A record-hot year has many saying increasingly hot summers, fuelled by climate change, mean cooling our homes is now more of a necessity than a luxury. Still, the cost of owning and operating cooling systems is a barrier to some.
A Statistics Canada survey on energy use released in the fall found that in 2023, just over a quarter of households went without air conditioning or some other type of cooling equipment. In British Columbia, a government-funded program will provide over 28,000 free portable AC units to people with low incomes across the province.
Cost to cool
B.C. Hydro says that for residential customers, air conditioning can be a household’s single largest energy expense in the summer months. It costs about twenty dollars a month to operate a central unit if it's kept at the recommended temperature of 25 C. Each degree colder adds about three to five per cent more to a household’s electricity cost over the course of the summer. The price varies from province to province.
The Statistics Canada report found that 14 per cent of households kept their dwelling at unsafe or uncomfortable temperatures for at least a month in 2023 because of unaffordable heating or cooling costs.
Despite those costs, the use of air conditioning in B.C. homes has increased by 20 per cent of the last few years. It's "an upward trend that is expected to continue," B.C. Hydro spokesperson Kevin Aquino told CTV News.
"More than half of British Columbians are now cooling their homes in the summer with air conditioning, compared to about one-third in 2020."
'I need AC'
In Quebec, business is brisk at Climatisation et Chauffage St-Hubert, which sells cooling units on the south shore of Montreal. The phone is ringing off the hook.
"A few years ago, the summer was not as hot. There were fewer 30 degree days, less humidity,” said salesperson Jeffrey Gilbert. “Now, this is a major issue for people. They can’t enjoy their homes, they can’t sleep, they can’t cook."
"Right now, we are in the second stretch of heat this season, and people are already saying, 'Enough is enough, I need an AC, like, yesterday.'”
In addition to comfort, there are health concerns to consider. In the summer of 2018, at least 66 people died as a result of extreme heat on the Island of Montreal.
Quebec, with its hydroelectric generating stations, offers affordable energy, and demand peaks only in winter months as people heat their homes. Still, Hydro Quebec has a few tips to help reduce energy use, including turning to heat pumps -- systems that can provide heat through winter months, and cool air in the summer.
Hydro-Quebec’s Cendrix Bouchard also suggests drawing the blinds in homes where there is a lot of sunshine pouring in.
"Also, you can use a ceiling fan as well as an air conditioner. You can actually reduce the temperature by one or two degrees and receive the same effect, because you are moving the air around, and you can reduce about fourteen per cent of your consumption," said Bouchard.
Other tips to reduce energy use from Hydro-Quebec:
• Draw the blinds to keep sunshine out on hot days
• Use a ceiling fan in combination with A/C to move the air around
• Consider installing efficient heat pumps
• Put pool heating system on a timer and use a solar cover
