Summertime temperatures and thermal comfort in UK homes

Internal summertime temperatures measured in 268 homes in Leicester, UK, are reported. The hourly data were collected from living rooms and bedrooms during the summer of 2009. Some household interviews were conducted. The sample of homes was statistically representative of the socio-technical characteristics of the city-s housing stock. The data provide insight into the influence of house construction, energy system usage, and occupant characteristics on the incidence of elevated temperatures and thermal discomfort. The warmest homes were amongst the 13% that were heated. Significantly more of these had occupants aged over 70 years who are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures. The national heatwave plan might usefully caution against summertime heating. Temperatures in the 230 free-running homes were analysed using both static criteria and criteria associated with the BSEN15251 adaptive thermal comfort model. These indicated that flats tended to be significantly warmer than other house types. Solid wall homes and detached houses tended to be significantly cooler. It is argued that adaptive criteria provide a valuable and credible framework for assessing internal temperatures in free-running UK homes. However, the temperatures in the Leicester homes were much lower than anticipated by the BSEN15251 model. Numerous possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.