Cooling your home could hit a record high this summer

Keeping cool could cost a lot more this summer — yet another financial squeeze for many inflation-weary consumers.

Keeping cool could cost a lot more this summer — yet another financial squeeze for many inflation-weary consumers. Americans can expect to shell out a record $784, on average, to cool their homes from June through September, according to a new analysis by the National Energy Assistance Directors Association and the Center for Energy Poverty and Climate. That’s up 4.2% from the same period last year and 14% higher than 2020, when folks only paid an estimated $688, after accounting for inflation. The tab is projected to rise both because electricity prices are increasing faster than inflation and another hot summer is in the forecast, said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the association, which examined summer cooling costs since 2014. Residents of New England and the Midwest will be hit especially hard, with costs projected to increase between 13% and 18% from last year. Only those living in the Pacific, who were expected to shoulder a spike in cooling bills last summer, could catch a break — with costs forecast to decline nearly 7%. Although inflation has become more muted in recent years, prices remain high and household debt is on the rise. What’s more, escalating costs for both winter heating and summer cooling are putting pressure on Americans’ wallets year-round. Heating bills this past winter, which was a cold one, were expected to jump nearly 9%, according to the association. “People don’t get a chance to catch up,” Wolfe said.