An investigation into overheating in social housing dwellings in central England

Recent empirical studies have evidenced overheating in UK dwellings during hotter periods. Vulnerable people living in social housing dwellings may be less able to tolerate heat stress or to adapt. This study is the first large scale monitoring study to investigate overheating risk in social housing dwellings in central England against three overheating risk assessment criteria. Indoor temperature data for summer 2015 were analysed for 122 free-running social housing properties, of varying type and age, against the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) static guidance, and the adaptive methods of TM52 and TM59. The mean bedroom and living room temperatures were 21.2°C and 21.7°C, respectively. Bedrooms were more likely to overheat than living rooms using the static criteria, with 42% of bedrooms exceeding 5% of occupied hours over 24°C, and 40% exceeding 1% of occupied hours over 26°C. 24% of living rooms exceeded 5% of occupied hours over 25°C, and 5% exceeded 1% of occupied hours over 28°C. Against TM52, only 1% of bedrooms and 2% of living rooms overheated. Against TM59, 5% of bedrooms and 1% of living rooms overheated. Analysis by various property categories identified those types of property which were more prone to overheating.