An extensive study on the relationship between energy use, indoor thermal comfort, and health in social housing: the case of the New South Wales, Australia

Over three million people live below the poverty line in Australia. Low-income households suffer from overheated or cold homes and experience problems associated with energy inefficiency and poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ), which ultimately affect residents' quality of life, comfort, we...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IOP conference series. Materials Science and Engineering 2019-09, Vol.609 (4), p.42067
Main Authors: Haddad, S, Pignatta, G, Paolini, R, Synnefa, A, Santamouris, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air monitoring
Air quality
Energy
Energy consumption
Environmental quality
Households
Income
Indoor air pollution
Low income groups
Mental health
Public housing
Thermal comfort
Thermal environments
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Summary:Over three million people live below the poverty line in Australia. Low-income households suffer from overheated or cold homes and experience problems associated with energy inefficiency and poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ), which ultimately affect residents' quality of life, comfort, well-being, physical and mental health. These circumstances are the main drivers of a social challenge known as Energy Poverty (EP) when residents have difficulties in paying the electricity bills. EP needs to be addressed by i) implementing energy efficiency measures in social housing, ii) educating low-income families about energy saving practices and behaviours, iii) developing new energy policies. We investigated the level of EP in social housing located in New South Wales, Australia. Indoor thermal environment and air quality were monitored in 106 low-income households over the winter and summer periods 2018/2019. Questionnaire responses informed the real living conditions of participating families, including their medical history and behaviours concerning energy use. The information presented here will be used to investigate the possible evolution of IEQ and EP as a function of climate change and extreme weather events on housing and suggest countermeasures and target policies to benefit the vulnerable households and alleviating the EP level of the region.
ISSN:1757-8981
1757-899X
DOI:10.1088/1757-899X/609/4/042067