Building Thermal Performance, Extreme Heat, and Climate Change

Nahlik, Matthew J.; Chester, Mikhail; Pincetl, Stéphanie; Eisenman, David; Sivaraman, Deepak; English, Paul

doi:10.1061/(asce)is.1943-555x.0000349

Cited by 35 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…The urban structure of the Los Angeles Basin is ill-equipped to handle hot weather situations, which may contribute to the sensitivity of Los Angeles residents to negative heat/health outcomes in both summer and winter [ 45 ]. Unlike Phoenix and Miami, where housing and general architecture are more amenable to hot weather conditions, Los Angeles’ housing composition is generally less adapted, particularly if home air conditioning is unavailable [ 46 ]. In Los Angeles County, fewer than 50% of households possess central air conditioning; no doubt others have window units, but the proportion of homes with air conditioning is considerably lower in Los Angeles than in other cities, including Phoenix and most eastern large cities [ 45 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat/mortality sensitivities in Los Angeles during winter: a unique phenomenon in the United States

Kalkstein

Vanos

et al. 2018

Environ Health

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BackgroundExtreme heat is often associated with elevated levels of human mortality, particularly across the mid-latitudes. Los Angeles, CA exhibits a unique, highly variable winter climate, with brief periods of intense heat caused by downsloping winds commonly known as Santa Ana winds. The goal is to determine if Los Angeles County is susceptible to heat-related mortality during the winter season. This is the first study to specifically evaluate heat-related mortality during the winter for a U.S. city.MethodsUtilizing the Spatial Synoptic Classification system in Los Angeles County from 1979 through 2010, we first relate daily human mortality to synoptic air mass type during the winter season (December, January, February) using Welch’s t-tests. However, this methodology is only somewhat effective at controlling for important inter- and intra-annual trends in human mortality unrelated to heat such as influenza outbreaks. As a result, we use distributed lag nonlinear modeling (DLNM) to evaluate if the relative risk of human mortality increases during higher temperatures in Los Angeles, as the DLNM is more effective at controlling for variability at multiple temporal scales within the human mortality dataset.ResultsSignificantly higher human mortality is uncovered in winter when dry tropical air is present in Los Angeles, particularly among those 65 years and older (p < 0.001). The DLNM reveals the relative risk of human mortality increases when above average temperatures are present. Results are especially pronounced for maximum and mean temperatures, along with total mortality and those 65 + .ConclusionsThe discovery of heat-related mortality in winter is a unique finding in the United States, and we recommend stakeholders consider warning and intervention techniques to mitigate the role of winter heat on human health in the County.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heat/mortality sensitivities in Los Angeles during winter: a unique phenomenon in the United States

Kalkstein

Vanos

et al. 2018

Environ Health

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“…We believe that this is mostly due to the overdependence of the current building stock on AC technology. Lightweight construction with minimum regard for passive mitigation strategies lead to buildings that are highly vulnerable to extreme heat, power outages, and climate change (Baniassadi and Sailor, 2018;Nahlik et al, 2016;Sailor, 2014). The other important aspect, emphasized by the measurements, is the role of ventilation, namely, window-opening.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Indoor air quality and thermal comfort for elderly residents in Houston TX—a case study

Baniassadi¹,

Sailor²,

O’Lenick³

2018

Healthy, Intelligent and Resilient Buildings and Urban Environments

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The elderly population is more vulnerable to poor indoor environmental quality. They also spend a larger portion of their time indoors than the general public, further exacerbating the associated health risks. As part of a larger study which aims to understand the health risks for the elderly population resulting from extreme heat events in Houston, TX, this study gathered empirical data on thermal comfort and air quality in existing assisted living facilities and in individual homes of the elderly. We made continuous measurements of indoor dry-bulb temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and occupancy status in 25 buildings during summer months in 2016 and 2017. Then, using the measured data, we calculated the percentage of hours in which the thermal discomfort index or CO2 levels were above healthy thresholds for each site. Our results show that the indoor discomfort index and/or CO2 level exceeded the safe thresholds for at least 5% of the time in two-thirds of the buildings tested. Considering that research suggests more extreme summer weather in this region in the future, the results of this study highlight the need to consider changes in building management and occupant behavior as well as targeted improvements in the building stock to minimise adverse health impacts. In addition, the results also highlight a potential trade-off between thermal comfort and air quality in these building; air-tightening of the buildings will result in better thermal comfort at the expense of higher CO2 levels, especially in buildings with a higher number of occupants.

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“…Baniassadi et al 2018) to power losses and extreme weather events (e.g. EOP 2013; Nahlik et al 2017). In temperate climates there are concerns that an upsurge in use will increases the summertime loads on local and national electricity supply networks (Crawley et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Summertime overheating in UK homes: is there a safe haven?

Drury

Watson

Lomas

2021

Buildings and Cities

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Summertime overheating in dwellings in temperate climates is widespread. Overheating in bedrooms disrupts sleep, degrading health and wellbeing, and can be life-threatening. Air-conditioning homes is a solution, but is expensive and adds load onto electricity networks. An alternative is to provide safe havens, a cool retreat for sleeping when the main bedroom overheats. This paper estimates the number of English dwellings that might already have such spaces. The 2017 Energy Follow Up Survey (EFUS) to the English Housing Survey (EHS) provides temperatures measured in the main bedroom, up to two other bedrooms and the living room of 750 homes. These data were collected in 2018, a summer typical of those expected in the 2050s. The main bedroom overheated in 19% of the housing stock as judged by an adaptive comfort criterion. Up to 76% of these homes had living rooms that could provide a safe haven, and in up to 46% an alternative bedroom might provide a safe haven. Very few, if any, flats and small-area dwellings had a safe haven. These figures provide an upper-bound estimate; in practice the useable number of safe havens is likely to be less. POLICY RELEVANCESafe havens for use during heatwaves have been suggested as a climate-adaptive strategy to ameliorate indoor overheating. In this study, the prevalence of safe havens, which can be slept in when the main bedroom overheats, is estimated. Living rooms offered the best opportunity of a safe haven for sleeping, with 5.8 million of the 7.4 million people experiencing an overheated main bedroom being relieved of exposure. Flats and small dwellings were more prone to overheating, but few, if any, had either a living room or a spare bedroom that offered a safe haven. Overall, this study strengthens the idea that public health advice, especially during heatwaves, should be tailored to different dwelling and household types. For larger dwellings other than flats, advice could emphasise the benefits of sleeping in the living room, where possible, on hot nights. Homes without safe havens should be the focus of heat mitigation retrofit strategies.

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Building Thermal Performance, Extreme Heat, and Climate Change

Cited by 35 publications

References 26 publications

Heat/mortality sensitivities in Los Angeles during winter: a unique phenomenon in the United States

Heat/mortality sensitivities in Los Angeles during winter: a unique phenomenon in the United States

Indoor air quality and thermal comfort for elderly residents in Houston TX—a case study

Summertime overheating in UK homes: is there a safe haven?

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