Overheating in homes – BSRIA residential network event

1 Introduction
2 Extent of overheating
3 Need for a definition
4 Contributing factors
5 Mechanical cooling?
6 Way forward
7 Related articles on Designing Buildings

[edit] Introduction

--BSRIA’s Residential Network organised an event on the 22nd of July 2015 focussing on the issue of overheating in homes:

Nicola O’Connor summarised an extensive research project by the Zero Carbon Hub that brought together input from government, industry and academic experts to understand the challenges around tackling the risk of overheating in homes.
Chris Yates from Johnson and Starley made an appraisal of the assumptions and requirements within the Building Regulations and associated guidance as well as the implications for mechanical ventilation system manufacturers.
Neil Witney from DECC explained the challenges around defining and regulating overheating within homes, current policies and mechanisms that may be introduced in the future in response to the growing body of evidence highlighting the issue.
Paul Ciniglio from First Wessex shared the organisation’s findings from several research projects and experience from their own developments, which resonated with issues highlighted by members of the audience.
Bill Gething of Sustainability + Architecture and professor at the University of West England brought into perspective how changes in the way homes have been designed and built over the recent years has led to a shift in the performance of homes.
James Ford, partner at Hoare Lea discussed some key considerations for designers to address the issue at early stages, to help minimise risk and dependence on active cooling solutions.

[edit] Extent of overheating

Evidence indicates that up to 20% of homes in England may already be overheating. Areas where additional risks have been highlighted include:

Common areas in apartment blocks, especially where community heating is installed – these areas are not assessed using the Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) as they are outside the dwelling envelope. In reality, being unoccupied spaces these are often not modelled for their thermal performance (and energy use) at all. Community heating is being incorporated in an increasing number of projects and the supply network remains live even in the summer to meet the domestic hot water demand. Ensuring that the specification and installation of insulation for the distribution pipework is adequate is becoming increasingly important as buildings are made more airtight. Often stairwells and circulation areas have a high proportion of glazing and, with recent improvements in the general standard of construction and materials, tend to retain a large proportion of the heat gains. It is now important to incorporate a ventilation strategy for these spaces so that the accumulated heat can escape.
Urban areas – the average temperatures in city centres can be more than 4°C higher than rural areas. Flats are more common to city centres and these are often close to sources of noise and air pollution and have limited, if any, potential for cross ventilation. All these factors can combine to limit the effectiveness of natural ventilation in addressing the build-up of heat, not just in the summer. Building designs that incorporate large proportions of glazing in their facades, such as penthouses, if not carefully designed, can require air change rates that are unrealistic using natural or mechanical ventilation systems.

[edit] Need for a definition

A number of sources and definitions are being referred to currently when evaluating for the risk of overheating in homes. These include CIBSE’s Environmental Design Guide A (2006) which sets standards for comfort, although it is not mandatory to use this to demonstrate compliance with the Building Regulations. Dynamic modelling through tools such as TAS and IES offer the opportunity of making a more comprehensive evaluation than SAP, but this option is skill, time and cost intensive. Building Regulations do not relate to limiting overheating for thermal comfort, just limiting the use of fuel and power for air-conditioning. The minimum evaluation for demonstrating compliance with Criterion 3 of Approved Document Part L of the Building Regulations needs to be carried out using SAP. While SAP is not intended to be a design tool, it is accepted that it is the default tool the industry uses widely.

Research projects have highlighted that dwellings can demonstrate a risk of overheating when evaluated against the CIBSE standard but not when modelled in SAP. Surveys from the Zero Carbon Hub study showed that nearly 60% of the housing providers surveyed had checks in place to assess the risk of overheating. However, only 30% of these housing providers explicitly included the requirement for considering the risk of overheating as part of their employees’ requirements to architects and designers. This suggests a missed opportunity for the issue to be addressed early on in the process, when cost and energy efficient measures may be effectively incorporated.

There are several challenges around the definition of conditions under which overheating can be said to occur as several factors contribute to this, including, but not limited to, air and radiant temperatures, humidity, air velocity, level of activity and the adaptability of the individual. There are several checks that can be built into the design process which can help identify the risk at an early stage and allow for a method for mitigating these to be set up and followed through.

[edit] Contributing factors

The energy efficiency of homes in the UK has improved significantly in terms of reduction of space heating loads. This has come about in new homes through Approved Document Part L 1A of the Building Regulations and in existing homes through schemes such as the Green Deal. Homes are now less leaky and better insulated to keep warmth in but attention and emphasis is needed on measures to facilitate the expelling excess heat adequately when temperatures rise.

Homes are expected to provide comfortable conditions for occupants all year round and through a range of different occupancy patterns, which may in reality be considerably different to the standard assumptions made in modelling tools like SAP. It is possible that if modelling for thermal comfort is carried out assuming worst case assumptions for occupant density, external conditions and hours of occupancy, many homes would require mechanical cooling. There are, however a number of common sense measures that can be applied to ensure the impact of key contributing factors are minimised. These include controlling solar gains from south and west facing glazing and making provisions for adequate, secure ventilation especially when thermal mass has been incorporated in the structure.

The current extent of overheating in homes must be seen in the context of the anticipated changes in climate. With external temperatures expected to rise with an increased frequency of extreme weather conditions, homes built today must be fit for purpose for warmer summers.

[edit] Mechanical cooling?

There has been a rise reported in the installation of mechanical cooling systems in homes in the UK, more noticeably so in the south. While this may be an expected feature in high end homes, the cost of running these systems can be prohibitive, or at least perceived as so, for households where minimising expenditure on energy and fuel is a priority.

There is the potential to develop low-carbon mechanical cooling systems such as reversible heat pumps. The large scale uptake of these can however have some serious implications for energy supply and the capacity of the grid to accommodate a draw in peak summer months.

[edit] Way forward

As well as affecting comfort, exposure to high temperatures over prolonged periods can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of residents. It is critical therefore to agree on a set of parameters that can help define overheating in homes and this should be carried out with input from bodies such as Public Health England.

Until a definition and modelling strategy is developed, designers and housing providers can refer to several good practice guides and research studies that help embed a common sense approach to design. There is significant potential to mitigate the risk of overheating in homes if early stage design decisions are taken with due consideration for the issue. The limitations of mechanical ventilation systems to help achieve comfort in homes must be acknowledged so that the final burden of an ill-considered design does not rest with the occupants.

To find out more about our Residential Network and to download the presentations from this meeting check out BSRIA’s Network pages. To find out more about all of BSRIA’s networks contact bsria .co.uk tracey.tilbry@bsria.co.uk.