Uncontrolled heat exchanges - Entorn Urbà i Salut

Households

Uncontrolled heat exchanges

CONTEXT

This section covers uncontrolled heat exchanges as a housing improvement factor due to their health consequences. Heat exchanges may be from inside to outside or vice versa and be losses or gains.

Uncontrolled heat exchanges in homes have health repercussions, regardless of whether they can be assumed by the cohabitation unit residing in the home or not. If they can be assumed, there is an increase in energy consumption and consequently an increase in the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere (see "Sources of Environmental Risk"), which has repercussions for public health. It also has an economic cost for the home, due to the high demand for heating and cooling. If the increase in consumption cannot be assumed because the residents cannot pay their utility bills, energy poverty situations may be triggered (see "Energy Poverty").

OBJECTIVE

• Control heat exchanges to:
  • Reduce the effects of heat waves and cold snaps on vulnerable populations and those whose poor health may be exacerbated by these effects, achieving suitable climate control inside the home.
  • Consume less energy and consequently reduce the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere.
  • Prevent energy poverty.
• Increase energy efficiency in the home.

PROPOSALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Proposals and recommendations for users

• The incorporation or improvement of thermal insulation is undoubtedly the best way to achieve a more substantial improvement at a reasonable cost, which is amortised very quickly. It is preferable to install insulation in the exterior of the building envelope, mainly on facades and roofs, given that it takes advantage of thermal inertia. But given the difficulty of these interventions, which must be done jointly by all the owners, although it is a less efficient action, it is also possible to improve the insulation of each individual apartment, covering the walls and ceilings in the interior.
  The materials to be used for insulation should preferably be organic or mineral, given that they are breathable and enable the removal of condensation. In this case, the materials are cork, flax, hemp, wood fibres, wool or cotton blankets, or cotton, cellulose or mineral (glass or rock) wool flakes.
• Replace any woodwork, glass, windows and doors that do not guarantee an air barrier. These are points where a lot of energy is lost: they need to be adjusted properly to guarantee the airtightness of the home. Guarantee that both the woodwork and the glass are insulated, that the woodwork closes the thermal bridge if it is aluminium and calculate its transmittance and airtightness separately. In the case of glass it is advisable to have double glazing with noble gases, like argon, and laminated glass. Glass with a chamber that does not contain SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride) should be chosen.
• Incorporation of a green roof. This mechanism makes it possible to:
  • Improve the insulation of the building or home and its thermal inertia.
  • Facilitate the absorption of CO2 from the environment and of dust particles and contaminants from the atmosphere, generating cleaner air.
  • Moderate heat island effects.
• The control of direct sunlight according to orientation and time of year can help prevent overheating when the weather is hot and provide heat energy when it is cold. It is advisable to:
  • Use high-reflectivity coatings such as a white surface or tiles, which reflect the majority of solar radiation. In contrast, a surface with a dark finish absorbs the majority of it.
  • Use awnings, shutters and blinds to help protect against sunlight or let it through, as necessary, through openings like windows or skylights, casting shadows on the exterior, which can be additionally taken advantage of with ventilation with fresher air.
• Protection against dazzling. In addition to the protections indicated to reduce sunlight there are also solar protections based on fabrics that block 90–99% of UV rays and reduce dazzling.
• Incorporation of efficient habits, such as good maintenance of all the elements of the home, and using equipment and systems that take advantage of renewable energy.
• Correct ventilation.
• Correct protection against solar radiation.

Proposals and recommendations for the administration

Councils can detect the most significant shortfalls by means of various tools like building technical reports (ITEs) and energy efficiency certificates, among others, and propose the most suitable intervention. Some of the actions that they can implement are:

• Public education or awareness campaigns that take into account the prevention of uncontrolled heat exchanges and foster housing maintenance.
• Mediation to enable agreements to start renovation processes with these objectives.
• Assessment and support to make it easier for cohabitation units to access renovation aid (both that offered by the Catalan Housing Agency and that provided by local administrations).
• Establishment of municipal aid for renovation that incorporates solutions to meet these problems: incorporation of insulation inside the home, replacing windows…
• Energy-efficiency saving and improvement programmes
  • Public awareness and empowerment in terms of energy saving, both with regard to the use of energy and the understanding of electricity bills, in order to reduce energy spending and the associated CO2 emissions.
  • Programme to determine the conditions of the housing in the municipal area.
  • Energy audits.
  • Aid associated with the audits to improve the energy efficiency of homes.

When designing the programmes it is necessary to take into account that part of the oldest housing is occupied by the elderly. These people are especially vulnerable to adverse weather conditions, often have few resources and it is often difficult to reach agreements within their owners associations.

REFERENCE EXPERIENCES

LEGISLATION

• Llei 24/2015, del 29 de juliol, de mesures urgents per a afrontar l'emergència en l'àmbit de l'habitatge i la pobresa energètica.
• Llei 18/2007, de 28 de desembre, del dret a l'habitatge.
• Decret 75/2014, de 27 de maig,del Pla per al dret a l'habitatge.
• Real decreto 233/2013, de 5 de abril, pel qual es regula el Plan estatal de fomento del alquiler de viviendas, la rehabilitación edificatòria y la regeneración y renovación urbanas.
• Ley 8/2013, de 26 de junio, de rehabilitació, regeneració i renovació urbanes
• Decret 111/2009, de 14 de juliol, de modificació del Decret 21/2006, de 14 de febrer, pel qual es regula l'adopció de criteris ambientals i ecoeficiència en els edificis. DOGC núm. 5422, de 16.07.2009.
• Decret 187/2010, de 23 de novembre, sobre la inspecció tècnica dels edificis d'habitatges.
• Reial Decret 314/2006, de 17 de març, pel qual s'aprova el Codi Tècnic de l'Edificació. Annex DB-HE Ahorro energia.
• Real Decreto 235/2013, de 5 de abril, por el que se aprueba el procedimiento básico para la certificación de la eficiencia energética de los edificios.
• Disposició addicional de la Llei de Mesures Fiscals i Financeres, 22 de gener de 2014, es crea el Registre de certificats d'eficiència energètica en l'àmbit territorial de Catalunya.

STUDIES AND TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION

• Departament de Medi Ambient i Habitatge. Generalitat de Catalunya, 2010. Guia de la renovació energètica d'edificis d'habitatges: envolupament tèrmica i instal·lacions.
• Ballester, F. 1996. Meteorologia y salud. La relación entre la temperatura ambiental y la mortalidad. Valencia: Instituto Valenciano de Estudios en Salud Pública. Revista Salud Pública 70: 251-259. Nº 3 Mayo-Junio.

OTHER LISTINGS OF THE GUIDE

• Àmbit Habitatge. Fitxa "Pobresa energètica"
• Àmbit Habitatge. Fitxa "Fonts de risc ambiental"
• Àmbit Habitatge. Fitxa "Edificis d´habitatges sostenibles i ecoeficients"
• Àmbit Habitatge. Fitxa "Infrahabitatge"
• Àmbit Habitatge. Fitxa "Humitats"

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