Proceedings of 9 Windsor Conference: Making Comfort...

Proceedingsof9thWindsorConference:MakingComfortRelevantCumberlandLodge,Windsor,UK,7-10April2016.NetworkforComfortandEnergyUseinBuildings,http://nceub.org.uk

AssessingoverheatingriskandpreparednessincarefacilitiesintheUK

ProfessorRajatGupta1,LauraBarnfield1andMatthewGregg1

1LowCarbonBuildingGroup,OxfordBrookesUniversity,UK,[email protected];

AbstractResearch in theUK and elsewhere has highlighted that older people are particularly vulnerable to negativehealtheffectsofoverheating.FundedbyJosephRowntreeFoundation,thisstudyempiricallyassessestheriskofsummertimeoverheatingacrossfourcarehomefacilitiesintheUK,usingcontinuousmonitoringofindoor(andoutdoor) temperatures from June to September2015, andbuilding surveys to identifydesign featuresthat can enable or prevent occupants and their carers to control their thermal environment. Qualitativefeedbackwas gathered through semi-structured interviewswith designers and seniormanagers of the carefacilities.Theresultsfromthemonitoringstudyindicateahighriskofsummertimeoverheatingacrossallthecasestudysettings, especially during short-term peaks in outdoor temperatures. Nevertheless managing the risk ofoverheating incarehomesisfoundtobeunder-prioritisedbydesigners,carehomemanagersandfront-linestaff, due to theperception that ‘older people are vulnerable to cold, andnot heat’. Insights frombuildingsurveysshowedunder-ventilationduetosingle-aspect rooms,windowrestrictorsandsealed tricklevents inwindows.Theseparationof careservicemanagementandbuildingmaintenance teamresulted inconfusionamongstcarestaffandresidentsabouthowtheventilationsystemswork,andwhoseresponsibilityitwastoturn themonoroff. Institutional factors such as relatively short-termdevelopment strategies affected thewillingnesstoadaptdesignsagainstoverheating.Thismakesvulnerablecarefacilitiesevenmoreexposedtooverheatingrisk,nowandinthefuture.

Keywords:overheating;caresector;monitoring;indoorenvironmentalconditions

1 IntroductionAnthropogenic climate change is expected to result in hotter and drier summers withheatwaveswithgreater frequency, intensityandduration;milderandwetterwinterswithmorestormsandfloodingintheUK(DEFRA2011;GuptaandGregg2013).Thishasseriousimplications for futureheat-relatedmortality,given that therearecurrentlyaround2,000prematureheat-relateddeathsintheUKeachyear(CCC,2014).Specificallyforolderpeopleincarehomes,researchhasshownthatinEnglandandWalesthesearethemostvulnerabletonegativehealtheffectsofsummeroverheating(AECOM2012;Lindleyetal2011).

Physiologicalstudiesshowthatthebody’sresponsetoheatisimpairedwithage(Klenketal,2010), and chronic or severe illnesses (PHE, 2014; Koppe et al, 2004). Relatively healthyolderpeoplecanalsobeatrisk,particularlyinextremelyhotweather(PHE,2014;TranandPetrokofsky, 2013; Klenk et al, 2010), partly because they do not necessarily perceivethemselves to be vulnerable (Abrahamson et al, 2009). It is also likely that heat-relatedmortality rates are mediated by people’s ability to adapt to local conditions as well asphysiological changes over time (PHE, 2014). This indicates that both care practices andenvironmentalfactorscanaffectpeople’svulnerabilityespecially inheatwaves(BrownandWalker,2008).Theneed toadapt toongoingclimatechangehasbeenhighlightedby the

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National Health Service (NHS) Heatwave Plan for England (NHS England & Public HealthEngland (PHE), 2013) and the recently published report by the UK’s Adaptation Sub-Committeeonthepotentialclimatechangeriskstopopulationwell-being(CCC,2014).

However there is growing evidence that many new-build care and extra-care housingschemesarealreadytoowarmforoccupantsand‘overheating’(Barnesetal,2012;Lewis,2014;Guerra-Santin andTweed, 2013).Given thatUKClimateProjections2009 (UKCP09)indicate that by the 2080smean dailymaximum temperatureswill increase even further(Jenkins et al, 2009), such rises in ambient temperature are likely to lead to evenmoreoverheating incaresettings.Moreovercareandextra-carehousingschemesaregenerallyhybrid building-types, simultaneously functioning as long-term residences, sometimesnursingenvironments,andworkplaces.Thishybridityisreflectedinthedesignofcareandextra-carebuildings,andtherearemanyotheraspectstobeconsideredwithinthedesignofcareandextra-carehousingthatcanallimpact(positivelyandnegatively)onthebuilding’srisk of summertimeoverheating; including safety issues, diverging needs andpreferences(particularlybetweenstaffandresidents),user-technologyinteraction,andquestionsaboutwhoisresponsibleforthermalconditions(vanHoofetal,2010).

