Ageing brings about physiological changes that affect people’s thermal sensitivity and thermoregulation. The majority of older Australians prefer to age in place and modifications to the home environment are often required to accommodate the occupants as they age and possibly become frail. However, modifications to aid thermal comfort are not always considered. Using a qualitative approach this study aims to understand the thermal qualities of the existing living environment of older South Australians, their strategies for keeping cool in hot weather and warm in cold weather and to identify existing problems related to planning and house design, and the use of heating and cooling. Data were gathered via seven focus group sessions with 49 older people living in three climate zones in South Australia. The sessions yielded four main themes, namely ‘personal factors’, ‘feeling’, ‘knowing’ and ‘doing’. These themes can be used as a basis to develop information and guidelines for older people in dealing with hot and cold weather. Original publication at MDPI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16060935 © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI.
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In face of climate change and urbanization, the need for thermally comfortable outdoor urban spaces is increasing. In the design of the thermally comfortable urban spaces and decision making about interventions that enhance thermal comfort, scientists and professionals that work for cities use meteorological measurements and models. These measurements can be done by professional and accurate meteorological sensors, but also by simpler mobile instruments such as the easy-to-use Kestrel weather meters. In using these simple type of sensors, it is important to know what the performance of these sensors is for outdoor thermal comfort assessments and how they can be used by scientists and professionals in decision making about urban designs that enhance thermal comfort.To answer these questions, we carried out three experiments in the summer of 2020 in Amsterdam, in which we tested the 11 Kestrel 5400 heat stress sensors and assessed the performance of this equipment for thermal comfort studies. We concluded that Kestrel sensors can be used very well for assessing differences in air temperature and PET (Physiological Equivalent Temperature) between outdoor built environments. For both air temperature and PET, the RMSE between the 11 Kestrel sensors was 0.5 °C maximum when measuring the same conditions. However, Kestrel sensors that were placed in the sun without a wind vane mounted to the equipment showed large radiation errors. In this case, temperature differences up to 3.4 °C were observed compared to Kestrels that were shaded. The effect of a higher air temperature on the PET calculation is, however, surprisingly small. A sensitivity analysis showed that an increase of 3 °C in the air temperature results in a maximal PET reduction of 0.5 °C. We concluded that Kestrel sensors can very well be used for assessing differences between air temperatures and PET between two locations and assessing the thermal effects of urban designs, but care should be taken when air temperature measurements are carried out in the sun. We always recommend using the wind vanes to deviate from high radiant input orientations for the temperature sensor, and placing the stations next to each other at the beginning and at the end of the measurements to check whether the stations actually measure the same values. Any differences can be corrected afterwards.
This chapter reports on the findings of a research project aimed at investigating the actual thermal environment of the housing of older occupants (aged 65 or over) in South Australia. The study documented their thermal preferences and behaviours during hot and cold weather and relationships to their well-being and health. Information was collected in three phases, a telephone survey, focus group discussions and detailed house environmental monitoring that employed an innovative data acquisition system to measure indoor conditions and record occupant perceptions and behaviours. The research covered three climate zones and extended over a nine-month period. The detailed monitoring involved a total of 71 participants in 57 houses. More than 10,000 comfort/well-being questionnaire responses were collected with more than 1,000,000 records of indoor environmental conditions. Analysis of the data shows the relationships between thermal sensation and self-reported well-being/health and the various adaptive strategies the occupants employ to maintain their preferred conditions. Findings from the research were used to develop targeted recommendations and design guidelines intended for older people with specific thermal comfort requirements and more broadly advice for architects, building designers and policymakers. Original publication at: Routledge Handbook of Resilient Thermal Comfort Chapter 7: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003244929-10
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