Air conditioning: yet another thing impacting our budgets

The Ipsos Consumer Tracker asks Americans questions about culture, the economy and the forces that shape our lives. Here's one thing we learned this week.

Summer brings plenty of good things: barbecues, ice cream, days at the beach. But the cost of keeping cool is another story — and more acutely felt by lower-income Americans. 

58% of Americans with a household income under $50K are concerned about being able to afford their air conditioning bill, according to the latest round of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker. 58% of those under $50k also feel that the cost of electricity is much (27%) or somewhat (31%) higher than it was at the start of the year.

Of course, the temperatures people live with depend on where they live. But that landscape is changing: those in the West are nearly twice as concerned about being able to keep their home cool (at 54%)  as those in the Midwest (at 30%). And a considerable proportion of Americans across regions say they’re using A/C more these days than in previous years —particularly in the West (67%), Northeast (60%), and South (58%).

With that heightened A/C usage comes heightened costs. 66% of Americans in the West feel their recent electrical bills have been much or somewhat higher than at the start of the year, compared with 58% of those in the Northeast and 62% of those in the Midwest. 

Generally speaking, Americans still say they’re able to stay comfortable indoors. 86% report having sufficient air conditioning, and less than 10% say they could use more. 

But however confident people may feel about their A/C today, increasing usage bodes poorly for America’s already-overtaxed power grid. Rising temperatures will make it particularly expensive to cool houses and buildings that were constructed decades (or centuries) ago with cooler climates in mind (case in point, Europe). 

And that’s to say nothing of really big-picture issues like extreme heat’s impact on public health and the healthcare system (as we explored in What the Future: Risk).

 Last year, one in four Americans agreed that climate change would make it harder to live in their area, according to a USA Today/Ipsos poll. Fixing won’t be as simple as adjusting the thermostat.

But in the here and now, it means that Americans’ budgets are being spread even thinner. Brands and businesses should take note, says Trevor Sudano, a principal with Ipsos Strategy3. 

“The rising cost of A/C has consequences for everything from consumer spending to public health disparities — and is yet another reminder that no industry will be insulated from the social and economic effects of rising temperatures.”

More insights from this wave of the Ipsos Consumer Tracker:

The Ipsos Care-o-Meter: What does America know about vs. what does America care about?