Cargando…

Indoor Temperatures in Low Cost Housing in Johannesburg, South Africa

Ambient and indoor temperature affects thermal comfort and human health. In a changing climate with a predicted change in temperature extremes, understanding indoor temperatures, both hot and cold, of different housing types is important. This study aimed to assess the hourly, daily and monthly vari...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Naicker, Nisha, Teare, June, Balakrishna, Yusentha, Wright, Caradee Yael, Mathee, Angela
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2017
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5708049/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29156558
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14111410
_version_ 1783282575622537216
author Naicker, Nisha
Teare, June
Balakrishna, Yusentha
Wright, Caradee Yael
Mathee, Angela
author_facet Naicker, Nisha
Teare, June
Balakrishna, Yusentha
Wright, Caradee Yael
Mathee, Angela
author_sort Naicker, Nisha
collection PubMed
description Ambient and indoor temperature affects thermal comfort and human health. In a changing climate with a predicted change in temperature extremes, understanding indoor temperatures, both hot and cold, of different housing types is important. This study aimed to assess the hourly, daily and monthly variation in indoor temperatures in different housing types, namely formal houses, informal houses, flats, government-built low-cost houses and old, apartheid era low-cost housing, in five impoverished urban communities in Johannesburg, South Africa. During the cross-sectional survey of the Health, Environment and Development study data loggers were installed in 100 homes (20 per suburb) from February to May 2014. Indoor temperature and relative humidity were recorded on an hourly basis. Ambient outdoor temperatures were obtained from the nearest weather station. Indoor and outdoor temperature and relative humidity levels were compared; and an inter-comparison between the different housing types were also made. Apparent temperature was calculated to assess indoor thermal comfort. Data from 59 retrieved loggers showed a significant difference in monthly mean indoor temperature between the five different housing types (p < 0.0001). Low cost government-built houses and informal settlement houses had the greatest variation in temperature and experienced temperatures between 4 and 5 °C warmer than outdoor temperatures. Housing types occupied by poor communities experienced indoor temperature fluctuations often greater than that observed for ambient temperatures. Families living in government-built low-cost and informally-constructed homes are the most at risk for indoor temperature extremes. These types of housing should be prioritised for interventions aimed at assisting families to cope with extreme temperatures, gaining optimal thermal comfort and preventing temperature-related health effects.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-5708049
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2017
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-57080492017-12-05 Indoor Temperatures in Low Cost Housing in Johannesburg, South Africa Naicker, Nisha Teare, June Balakrishna, Yusentha Wright, Caradee Yael Mathee, Angela Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Ambient and indoor temperature affects thermal comfort and human health. In a changing climate with a predicted change in temperature extremes, understanding indoor temperatures, both hot and cold, of different housing types is important. This study aimed to assess the hourly, daily and monthly variation in indoor temperatures in different housing types, namely formal houses, informal houses, flats, government-built low-cost houses and old, apartheid era low-cost housing, in five impoverished urban communities in Johannesburg, South Africa. During the cross-sectional survey of the Health, Environment and Development study data loggers were installed in 100 homes (20 per suburb) from February to May 2014. Indoor temperature and relative humidity were recorded on an hourly basis. Ambient outdoor temperatures were obtained from the nearest weather station. Indoor and outdoor temperature and relative humidity levels were compared; and an inter-comparison between the different housing types were also made. Apparent temperature was calculated to assess indoor thermal comfort. Data from 59 retrieved loggers showed a significant difference in monthly mean indoor temperature between the five different housing types (p < 0.0001). Low cost government-built houses and informal settlement houses had the greatest variation in temperature and experienced temperatures between 4 and 5 °C warmer than outdoor temperatures. Housing types occupied by poor communities experienced indoor temperature fluctuations often greater than that observed for ambient temperatures. Families living in government-built low-cost and informally-constructed homes are the most at risk for indoor temperature extremes. These types of housing should be prioritised for interventions aimed at assisting families to cope with extreme temperatures, gaining optimal thermal comfort and preventing temperature-related health effects. MDPI 2017-11-18 2017-11 /pmc/articles/PMC5708049/ /pubmed/29156558 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14111410 Text en © 2017 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Naicker, Nisha
Teare, June
Balakrishna, Yusentha
Wright, Caradee Yael
Mathee, Angela
Indoor Temperatures in Low Cost Housing in Johannesburg, South Africa
title Indoor Temperatures in Low Cost Housing in Johannesburg, South Africa
title_full Indoor Temperatures in Low Cost Housing in Johannesburg, South Africa
title_fullStr Indoor Temperatures in Low Cost Housing in Johannesburg, South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Indoor Temperatures in Low Cost Housing in Johannesburg, South Africa
title_short Indoor Temperatures in Low Cost Housing in Johannesburg, South Africa
title_sort indoor temperatures in low cost housing in johannesburg, south africa
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5708049/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29156558
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14111410
work_keys_str_mv AT naickernisha indoortemperaturesinlowcosthousinginjohannesburgsouthafrica
AT tearejune indoortemperaturesinlowcosthousinginjohannesburgsouthafrica
AT balakrishnayusentha indoortemperaturesinlowcosthousinginjohannesburgsouthafrica
AT wrightcaradeeyael indoortemperaturesinlowcosthousinginjohannesburgsouthafrica
AT matheeangela indoortemperaturesinlowcosthousinginjohannesburgsouthafrica