An Investigation of Scalable Solutions to Mitigate against Overheating in New Build Homes in the UK
Gero, Callistus (2024) An Investigation of Scalable Solutions to Mitigate against Overheating in New Build Homes in the UK. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.
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Callistus Gero PhD Thesis published_Final version_Submitted Sept 2023_Final Award May 2024.pdf - Accepted Version Download (5MB) |
Abstract
Overheating in houses is a growing concern because of increases in climate change-instigated heatwaves and low energy requirements. Overheating causes discomfort to occupants with a potential for serious health risks. In the UK, avoiding overheating has become part of building regulations which indicate methods of determining the potential for overheating. Solutions are not prescribed but are open to being met in various ways. It is possible to address every house individually in its context, however, this is time consuming and expensive. For overheating mitigation to become a reality, scalable solutions (excluding air conditioning) that can be easily applied and assessed at a mass scale, are needed. This research investigates the scalability of overheating mitigation measures in new build developments in the UK to determine an evaluation framework for their effective and practical use.
To address the scalability of overheating mitigation solutions, a much more holistic analysis of not just the technical design but the home development process and occupancy expectations was considered to be necessary. This has been undertaken through multi-method and multi-disciplinary research involving the industry, occupied housing, and theoretical assessment of wider solutions. This multimethod approach involved interviewing industry stakeholders and home occupants, real time sensor monitoring of indoor temperature in 5 UK homes, dynamic simulation modelling of 5 solutions, and validation workshops with home developers.
The investigation of the UK home development process revealed unawareness in all stages of the decision-making process, that need to be addressed to mitigate against overheating in homes. Monitoring identified how the risk of overheating was created and experienced in UK homes. Overheating analyses suggest that overheating design methods are not sufficient to pick up the extent of overheating in homes. Simulation modelling showed that externally applied fabric solutions were more effective at reducing overheating risk against internal solutions. As well as effectiveness, four areas are shown to require addressing to evaluate solutions as scalable: home occupant perceptions, cost implications, supply chain resilience, and developmental procedures. Using these, a scalability framework for incorporating overheating mitigation solutions into home development processes is proposed and assessed.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) | ||||||
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Overheating, heatwaves, scalable solutions, mitigation, homes, new build, home development process | ||||||
| Subjects: | CAH13 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01-01 - architecture CAH13 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01-02 - building |
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| Divisions: | Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment > College of Built Environment |
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| Depositing User: | Jaycie Carter | ||||||
| Date Deposited: | 22 Jul 2024 12:35 | ||||||
| Last Modified: | 22 Jul 2024 12:35 | ||||||
| URI: | https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/15670 |
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