whether risks are driven by poor building or air conditioner quality, low income, or household factors that multiply the risks. Under intensifying temperatures, increasing swaths of the United States will face season-long heat that amplifies household trade-offs between exposure to heat and affordable energy bills.
"Studies such as this one emphasize the need for comprehensive legislation that ensures Florida households are protected when facing extreme weather." said Maria Claudia Schubert-Fontes, the Climate Justice Program Manager at Catalyst Miami.
"This research helps us better understand which factors to consider when designing policies and programs to help people stay safely cool at home affordably," added Jane Gilbert, Chief Heat Officer for Miami-Dade County.
The study, titled "Interactions between indoor heat and energy affordability amplify household risks in hot-humid US climate zones," was published in the March issue of the journal One Earth. Funding for the study was provided by the University of Miami Environmental Science and Policy graduate program; faculty funds from the Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy and the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science at the University of Miami; the University of Miami Laboratory for Integrative Knowledge (U-LINK); and additional grants from the University. It was also based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program under Grant No.1938060.
The authors and affiliations: Lynée L. Turek-Hankins1,2,3,4, Mayra Cruz2,3, Natalia Brown5,6, Nkosi Muse2,3, Amy Clement7, Katharine J. Mach2,3
1. Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA
2. Department of Environmental Science and Policy, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, 33149, USA
3. Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, 33146, USA
4. Lead contact and corresponding author
5. Catalyst Miami, Miami, FL, 33137, USA
6. Harvard Law School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
7. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science, University of Miami, Miami, FL, 33149, USA
About the University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private research university and academic health system with a distinct geographic capacity to connect institutions, individuals, and ideas across the hemisphere and around the world. The University's vibrant academic community comprises 12 schools and colleges serving more than 19,000 undergraduate and graduate students in more than 180 majors and programs. Located within one of the most dynamic and multicultural cities in the world, the University is building new bridges across geographic, cultural, and intellectual borders, bringing a passion for scholarly excellence, a spirit of innovation, a respect for diverse voices, and a commitment to tackling the challenges facing our world. Founded in the 1940s the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science has grown into one of the world's premier marine and atmospheric research institutions. Offering dynamic interdisciplinary academics, the Rosenstiel School is dedicated to helping communities to better understand the planet, participating in the establishment of environmental policies, and aiding in the improvement of society and quality of life. www.earth.miami.edu.
