Turning off air conditioning to cut costs could increase possiblilty of heat stroke

Wednesday brought high temperatures and put every county in mid-Missouri under a heat advisory, which can be dangerous or even deadly for people and pets.

When it’s that hot outside, many people blast the air conditioning to get that cool air but often that high energy cost causes people to turn it off quickly.

Health officials said there are dangers to shutting off the air conditioning to cut down on energy costs.

“It actually can be even hotter inside your house than it is outside,” said Dr. Chadd Kraus with the University of Missouri. “If your house has windows that are closed, blinds that are up, and no air conditioning on, it can really become like an oven.”

Those higher temperatures in the house can increase the risk of heat stroke or exhaustion.

But if someone is hoping to cut down on energy costs, they don’t have to turn off the air conditioning to do it.

Eric Hempel, an energy education with the city of Columbia, explained there are several programs people can take advantage of if they’re worried about extra money in there bill.

The city works with the Voluntary Action Center on a free window air conditioner exchange. If someone makes at or below 200 percent of the poverty level, they can bring in their old, inefficient window air conditioner and get a free new one.

“All we need to see is documentation of income and then their old air conditioner,” said Hempel. “That’s run out of the Voluntary Action Center.”

The city also has a few energy assessment options available to people as well. One of them is a free assessment for electric customers where staff will go out to someone’s home or apartment and checks things like their heater, air conditioner, and insulation.

“We make recommendations to the occupant as far as what they can do to save energy and stay comfortable in their house,” said Hempel.

The next level and option is the Home Performance with Energy Star program. This one would not be free but certified contractors can perform the assessment and make recommendations.

“That qualifies them for up to $1,200 in rebates for making certain improvements that the contractor might recommend to them,” he said.

Finally, the city has a budget billing program that helps even out utility bill payments.

“We need to have a have a history on the account of 12 months so that we can establish the budget amount so that the budget the customer pays is the same,” Hempel said.

Customers can apply for that in March.

So there are options out there that won’t mean people need to turn off the air. But health officials said if people don’t have air conditioning, it’s even more important to keep themselves safe.

“If you really feel like you absolutely can’t use your air conditioning or don’t have air conditioning, the key is really to have some fans available,” said Kraus. “Have windows open to keep the air circulating, to do other things like keep the blinds drawn so that the sun isn’t continually beating into your home.”