Withinthiscontext,thispaperseekstoinvestigatethecurrentriskofsummeroverheatingintwocarehomesandtwoextracaresettings,andassesshowpreparedthecaresectoristotacklethisriskthroughappropriatedesign,managementanduse.Theresearchispartofa wider study funded by Joseph Rowntree Foundation to examine how far existing carehomesandothercareprovision intheUKare fit fora futureclimate,andtoconsiderthepreparednessofthecaresectorinlightoftheconsequencesofclimatechangewithafocusonoverheating.

2 Careandextra-carehomes:physicalandinstitutionalcontextItisimportanttonotethattherearedifferencesbetweencareandextra-caresettings,suchasacarehomeisaresidentialsetting,whereanumberofolderpeoplelive,usuallyinsingleroomsbutwithaccesstocommunalsocialspaces,andhaveaccesstoon-sitecareserviceswithmeals provided and staff on call 24hours a day. In contrast, extra-carehousing is adifferenttypeofhousingandcareschemedesignedtoaccommodateolderpeoplewhoarebecoming frailer and less able, but who still require and/or desire some level ofindependence.Extra-carehousingschemesprovidevaryinglevelsofcareandsupport;ataminimum,therewillbesomekindofon-callassistanceforpeopleinanemergency,butnotnecessarily a 24 hour a day physical presence, as is available in care homes. Extra-careschemesalsousuallyprovideself-containedunits,consistingofakitchen,living/diningarea,bathroom and one or two bedrooms, in addition to communal social facilities similar tothosewithinacarehome.

In both care and extra-care settings existing research indicates that warmth is generallyseen as something that is positive and the cold in turn as something negative; achievingthermalcomfort isstrongly relatedtokeepingresidentswarm(Brown2010,Walkeretal.2015,Nevenetal2015,Lewis2015).Thestatusofwarmthisreinforcedbytwoinstitutionalaspects that are important for care homes: the regulatory context and businessconsiderations.Nevenetal.(2015)describethedegreeofscrutinyandregulationthatcarehomesareunderandemphasise that the temperatureand thermal comfortof thehomeare part of this scrutiny, with Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspectors checking roomtemperatures and scrutinizing staff responsiveness to complaints from residents about


being cold. Furthermore,many care homes are run as a business and the success of thisbusinessreliesheavilyonkeepingoccupancyrateshigh;beinglabelledasacarehomethatis too cold can be very damaging as this is quickly associated with poor care standards(Nevenetal.,2015).

Research by Brown (2010) in care homes suggests that there are several institutionalaspects which can limit responsiveness to heatwave risks such as the hierarchical powerstructurespreventingjuniorstaffandresidentsfrominteractingwithcertainaspectsoftheheating and cooling infrastructure; theway inwhich hot and coldweather are perceived;carers, carehomemanagement and carehome inspectors alikehave aparticular viewofindoortemperatures,withthecoldseenasproblematicanddangerousbutheatisnotandeven during hot weather measures are still employed to maintain a high indoortemperature.Moreovertheimmobilityofresidentsandthewayinwhichtheyareactivelyprevented frommoving around, in part due to safety and control, leads to inactivity andthereforetoadropinbodytemperature,whichisthencombatedbymeasuresleadingtoanincreaseinbodytemperature,makingresidentsdrowsyandevenmoreimmobile.Alsothetimetableofthecarehomeandthetemporalroutinesitgeneratescanintroduceinertiaandinflexibilitywhichmaymakeadaptingtoneedsgeneratedbyhotweatherdifficult.

3 Methods,casestudiesandoverheatingmetricsThemethodologicalapproachwascasestudybased(focussingontwocarehomesandtwoextra-carefacilities),socio-technicaland interdisciplinary,drawingfrombuildingandsocialsciencemethods.Thestudyincluded:analysisofdesignfeaturesusingbuildingsurveys(toassess building design features that could contribute to the avoidance/exacerbation ofoverheating and enable or prevent occupants control over their thermal environment),continuousmonitoringof indoorandoutdoortemperatures indifferentspaces(toassesscurrentoverheatingrisk),andsemi-structuredinterviewswithaselectionofdesignersandmanagers((toassesshowbuildingdesignandmanagementpracticesaddressoverheatingrisksandvulnerabilities).

