As temperatures in parts of Tennessee “felt” over 110 degrees last week due to the heat and humidity, the National Weather Service advised Tennesseans to stay indoors, stay hydrated and use air conditioning as “fans may not be enough.”
But for an estimated 49,722 households in Tennessee, air conditioning isn’t an option. Data released in May by the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that about 2% of households in the state do not have access to any type of air conditioning.
Christina Joan Rainey, a 31-year-old single mother in Carroll County, told Lookout that the temperature inside her home reached 82 degrees on Tuesday. Rainey has paid numerous repairs to the 16-year-old home air conditioning system she inherited from her grandparents, but she’s running out of savings. She can’t afford to replace the estimated $7,500 price tag.
With the National Weather Service warning of extreme and significant heat danger, Rainey began calling every agency and organization she could think of for help. But she said she struggled to find programs available in her area other than loan opportunities that seemed too financially burdensome in the long run.
Rainey and her 15-year-old daughter sought solace by sitting in their car or going to a nearby Dollar General to drink lemonade and temporarily cool off. But Rainey said she was worried about being away from home for long periods of time because of her Australian Shepherd and 13-year-old cat. Rainey was trying to stay cool with a cooling pad.
“I’m scared that if I leave, they might get heat stroke,” she said.
On Wednesday, a local HVAC technician lent Rainey a window unit, providing some relief.
“I’m so grateful because he didn’t have to do that and it was free,” she said. “I don’t know what would have happened if I hadn’t.”
Resources and support programs vary at the local level
Resources available to people without access to air conditioning vary at the local level. As temperatures hovered in the 90s Thursday, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency’s evacuation map showed nine cooling centers open across the state, most of them in Middle Tennessee. The Memphis hospitality hub announced it will open its cooling center from 4 to 6 p.m. that day.
Programs that offer free fans, air conditioner window units, or other weatherization aids also vary. In Davidson County, the Metro Action Committee Summer cooling program From May 1 to Aug. 31, we will provide a free fan or air conditioner to eligible older county residents, families with children under 6, and residents with disabilities who have medical conditions related to extreme heat.
Tennessee Valley Authority Home uplift program It helps eligible households make their homes more energy efficient by sealing gaps, insulating ducts, and replacing aging air conditioners. Program participants must meet income qualifications, live in a single-family home that meets certain requirements, and be a customer of a local utility company participating in the program.
When Laney checked her eligibility for the Home Uplift program, she received a message that TVA was not accepting applications in her area.
A Tennessee Department of Health spokesperson recommended seeking resources from county governments and local emergency management agencies.
Explore U.S. Census Bureau experimental data
The U.S. Census Bureau has released an experimental district air conditioning estimation dataset in response to a request for more detailed information on air conditioning access as an indicator of heat vulnerability, according to the bureau’s website.
This dataset includes information from the American Housing Survey from 2019 to 2023, as well as data from the American Community Survey for the same period.
The American Community Survey does not directly measure air conditioning usage. The American Housing Survey asks whether a home has air conditioning, but the survey is not designed to be used at a detailed geographic level. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s methodology, the U.S. Census Bureau used machine learning models and U.S. Housing Survey data to “determine whether households in the ACS are likely to lack air conditioning.”
The estimated 49,772 households without air conditioning in Tennessee has a margin of error of plus or minus 481 households.
Additionally, this data may not capture the situation of people like Rainey. They may have an air conditioner running at the time the data was collected, but not now. It also does not take into account other factors that may limit the use of air conditioning, such as the cost burden of operating a window air conditioning unit.
Rainey said her mother is in a similar situation. The air conditioner in his home is already broken, and he uses the window unit sparingly due to electricity costs.
“Before it got this hot, she was trying to avoid (using) the fan because the electricity bill is so bad in Milan… But I think it was last week or so. She didn’t have a choice, so she had to use it. She was using the fan and doing whatever she could,” Rainey said.
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