Extreme heat plays a role in hundreds of deaths in Maricopa County each year. Most of these deaths occur outdoors, but when it comes to indoor heat deaths, one group faces disproportionate risk: residents of manufactured homes.
RVs and mobile homes make up only about 5% of housing in Maricopa County. But 25% of indoor, heat-related deaths in the county last year occurred in these homes, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
“These manufactured-housing residents have really fallen through the cracks,” said Mark Kear, an associate professor with the University of Arizona School of Geography, Development and Environment.
Kear said many newer manufactured homes are very well insulated. But this type of housing had no federal regulation before the mid-1970s, and many of those older units, which might lack proper insulation, are still in use today. And, Kear added, it can be difficult for owners to get financing to make weatherization upgrades to these types of homes.
“You have this already heat-vulnerable housing type lived by low- to moderate-income folks who see no financial incentive to invest in it. And over time, it becomes more and more rundown,” Kear said.
The Arizona Legislature last year passed a law barring mobile home park operators from putting restrictions on the types of air conditioning that residents could install.
But another disadvantage, Kear said, is that mobile home parks often have little foliage and shade, and a lot of hard surfaces that retain heat, making the environment hotter.
“Even if you have adequate air conditioning, it's going to be a greater financial burden for you to keep that home cool,” Kear said.
Another challenge, Kear said, is that in many mobile home parks, residents pay utilities through their park management, so they are not direct customers of utility companies. That makes them ineligible for some types of energy assistance.
“Even though they're oftentimes the most heat-vulnerable, they're often unable to access some of the key programs that exist to help people who struggle to pay those energy bills in the summer,” Kear said.
Kear said expanding access to energy assistance programs is one way policy makers could help prevent these indoor, heat-related deaths.
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