3.1 OverviewofthecasestudiesThefourcasestudybuildings(twocarehomesandtwoextra-carefacilities)are locatedinYorkshire&Humber(onecarehome),theSouthWestofEngland(oneextra-care),andtwointheSouthEastofEngland(onecarehomeandoneextra-care).Table1outlinesthekeycharacteristicsofthecasestudies.Itmustbenotedthatduetoissueswithrecruitment,thecasestudieswererelativelyself-selectingwhichmaymeanthattheyhavesomedegreeofpre-existinginterestinquestionsofoverheatingandclimatechange.


Table1.Maincharacteristicsofcasestudycarefacilities.

3.2 OverheatingmetricsThere are several methodologies and overheating metrics used to assess buildings(domestic and non-domestic) in England and Wales. This is mainly due to the fact thatoverheating, whilst a widely used term, is currently neither precisely defined norunderstood, particularly in the building sector. The metrics used to assess the thermalcomfortandoverheatingriskwithinthisstudyincludedboththestaticCIBSEGuideA(2006)overheatingandthermalcomfortcriteria(referredtoasthestaticmethod)andtheadaptiveoverheatingandthermalcomfortmethodoutlinedinBSEN15251:2007,CIBSETM52(2013)andCIBSEGuideA(2015)(Nicoletal.,2012).

The static method enables simple calculations to be undertaken when assessing theperformanceofabuilding,howeveritdoesnotaccountfortheadaptationoftheoccupantstotheirenvironmentalcontextsuchasexternaltemperatures.TheadaptiveapproachwasdevelopedbyHumphreysandNicol(1998)throughfieldstudiesofpeopleindailylife,andisparticularlyrelevanttofree-runningbuildings.Research(CIBSE,2015)suggeststhatpeoplearelesssensitivetotemperaturechangesintheirownhomethanatwork,and,generally,peoplehavemoreadaptiveopportunityathome.Understandingthesensitivityofpeopleto


environmental conditions is particularly pertinentwhen studying the care sector context,wheretheresidentsmaystillberelativelysensitiveduetotheirphysiologicalstate,andtheconflicts between control andhealth, safety and security thatwere evident in this study,andothers(PHE,2014).

Furthermore, despite a focus on the need to use the adaptive method when assessingoverheatingrisk,thecurrentCIBSEGuideA(2015)states;“AvailablefieldstudydatafortheUK(Humphreys,1979)showthatthermaldiscomfortandqualityofsleepbegintodecreaseifthebedroomtemperaturerisesmuchabove24°C.Atthistemperaturejustasheetisusedforcover.Itisdesirablethatbedroomtemperaturesatnightshouldnotexceed26°Cunlessthereissomemeanstocreateairmovementinthespace,e.g.ceilingfans.”Duetothis,andPublicHealthEnglandguidancethatsuggeststhatcertainareaswithinacarehomeshouldberetainedatamaximumof26°Cinordertoprovide‘coolareas’forresidents,itwasfeltappropriate to include the static overheating metric as defined in the superseded 2006CIBSEGuideA,andwhichisbasedonCIBSETM36:2005.

Itmust be noted thatwhilst the authors acknowledge the requirement for the operativetemperature (Top) to be calculated in order to undertake the above overheating riskmethodologies,duetopracticalconstraints,airtemperature(drybulb)wasusedasaproxyforTop.According toMavrogiannietal., (2015) this is a common limitationofmonitoringstudiesdue to cost constraints. The gapbetweenTop occurs in indoor spaceswithhigherlevelsofexposedthermalmassorhighindoorairvelocity(Mavrogiannietal.,2015);neitherofwhichwereprevalentinthecasestudybuildings.

4 AnalysisofbuildingdesignfeaturesandcontrolsThecasestudybuildingsincludedanumberofdesignfeaturesthatcouldimpactupontheriskofoverheatingwithin them,bothnegatively andpositively, asdetailed in Table 2.Ofparticularnoteintermsofgoodpractice,allcasestudieshadwelldesignedsoftlandscaping(Figure 1), which can provide cooler microclimates, and some had external shadingmeasures suchasbrise soleil and largeoverhangingeaves (Figure2), fixedverticalpanelsandbalconies(Figure3).Furthermore,thecasestudiesgenerallyhadopenablewindowsordoorsattheendofresidentialcorridors,whichincreasespotentialforcross-ventilationandaircirculation.

