If you’re wondering just how much rising costs are hurting families, you may want to consider a new survey that shows 1 in 5 low-income Florida families are turning off their air conditioning at night in an effort to lower their electric bills. The news comes from Advance America, which spoke with 3,011 people as part of the survey.
According to the new report, they focused on low-income households (AKA: those where people earned less than $49,999 a year), which is where they found that around 12.7 million households are turning off their AC overnight to cut costs.
That number is especially poignant in Florida, where summertime temperatures in places like Miami Beach average a minimum of 78.4 degree Farenheit during July, according to the Florida Climate Center. Local NBC News station WPTV 5 covered the news, as did Fox’s WFLX 29.
Hopefully they are finding creative ways to beat the heat, since high dew points mean that there isn’t much relief even after the sun goes down.
Low-Income Families Turn the AC Off Around 11 Nights a Month Across the Country
According to the survey results, there are around 494,672 low-income households pressing the “off” button on their AC overnight in the state of Florida. That adds up to around 19 percent of all low-income households. While that may seem like a lot, it’s actually less than the national average, according to the report.
That’s because it’s likely not a viable option for many families, since summer can see triple-digit heat in the region. That can create dangerous conditions for families, especially if they have vulnerable people living in their home. That being said, low-income families that live in states with cooler overnight temperatures are more likely to turn off the AC to cut costs.
People Also Shared What They Would Sacrifice to Avoid Turning Off the AC
The survey also asked people what they would give up in order to keep the air pumping, and people overwhelmingly said they would sacrifice getting takeout (31 percent) to stay cool at night. Other things people said they were willing to go without included new clothes (19 percent), streaming services (17 percent), vacations (14 percent), and social activities (13 percent).
There was even a number of people who said they would gladly dip into their savings to stay cool, with 6 percent of those surveyed saying they would rather keep the AC on.
With climate change causing more severe weather around the world, more people will be relying on their air conditioners for longer periods of time in the future, which means that these numbers could likely go up in the coming years, painting a scary picture for those whose budgets are already stretched thin.