GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ARE to meet with researchers this month to discuss how to deal with the risks posed by record-breaking temperatures to people living in new and retrofitted homes.

Up to 10% of the country’s housing is at risk from overheating, one expert has estimated, with this summer’s heatwaves leaving many households sweltering.

Concern is highest for people living in the middle and upper floors of apartments, and for some residents in new housing estates where semi-detached homes may be at risk due to a lack of protection from the sun.

Mark Mulville from Technological University Dublin has urged for new assessments to be adopted to determine whether future homes and buildings are at risk from sharply rising temperatures.

More than half a million people in Ireland face living in intense temperatures according to Mulville’s research.

Mulville, who heads the school of surveying and construction innovation at TU Dublin, believes that while retrofits and other measures are needed to ensure homes are climate friendly, these could also “exacerbate” overheating problems if not paired with a plan to ease temperature conditions.

Retrofit schemes are necessary for retaining heat in the winter and reducing the amount of fossil fuels they need to rely on during cold conditions, but a lack of planning has meant this summer’s extraordinary weather has become more difficult in many homes.

Mulville told The Journal that newer buildings can be “problematic” for their inhabitants.

“They’re designed to retain heat for winter and aren’t designed for the heat we’re getting this summer, and which we may get into the near future,” he added.

The lecturer has been discussing the research with officials from the department of housing, with a meeting scheduled for later this month.

When contacted, the department said it is preparing a report “assessing overheating risk” in housing.

This review will be done “using more extreme future weather files” to factor in impacts from climate change.

It added that Met Éireann does provide future weather modelling up to 2100 for a number of cities and towns.

Since May, repeated stretches of sweltering heat have seen complaints arise from people living in different types of housing, but especially those in A-rated homes.

An A-rated energy home is the highest score on a Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate, which measures a property’s energy efficiency, with one of the benefits being a warmer home.

While this means a home can retain heat much better, which is helpful during cold snaps, it can become a problem during hot weather.

Fixing the problem

So, how can we strike a balance between making sure homes keep us warm in the winter without trapping too much heat in the summer?

One way of doing it is ensuring more options for providing shade on a property, such as through trees or balconies, or if tall apartment blocks neighbour each other.

Another tactic is future-proofing new developments based on future weather projections for the area. Current assessments for building regulations are “not dynamic”, Mullville argued, adding that they don’t take into account changes in weather.

Instead, they are “representative of the climate from the past, as opposed to the climate that we’re in”, the lecturer said.

Developments could be scored on how much of a risk they face due to overheating under this proposal.

“If you’re at a higher risk then you have to do the work and really thinking about the heating you’re going to face,” Mulville explained.

“So if you’re higher risk to start with, it means your ability to adapt over time is difficult and might mean you need to make design changes very early on.”

Is air con the answer?

There is a growing debate over what way the government and the wider construction and planning sector should address rising temperatures in homes.

Gavin Lawlor, president of the Irish Planning Institute, told The Journal that one option to consider is whether developers could be allowed to build homes with a weaker energy rating, with the “option to upgrade the home in due course” left to the homeowner, depending on their preference.

Lawlor added that we “need to start thinking about air conditioning” as a “necessary evil” for reducing heat in hot homes.

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The move would be controversial as air-conditioning equipment is heavily reliant on electricity.

“It doesn’t help in energy cost, building cost, but it’s a function of climate change,” Lawlor said.

This option was strongly rejected by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) which said that it believes it would “potentially make things worse”. This was because the machines “increase carbon emissions to solve something that can be addressed before it becomes a problem” in the first instance.

Fionnuala May, president of the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland, said there are different options the sector needs to consider to “naturally” cool a property before reaching for air-con.

This could involve ensuring least heat-vulnerable orientation on a property prior to buildingm or cutting back on open-plan kitchens that are fitted with high-powered appliances, to considering whether shutters – a common sight across Europe – would work for Irish city centre properties here.

Overall, May said that the industry has EU directives to control emissions of buildings, but there is less for overheating. “I don’t think it would be too difficult to write that up and make it logical for Ireland,” she said.

Mulville also criticised a push by the government to lessen dual aspect requirements for new apartments, as the reduced number of windows risk “terrible” conditions for over-heating for residents.

While these planning measures were about making apartment building more viable, Mulville said it means “you really have to work hard to be able to reduce heat” in affected apartments.

High temperature alert

Met Éireann has issued a high temperature warning for all of Leinster and Co Tipperary, which is valid from 6am on Wednesday to 6am on Friday.

The forecaster warned of maximum temperatures above 27 degrees, and minimum nighttime temperatures of over 15 degrees.

Potential impacts include water safety issues, uncomfortable sleeping conditions, heat stress and animal welfare issues.