Howevertherewerealsosomefeaturesthatcouldexacerbatetheriskofoverheating,suchas the residential areas were all single aspect which can limit the potential for cross-ventilation. Spatial requirementsof carehomeandextra-carebuildingsmakedual aspectresidentialspacesdifficulttoimplement.BothCaseStudyAandDhaveopenablewindowsinthecorridorsadjacenttotheresidentialareas.Whilstthisdoesenablecross-ventilationtohappen, it relies on the resident’s leaving their doors open,which can have security andprivacyimplications.


Figure1.SoftlandscapinginCaseStudyBcanhelpprovideacoolermicroclimateduringperiodsofhotweather.

Figure2.BrisesoleilandlargeoverhangingeavesonsouthfaçadeofCaseStudyCtoprovideadditionalshading.

Figure3.WidebalconiesinCaseStudyDprovideadditionalshadingtoroomsbelow,aswellasspaceforplanting.


Table2.Identifieddesignfeaturesthatcontributeto/reducetheoverheatingriskincasestudybuildings.


4.1 ControlsformanagingtheindoorenvironmentOccupant management of their thermal environment can be greatly influenced by thecontrolsaffordedtothemthroughthedesignofboththebuildingitselfandtheactualusercontrolsforbuildingservices.Withinthecasestudies,itbecameapparentthattherewasadifference inuserrequirementsofcareandextra-careschemes;thethermalenvironmentof residents in care homes was generally controlled by the carers, whilst the moreindependent residents of the extra-care schemes able, and desiring, to self-control theirenvironments.Thebuildingsurveyalsohighlightedconflicts indesignforappropriateuserthermalenvironmentcontrolandotherprioritiessuchassafetyandsecurity.

Inallcasestudies,theneedtoprovidesecurityledtorestrictorsbeingplacedonnearlyallwindows; which limits the ability of even staff to open the windows. In the extra-caresettings, the restrictorswereable tobe removed,whichdidaffordslightlymorepersonalcontrol over ventilation. The design of the window handles in residential areas was alsohighlightedasapotential issue; inCaseStudyD, the installedhandleswere inoperablebyoccupantswithsevere,butcommonphysicalcomplaints (e.g.arthritis)and inoneflat thehandleshadbeenadaptedusingabikehandle toprovidea longerhandleandenable theoccupanttoactuallyopenandclosethewindow.

The occupants also displayed signs of adapting the building to suit their thermal comfortneeds,whetherthisbethroughproppingdoorsopenorcreatingtheirownwindow‘controls’(Figure 4) or having electricmobile fans to aid in thermoregulationduring periods of hotweather. Yet there were examples of where insufficient consideration of services andsystems hampered the ability of residents, in particular; the location of TRVs in the casestudybuildingswerenearlyalwaysatfloorlevel,which,forfrailerandlessmobileresidents,preventseasyaccess.Itwasalsoobviousthatwhilstthemajorityofthecontrolsforbuildingserviceswere relatively simple, this didnotnecessarilymean theywerebeingused in anefficientmanner;anexampleof thiswasthe fact that theheatingsettings in thecorridorareaswereveryhigh. InCaseStudyD,morecomplexcontrolswereused (each flathasaprogrammerand individual roomthermostats),and issueswiththeheatingsystemmeantthat thethermostat in thebathroomsofmost flatshadtobe lefton ‘max’,which furtherreducedtheabilityoftheresidentstocontroltheirownthermalenvironment.Trickleventswerepresentinthethree‘modern’casestudies(A,CandD).However,inCaseStudyA,itwasfoundthatmanyofthetrickleventshadbeenpaintedover,renderingtheminoperable.

Figure4.Windowproppedopenusingblockofwoodtoprovide

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5 MeasuringindoortemperatureconditionsInordertounderstandthecurrentoverheatingriskinthecasestudybuildings,dataloggersmeasuring temperature, relativehumidityand, insomeareas,CO2 levelswere installed inkey residential, communal and office areas. Readingswere taken every 15minutes over,approximately, a fourmonthperiod (June– September2015). Theanalysisof indoor andoutdoortemperaturesispresentedhere.

