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Title: Utilizing smart-meter data to project impacts of urban warming on residential electricity use for vulnerable populations in Southern California
Abstract

Extreme heat events are increasing in frequency and intensity, challenging electricity infrastructure due to growing cooling demand and posing public health risks to urbanites. In order to minimize risks from increasing extreme heat, it is critical to (a) project increases in electricity use with urban warming, and (b) identify neighborhoods that are most vulnerable due in part to a lack of air conditioning (AC) and inability to afford increased energy. Here, we utilize smart meter data from 180 476 households in Southern California to quantify increases in residential electricity use per degree warming for each census tract. We also compute AC penetration rates, finding that air conditioners are less prevalent in poorer census tracts. Utilizing climate change projections for end of century, we show that 55% and 30% of the census tracts identified as most vulnerable are expected to experience more than 16 and 32 extreme heat days per year, respectively.

 
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Award ID(s):
1752522 1845931
NSF-PAR ID:
10303678
Author(s) / Creator(s):
; ;
Publisher / Repository:
IOP Publishing
Date Published:
Journal Name:
Environmental Research Letters
Volume:
15
Issue:
6
ISSN:
1748-9326
Page Range / eLocation ID:
Article No. 064001
Format(s):
Medium: X
Sponsoring Org:
National Science Foundation
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