St. Louis Heat is Dangerous

EnergyCare services are more critical to the health and safety of our Saint Louis neighbors now more than ever.

 

A dangerous and deadly heat wave has gripped more than half of the U.S. this summer. Saint Louis temperatures have ranged from the mid 90s to triple digits, with the heat index making it feel as hot as 115 degrees at times.

 

“It’s been very busy,” says Tim O’Dea, EnergyCare Executive Director. “It has been scorching hot this summer. We are working actively every day to make sure people, especially older adults, kids with asthma, and the physically disabled, have a good window unit air conditioner correctly installed in their homes.”

As you often hear from St. Louis residents in the summer, “It’s not the heat; It’s the humidity.” This is actually quite true. The amount of moisture in the air determines whether or not a person’s body has a chance to cool down.

 

Extreme humidity means there’s no room in the air for that sweat to go. The sweat clings to your body instead of evaporating, and your body temperature rises. Even a healthy adult cannot survive outdoors in a ‘wet bulb’ of 95°F for more than six hours. Under these conditions, the human body will quickly overheat, resulting in death. Imagine being elderly or ill and trying to survive in these conditions without air conditioning.

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We install home weatherization materials, setup portable heaters and electric blankets, or simply give out standard blankets for immediate warmth. For the heat we install window air conditioners.