5.1 ResidentialareasOverall, 17 residential rooms were monitored across the four case studies, including sixlivingroomsand11bedrooms,ofwhichsixlivingroomsandfivebedroomsweremonitoredin theextra-carehomes.Figure5 shows the temperatureswithin thebedrooms inall thecasestudiesacrossthemonitoringperiod.Ascanbeseen, forasignificantamountof themonitored time, temperatures in all of the bedrooms were above 24°C throughout themonitoring period (dotted horizontal red line) and most also went above 26°C (solidhorizontal red line). Furthermore, the average mean temperature across all bedroomsmonitored was 24.5°C (Table 3); which is above recommended thermal comfort levels(CIBSEGuideA,2015).Inrelationtothestatic‘comfort’range(CIBSEGuideA,2006)fornonair-conditionedprivatelivingrooms(onlyinCaseStudyCandD),thetemperaturesinCaseStudy C were mainly within the ‘comfort’ range (25°C ±3K), although there were someinstancesoftemperaturesabove28°C,andbelow22°C.InCaseStudyD,temperaturesweresignificantly higher throughout the periodwith several periods inwhich the temperaturewasabove28°C,andneverbelow22°C.Theaveragemeantemperatureacrossthesixlivingroomswas25.5°C.

Figure4.9.Temperatureswithinbedroomsinthefourcasestudybuildingsacrossmonitoringperiod.Figure5.Temperatureswithinbedroomsinthefourcasestudybuildingsacrossthemonitoringperiod.


Table3.Minimum,meanandmaximumindoortemperaturesinmonitoredbedroomsandlivingroomsinthecasestudybuildingsacrossthemonitoringperiod.

As the red vertical band in Figure 5 demonstrates, there were ‘spikes’ in indoortemperatureswithinthemonitoredbedroomsandlivingrooms,acrossthefourcasestudybuildings. When cross-related with external data, it was apparent that these spikescorrelatedwithoutdoortemperatures,andhighlightedtheimpactofshort-termheatwavesontheoverheatingriskwithinthebuildings.Intwocasestudyareas(AandD),therecordedoutdoor temperatures during this period were above the PHE Heat-Health Watch (PHE,2015) system’s threshold temperatures (day and night). Although the period in whichoutdoor threshold temperatures were reached was relatively short, as Figure 6demonstrates, they did appear to affect indoor temperatures in the residential areassignificantly.UsingtheresidentialareaswithinCaseStudyAasanexample,withinthefirstday, indoor temperatures did not rise significantly, but on the second and third day,significant increases in temperatures can be seen; with indoor temperatures over PHE’s‘cool area’ temperature threshold of 26°C (red dot-dash line on Figure 6)), and as such,potentially putting the residents at risk of heat-related illness. Such increases in indoortemperaturesduring the short-termheatwaveperiodswas found tooccuracrossmostofthecasestudybuildings;indicatingthatthisisapotentiallywidespreadissue.


Figure6.IndoorandoutdoortemperaturesintheresidentialareasinCaseStudyAovershort-termheatwaveperiod(redverticalbandindicatesperiodinwhichoutdoortemperatureswereabovePHE’sHeat-Health

Watchthresholdtemperatures.

5.2 CommunalareasOverall,eightcommunalareas(sharedloungesanddiningareas)weremonitored.Figure7showsthetemperatureswithintheseareasacrossthemonitoringperiod.ThebluedottedlineindicatesCIBSEGuideA’s(2006)‘comfort’indoorsummertimetemperature(25°C)fornonair-conditioned livingareas,withtheblueband indicatingthe±3Ktemperaturerangethat is seenas theacceptable range.Ascanbeseen, thecommunalareasweregenerallywithinthis‘comfort’range,andtheaveragemeantemperatureacrossthemis24.7°C(Table4). However, Figure 8 also demonstrates that during specific periods, the indoortemperatures‘spike’significantly(verticalredbandinFigure7),evenmoresothanseenintheresidentialareas.

Figure7.Indoortemperaturesinmonitoredcommunalareasinallcasestudybuildingsacrossthemonitoringperiod.


Table4.Minimum,meanandmaximumindoortemperaturesincommunalareasincasestudybuildingsacrossthemonitoringperiod.

UsingCaseStudyDasanexample,whencross-relatingtheindoortemperaturestoexternaltemperaturedata, it isagainapparent that these ‘spikes’arehappeningduringperiodsofshort-termheatwaves.AsFigure8indicates,theindoortemperaturesincreaseparticularlyon the second day of the heatwave, which suggests that the ventilation and coolingstrategies do not provide adequate overnight cooling in order to reduce indoortemperatures,andevenperhapsalackofadequatepreparationforheatwavesintermsofheat andventilationmanagement.Alsodemonstratedby Figure8 is the fact that inCaseStudyD, temperatureswithin the communal areaswere all generally above 26°C before,duringandafterthisperiod;whichmeanstheseroomscouldnotbeusedas‘coolareas’asrecommended by the Heatwave Plan for England without additional heat managementarrangements.

