In order to protect vulnerable renters from unsafe heat, Los Angeles County's Board of Supervisors is currently considering a policy that would establish a temperature threshold for rental units. A year ago, the Public Health office suggested having two temperature limits (PDF), each based on the type of cooling: 82 degrees for rentals with air conditioning; 86 degrees for units with evaporative cooling or no cooling system at all. Earlier this year, County Supervisors decided instead on a single, to be determined limit (PDF) in order to simplify the law and make it easier for landlords to follow.
While the details of this new policy, including the temperature threshold, will not be finalized until July, before the proposal becomes law it is crucial that the Board of Supervisors and other policymakers assess whether or not this new temperature requirement will actually help the people it intends to help, and whether or not the sudden use of so many new air conditioning units might strain the grid and lead to more blackouts.
Instead of picking a single temperature limit as a one-size-fits-all approach, policymakers should prioritize protecting high-risk locations and populations. A “safe” temperature would look very different across different groups of people—the elderly, infants, and those with certain chronic health conditions are at particular risk—and in different types of buildings that handle hot days quite differently. Policymakers should also prioritize promoting cooling strategies that perform well under extreme conditions, even without power.
Instead of picking a single temperature limit as a one-size-fits-all approach, policymakers should prioritize protecting high-risk locations and populations.
Share on TwitterAs it stands, the policy gives little in the way of guidance or support for how landlords should go about keeping units cool. What most landlords will likely end up doing, then, is simply what is quick, easy, and not particularly costly: They will buy an AC unit. But ACs use more energy than almost any other cooling system during extremely hot days. This is because, when outdoor temperatures are very high, AC units must run for longer periods to keep the space cool. At unprecedented high air temperatures, the probability of every AC unit in the region getting turned on approaches 100 percent, which in turn causes a surge in energy demand, a surge that can exceed the capacity of LA County's current infrastructure. To make matters worse, the heat emitted from running AC units actually intensifies urban heat island effects, thereby increasing cooling demand. It is a vicious cycle: a heat-driven, energy-sucking feedback loop.
Last month, California passed cooling standards for indoor workers. Once approved by the state's Department of Finance, the rules will become law, and will likely lead to many more AC units in commercial buildings. AC units already account for 60 to 70 percent of summertime peak demand within residential buildings in LA County, and extreme heat (PDF) has been a primary driver of electricity demand and reliability needs in California for decades. Most recently California grappled with energy shortages amid record-breaking heatwaves, leading to rotating power outages in 2020 and a near miss during a 10-day heatwave in the summer of 2022.
Rather than landing on a single temperature threshold, and leaving landlords to decide how they will keep their units cool, the protection policy should prioritize solutions such as passive cooling strategies—cool roofs, shades, and better-insulated windows—which can be very effective in cooling indoor spaces without also increasing energy demand. Implementing these strategies could also reduce AC loads by up to 70 percent, as AC units in old and under-insulated units work longer and harder, using more energy to achieve the same comfort level that a well-insulated building can have.
We need solutions that will effectively address the threat of climate change while protecting our communities.
Share on TwitterAs climate change intensifies, more frequent, severe, and prolonged heat waves are to be expected. We need solutions that will effectively address the threat of climate change while protecting our communities. The LA County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve the temperature mandate this summer. Before they do so, however, they have the opportunity to make it far more effective. First, by making changes that will better protect those who the mandate is intended to protect—shifting its emphasis to prioritize locations and populations at higher risk during heat waves. And second, by implementing resilient and sustainable cooling strategies, the board would lessen the strain on the power grid when power is needed most, like during periods of extreme heat.
Hye Min Park is a Ph.D. student at the Pardee RAND Graduate School and an assistant policy researcher at RAND. Flannery C. Dolan is an environmental engineer and hydrologist at RAND.
