It was only 7:01 a.m., but it was already 23 C, or 30 C with the humidex, as the TV weather specialist in Toronto, where I was visiting on Tuesday, reported. By 4 p.m., it was 32 C – or 42 C, with the humidex. A scorcher.
How did I ever live here, I thought.
Somehow, when you leave Southern Ontario for the West Coast, you forget that steaming, stifling, soul- and hairstyle-destroying air. Yes, it’s the humidity. But it’s also the heat.
When I first moved to Vancouver about 20 years ago, I was surprised that virtually no homes had air conditioning. You don’t need it here, everybody said. Summers are moderate, lovely.
Things have changed. And not just here.
The climate crisis has contributed to rising temperatures globally. This week, millions of people in parts of Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada sweltered under heat warnings, along with millions more in the United States. Heat waves are making life miserable globally, including in India, Greece and the Philippines.
They’re killing people, too: At least 550 people making the pilgrimage to Mecca have died from extreme heat this month. In the U.S., hot weather is deadlier than other weather events, according to the National Weather Service. And just this week, Statistics Canada released figures showing that nearly 700 people died from heat in this country between 2000 and 2020. That doesn’t include the 619 people who died in B.C.’s 2021 heat dome – nearly all of whom died indoors. Many were elderly and/or had health issues. More than half lived alone.
The heat isn’t an anomaly. Last year was the hottest on record in the world. The 10 warmest years since global records began in 1850 have all occurred in the last decade. And for the rest of this summer, Environment and Climate Change Canada predicts higher-than-normal temperatures for most of the country (with the exception of Coastal B.C.)
While home heating is obviously a necessity, air conditioning – one of the most effective approaches for reducing the health impacts of heat exposure – has long been considered a luxury. But a cooling system is now essential, and a health issue.
About 61 per cent of Canadians have AC, according to Statistics Canada’s most recent data. In Ontario, the prevalence is much higher, at 85 per cent. But only 32 per cent of British Columbians have air conditioning.
The costs remain prohibitive. Government programs aim to help. They vary across the country, but I’ve been studying the offerings in B.C. closely, including a federally funded program offering expanded financial incentives to encourage people at more income levels to switch to heat pumps – energy-efficient wonders that provide air conditioning as well as heat. There are also programs offering free portable air conditioners to income-qualifying households.
But these offerings are often insufficient or exclude families who are still scraping by, especially in cities as expensive as Vancouver. The programs are also complicated, and fluctuating: The B.C. rules, for instance, changed this week, and federally, the Canada Greener Homes Grant, which offered rebates of up to $5,000, ran out of money in February because it was so popular. Some sort of second phase of this program isn’t expected until 2025, and nobody knows the details. As a result, according to heat-pump people I spoke with, many homeowners are waiting it out, hoping for the reintroduction of a federal rebate next year.
I don’t think we can survive another sweltering summer without AC, so I had a Home Comfort Advisor visit my tiny duplex this week for a quote on a heat pump. My HCA, an HVAC wizard, spent hours explaining the system, taking measurements, and figuring out where the equipment would go. I was sold.
Then he did the calculations. The cost to do my whole home, all in, was just under $30,000.
It appears I’m eligible for a provincial rebate of either $1,000 or $2,000; larger rebates are offered if I were converting from gas- or oil-heating systems (I have electric baseboards). There are currently no municipal rebates from Vancouver, and non-heat-pump permanent-AC installation is not allowed. There is a zero-interest federal loan program, though.
Many of us, if we can afford them, will rely on still-costly portable air conditioners, which aren’t as effective. And unlike environmentally friendly heat pumps, they put a huge strain on the grid.
If there are legislated minimum temperatures that landlords must abide by, it’s time to look at the other end of the thermometer. Toronto is considering a bylaw that would legislate maximum temperatures of 26 C in apartment units, and in Vancouver, new multifamily homes will require mechanical air-cooling equipment as of 2025. Good. But homeowners need more help, too.
Air conditioning is no longer a frill. It should be a right.