Figure8.IndoorandoutdoortemperatureswithincommunalareasinCaseStudyDovershort-termheatwaveperiod.


5.3 OfficeareasIn total,eightofficesweremonitored.Figure9showsthetemperatureswithintheofficesacrossthemonitoringperiod,inrelationtothestaticindoorsummertimecomfortrangefornonair-conditionedoffices(CIBSEGuide,2006:25°C±3K,ashighlightedbyhorizontalbluedottedlineandband).Ascanbeseen,thetemperaturesweretowardsthehigherendofthe‘comfort’range,andtherewereseveralofficeareas(acrossthefourcasestudies)thatwereover themaximumthreshold temperatureof28°C forperiodsof time.Theaveragemeantemperatureacrossthemwas25.7°C(Table5).

Figure9.Indoortemperatureswithinofficesareasinallcasestudybuildingsacrossthemonitoringperiod.

Table5.Minimum,meanandmaximumtemperaturesinofficeareasincasestudybuildingsacrossmonitoringperiod.


Althoughthereisaslight‘spike’intheoffices(highlightedinFigure9byverticalredband),it is not as obvious as that in the residential and communal areas. Figure 10, using CaseStudyAasanexample,demonstrates thathighoutdoor temperaturesarenotnecessarilyindicativeofhigh indoortemperatures intheofficeareas;theStaffOffice inCaseStudyAreacheshighertemperaturesthedaybeforepeakoutdoortemperaturesarereached.Thissuggests,asexpected,thatinternalheatgainsplayasignificantroleintheoverheatingriskintheseareas.Itisalsoworthnotingthatthemajorityoftheofficeareasinthecasestudybuildingsaremorenortherly-facingthancommunalandresidentialareas.

6 AssessingoverheatingriskTheoverheating riskwithin themonitoredareaswas calculatedusingboth the static andadaptivemethods;asoutlinedinanearliersection.

6.1 Staticmethod:residential,communalandofficeareasThe staticmethodcriteria, asoutlined inCIBSEGuideA (2006), states thatoverheating islikelywhenthetemperatureintheroomexceedsathresholdtemperaturemorethan1%ofoccupied hours (bedroom threshold temperature is 26°C and living room thresholdtemperatureis28°C).Theoccupiedhoursoftheindividualroomswasbasedonthefindingsofthebuildingsurveytoensureaccuracy.Usingthestaticmethodtoassesstheoverheatingrisk,thefindingsindicatethatallexceptoneoftheresidentialareasareoverheating(Table6).CaseStudyDresidentialareasshowthehighestlevelsofoverheating;mostlikely,inpart,duetothefactthattheheatingwason(duetoafaultwiththesystem)duringthesummermonths.However,itisworthnotingthatFlat3(south-eastfacingandonthethirdfloor)hasthehighestpercentageofoccupiedhoursoverthetemperaturethreshold;Flat3isonthetopfloorandassuchhasnoadditionalshadingfromthebalconyofaflatabove.

Inthecommunalareas,overheatingoccursinallcasestudybuildings,exceptforCaseStudyB,andthesouth-facingLounge1 inCaseStudyC(fiveoutofeightrooms).Lounge1(CaseStudyC)hassignificantadditionalpassivemeasuressuchasbrisesoleil,largeroofoverhangand controllable cross-ventilation aswell as activemeasures including electric ceiling fansand an air conditioning unit. Out of the eight offices monitored, there is evidence ofoverheating in four; spread across the four case study buildings. All of the offices that

Figure10.IndoorandoutdoortemperatureswithinofficeareasinCaseStudyAovershort-termheatwaveperiod.


showedsignsofoverheatingwereeithersouth-westorsouth-east facingexceptone(CaseStudyA);thisroomwasrelativelycrowdedintermsofbothoccupantsandofficeequipment,whichmostlikelyaddsubstantiallytotheinternalgainsinthisroom.Intotal,25outofthe33roomsmonitoredoverheatedduringthemonitoringperiod,accordingtothestaticmethod.

