A thermometer in the Carole Ann Kane's mobile home in Mesa shows temperatures in the 90s on April 16, 2024. Temperatures will soar much higher as the summer arrives.
Kane’s daughters helped buy the mobile home with the little money she had left. Now she lives on $1,700 per month from Social Security to pay the bills, plus another $250 from a retirement account. Kane would wake up in a pool of sweat and get overheated doing the dishes. Her dog suffers in the dangerous situation, too.Experts say the vast majority of people who die indoors in a Phoenix summer actually have AC. They just can’t afford to use it.All these factors put her at risk, says Patricia Solis, director of the Knowledge Exchange for Resilience at Arizona State University.
“To prohibit you from using life-saving technology does not seem like something that people in Arizona would permit,” she says. “We may not agree on everything, but that seems like a no-brainer to me.”In April, Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bi-partisan bill that protects a tenant’s right to install air-conditioning window units — or other cooling technology — in a mobile home. Republican House member David Cook co-sponsored the legislation.
“Historically there have been some pretty loud ones, and also they are just a bit more unsightly,” says the lobbyist, Janna Day, explaining why some parks have restricted window unitsreached out for further comment, but they did not respond.DeAnna Mireau kept a close eye on the bill as it moved through the legislature. She leads the Arizona Association of Manufactured Home, RV & Park Model Owners, a statewide group of mobile home park residents.
Mireau says the management of her park allows residents to use heat-blocking techniques, and her home looks like an oasis.