Adapting Dwellings to Protect Residents from High Indoor Temperatures
David Ormandy, Véronique Ezratty, Neeraj Malhotra, Andy Dengel and Michael Swainson
BACKGROUND
It is predicted that England is likely to experience more extreme weather events, including heat waves.
There is little on long-term plans providing adaptation of existing dwellings insufficiently protected from excess heat.
OBJECTIVES
To Identify and Summarise ~
• Factors that could contribute to excessive high temperatures in existing dwellings during heat waves
• Appropriate precautionary measures to minimise the impact of those factors on residents
CAUSES OF OVERHEATING
Individually or in combination ~
• High outdoor ambient temperatures
• Solar heat from sunlight
• Internal sources, including use of electrical
appliances, cooking, occupants, and services (hot
water tanks, pipes)
CHARACTERISTICS OF SUSCEPTIBLE DWELLINGS
Orientation –
•South and West facing elevations
Location –
•Ground floor (night-time purge ventilation avoided for
security)
•Near busy road or railway (windows closed to avoid
noise)
•Dwellings under the roof with little loft insulation
•Dense urban areas with heat island effect
Building design and construction –
•Older dwellings with inadequate loft insulation
•Modern highly insulated and air-tight dwellings
•Dwellings with high thermal mass
•Inadequate or inappropriate ventilation
•Single aspect apartment (equivalent of back-to-back
facing South or West
SOME PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES
•Appropriate insulation to the loft, and the walls (external, cavity, or internal, depending on the design/construction)
•Appropriate means of ventilation (ideally non-mechanical)
•Solar shading for South and West facing windows such as awnings (so maintaining the view), or blinds or shutters (if
possible external)
SUGGESTED POLICIES & STRATEGIES
Identify dwellings with relevant characteristics using –
•Local house condition surveys
•Maps showing South and West facing elevations
•Aerial Infra-Red Technology (insulation levels)
Match with data on households –
•Vulnerability characteristics (age, health status etc)
•Socio-economic status
Set priorities based on those dwellings that –
•Provide the least protection against overheating
•Are occupied by those most vulnerable to high indoor temperatures
Arrange visits by case-workers to –
•Assess dwelling conditions and household circumstances
•Provide information on possible precautionary measures
•Identify possible sources of finance
Thermal Map showing insulation levels
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