6.2 Adaptivemethod:residential,communalandofficeareasTheadaptivecomfortandoverheatingmethodologyusedwithinthisstudyisthatoutlinedinCIBSETM52.Table7outlinestheresultsforallmonitoredrooms.Ascanbeseeninthistable,fewerroomsshowedsignsofoverheating, incomparisontotheresultsofthestaticmethod.Onlythreeresidentialareas(CaseStudyC)wereoverheatingduringthemonitoredperiod, although a further six rooms (mainly in Case Study D) did fail Criterion 1. In thecommunalareas,all threecommunalareas inCaseStudyD failedbothCriterion1and3,and as such are deemed to have overheated during the monitoring period. Within themonitoredoffices,onlyonefailedtwoormorecriteria;theManager’sOfficeinCaseStudyB.Intotal,onlysevenoutofthe33monitoredroomsoverheated,accordingtotheadaptivemethodanalysis.

7 Assessingpreparedness:designintentandmanagementpracticesIntotal,fivedesignersandthreemanagers(rangingfromsustainabilitymanagerstohousingmanagers) involved inthedesignpracticesandcareorganisationsresponsibleforthefourcasestudybuildingswereinterviewed.Thesemi-structuredinterviewslastedapproximatelyonehourandinvolvedquestionsonthedesign,briefing,procurementandmanagementofthe building, along with wider questions on design and strategizing for future climatechangeandoverheatinginthecaresector.

The interviewshighlightedtheneed foran increase inawarenessof,andchange inattitudestowards overheating; the majority did not see it as a ‘current’ issue, which is likely to beproblematic in light of the findings from the temperature monitoring in the study whichindicated that overheating is happening in care facilities, particularly during short-termheatwaves.Theinterviewsalsohighlightedthedisconnectbetweendesignintentandoperationof heating and ventilation systems, either through the low prioritisation of the overheatingmitigationstrategies;procurementprocessesremovingthedesignteamfromwhatisbuiltonsite and/or handover of the building being undertaken by separate management andmaintenanceteamswithintheorganisation,andnotgivendirectlytotheon-sitestaff.

This limitedtheabilityof theon-siteusersof thesystemsfromeffectivelymanagingtheirenvironment;anexampleofwhichcanbefoundinCaseStudyDwheretheheatingsystemitself ison24/7 throughout thesummer,andhasnotbeenworkingcorrectly since itwasinstalled.Yettheon-sitemanagerisnotfullyawareofhowtouseit,andassuchhasadvisedthe residents to simply leave the system alone. The impacts of this are clear in themonitoring results, with temperatures in this case study generallymuch higher than theother case studies, and generally towards the high end of expected comfort levels.Furthermore, particularly in the medium-to-large organisations, there appeared to be aconflict between providing on-site user control and ensuring a more centralisedmanagement system to enhance effective and efficient energy and maintenancemanagement.Suchinstitutionalfactorsarelikelytohaveaneffectonhowheatwaveactionplanscanbeeffectivelyimplemented,aswellashowmuchoccupantsfeelabletomanageandcontroltheirownthermalenvironment.


Table6.Resultsfromthestatic(CIBSEGuideA,2006)overheatingmethodanalysisofallmonitoredareaswithinthecasestudybuildings.


Table7.Resultsfromtheadaptiveoverheatingmethodanalysisofallmonitoredareaswithinthecasestudybuildings.


8 DiscussionThefindingsfromthestudyindicatethatthereissignificantriskofoverheating,particularlyduring short-termheatwaves,but alsoat timeswhen there isnoassessedheatwave risk.The monitoring of indoor environmental conditions revealed that, generally, indoortemperatureswerehigh.Inparticular,theresidentialareaswerehigherthanrecommendedcomfort levels;butwere lower than findings fromotherstudiesoncomfort temperaturesforolderpeople (Mendeset al., 2013). Indoor temperatures significantly increased in theresidential and communal areas in all case studies during periods of hot outdoortemperatures (short-term heatwaves). Indeed, during the short-term heatwave periods,noneof the residential or communal areas in the case studies remainedbelow26°C; thetemperature at which PHE’s Heatwave Plan for England recommends at least one areawithin the care facility to remain below in order to provide a ‘cool area’ to reduce thelikelihoodof heat-related illness.However, outdoor temperaturesdidnot appear tohavesuchanimpactonofficeareas.

In termsofoverheating, threeoutof the17residentialareas (CaseStudyC), threeoutoftheeightcommunalareas(CaseStudyD)andoneoftheeightofficeareas(CaseStudyB)monitoredoverheatedaccordingtotheadaptivemethod.Thissuggeststhatoverheatingiscurrentlyhappeninginthecasestudybuildings,andindicatesthatoverheatingispotentiallyamoresignificantriskinextracarebuildingsthancarehomes.

Whilstthebuildingsthemselvesincludeavarietyofpassivestrategiesthathelptomitigatethe overheating risk, more could be undertaken, such as fixed louvres and shutters.However, the designers highlighted the fact that often passive strategies, such as fixedlouvresandshuttersaredismissedduringtheearlydesignandplanningstages,inpartduetotheiraestheticsnotbeingcommonintheUK,andalackofawarenessofthecurrentandfutureoverheatingriskinUKbuildingsthroughoutboththeconstructionindustryandcaresector. The conflicts between priorities, such as health and safety, financial and qualityassurance,combinedwiththepervadingcultureofwarmthwithinthecaresectorcanalsooftenmakeitdifficultto ‘design-in’passiveoverheatingstrategies,andfurtherexacerbatetheoverheating risk. This is a significant finding in termsof enabling effective adaptationstrategies,notjustinexistingcarefacilitybuildingsbutalsointermsoffuturedevelopments.

Therealsoappearstobealackofadequatemanagementofventilationandheatingwithinthe case study buildings, other than installing and using temporary electric fans duringparticularlyhotweather,whichislikelytoalsocontributetothecurrentoverheatingofthecasestudybuildings.Thebuildingsurveysuncoveredanumberofareasinwhichthislackofmanagementandcontrolwasevident;thepaintingoveroftrickleventsinCaseStudyA,andthelackofunderstandingastowhattheirusewasbybothresidentsandstaffwasnotable,aswas the fact that in all the case studies the heating systemwas left on 24/7, all yearround.Thiswasakey findingof this studyandhighlighted the impactofbothdesignandmanagementoftheservicesandsystemsontheoverheatingrisk.Whilstthiswasinparttogive flexibility to theresidents,aswellasprovide themwithhotwater, thedesignmeantthatthepipeworkforthesesystemsfollowedcorridors,andwaslikelytobecontributingtotheinternalheatgainsthroughoutthebuildings;againemphasisingtheneedforjoined-updesigninrelationtotheservicesofcomplexbuildingssuchascarefacilities.

Inaddition,itappearedthattherewaslittle‘ownership’overtheheatingcontrolswithinthecare facilities, and few onsite staff were fully aware of how to control and manage thesystem most effectively. This, in part, appears to be due to the fact that separate


managementandmaintenance teamshaveoverall responsibility for the systems,and theon-sitestafffocussolelyonprovisionofcareratherthantheintricaciesoftheservicesandsystemson-site.

9 ConclusionsThisstudyprovidesevidenceontherisksandexperiencesofoverheatinginbothcareandextra-care settings. This is particularly vital as there is currently little research on heatmanagement,overheatingandthermalcomfort,specificallyduringthesummermonths inthe care sector. Such research is essential if adequate facilities are to be provided andmaintainedforsuchanagingandsubsequentlyvulnerablepopulationsuchasthatoftheUK.

Findings fromthestudyalsosuggest thatoverheatingduringsummermonths isacurrentriskinthecasestudybuildings,particularlyduringshort-termheatwaves,yetthereappearstobea lackofrecognitionandawarenesswithinthecaresectoraboutthis.This is inpartduetoaspectsofthedesign,managementanduseofthebuildings,aswellastheservicesandsystemsinstalled.

Alackofprioritisationoftheoverheatingrisk,bothcurrentandfuture,throughoutthedesignandmanagementofsuchbuildingsappearstobedeep-rooted inboththecaresector itselfand emphasises the need for a culture change within the care sector itself in order toensure’cooling’isprioritisedasmuchas‘warmth’.Whilstindividualorganisationscanseektoprovidebettermanagementand incorporateappropriatedesign strategies, for awholesalechange inthecultureandawarenessofthecaresector, inputandsupport is requiredfromgovernmentaldepartmentsandnational caresectorbodies in termsofprovidingenhancedandfocusedregulations,standardsandguidance.Withoutthispolicysupport,vulnerablecarefacilitieswouldbeevenmoreexposedtooverheatingrisk,nowandinthefuture.

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AcknowledgementsWearegratefultoJosephRowntreeFoundationforfundingthisresearchstudy.Oursincerethankstotheoccupants,staff,managersanddesignersinvolvedinthecasestudybuildingsfortheirtimeandinvolvementintheproject.Wealsowishtothankouracademicpartners,DrAlanLewisof theUniversityofManchesterandProfessorGordonWalkerandDrLouisNevenofLancasterUniversityfortheirinvaluableworkandinputintothestudy.

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