A Review of the Relation between Household Indoor Temperature and Health Outcomes

Indoor Temperature and Energy Insecurity: Implications for Prenatal Health Disparities in Extreme Heat Events

BACKGROUND

Extreme heat events are a major public health concern and are only expected to increase in intensity and severity as climate change continues to accelerate. Pregnant people are physiologically more vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat, and exposure can induce harm on both the pregnant person and the fetus.

OBJECTIVES

This commentary argues that there is a need for greater epidemiological research on indoor heat exposure and energy insecurity as potential drivers of maternal and child environmental health disparities.

DISCUSSION

While there is substantial evidence linking ambient (outdoor) high temperature to pregnancy-related outcomes, there is a lack of epidemiological evidence to date on pregnant people's exposure to high indoor temperature and adverse maternal and/or child health outcomes. Energy insecurity is disproportionately experienced by people with low incomes and/or people of color, and indoor temperature may play a role in shaping socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities in maternal and child health in the United States. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between indoor heat exposure, energy insecurity, and pregnancy outcomes in both parents and children and to inform potential policies and practices to enhance resilience and reduce maternal/child health disparities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13706.

Simple solutions for improving thermal comfort in huts in the highlands of Peru

In the Peruvian mountains, hundreds of thousands of rural households living in poverty live in cold indoor environments, close to 0 °C. Indoor cold causes thousands of respiratory diseases and excess of winter deaths. In this study, we numerically calculated the impact of simple low-cost refurbishments on discomfort time during a year. Using EnergyPlus and Python, we modelled a typical one-room hut used as bedroom built with a metal-sheet roof, adobe walls, dirt floors, and high infiltration rates. Then, 9 individual solutions were studied, and their combination resulted in 215 different hut designs. The model was calibrated with field measurements to estimate the infiltration. All the numerical calculations included an uncertainty analysis based on Monte Carlo method, and a sensitivity analysis to assess the impact of reducing infiltration on discomfort time. The base case had a discomfort time of 44% of time. The calibration of infiltration resulted in a mean hourly air exchange rate equal to 29.1 h-1 (SD = 17.0 h-1). Five different designs formed the Pareto front that optimized discomfort time and costs. The solution with the lowest discomfort time during a year, 37% of the time, was adding insulation to the roof (U = 0.83 W/m2•K) and the door (U = 1.00 W/m2•K); and its cost was 286USD. In this solution, when infiltrations were reduced to 4.1 h-1 (SD = 4.1 h-1) discomfort time decreased until 16%. These results benefit those households that nowadays invest their limited resources to improve their living conditions but without technical guidance.

A comprehensive survey analysis focusing on the effect of living literacy on residential environment and health recognition under COVID-19 in Japan

Appropriate knowledge and actions of residents in housing are expected to reduce health effects, defined as "living literacy." With the spread of COVID-19 and the diversification of lifestyles, a quantitative evaluation of a comprehensive model that includes living literacy in the housing environment is required. In this study, the author conducted two web-based surveys of approximately 2000 different households in Japan during the summer of 2020 and winter of 2021, and a statistical analysis based on the survey results. As a result, ventilation by opening windows was observed as a new resident behavior trend under COVID-19. In addition, structural equation modeling using the survey samples confirmed the certain relationship between living literacy and subjective evaluation of the indoor environment and health effects in both periods.

A measurement strategy to address disparities across household energy burdens

Energy inequity is an issue of increasing urgency. Few policy-relevant datasets evaluate the energy burden of typical American households. Here, we develop a framework using Net Energy Analysis and household socioeconomic data to measure systematic energy inequity among critical groups that need policy attention. We find substantial instances of energy poverty in the United States - 16% of households experience energy poverty as presently defined as spending more than 6% of household income on energy expenditures. More than 5.2 million households above the Federal Poverty Line face energy poverty, disproportionately burdening Black, Hispanic, and Native American communities. For solar, wind, and energy efficiency to address socioeconomic mobility, programs must reduce energy expenditures by expanding eligibility requirements for support and access to improved conservation measures, efficiency upgrades, and distributed renewables. We recommend the United States develop a more inclusive federal energy poverty categorization that increases assistance for household energy costs.

Buildings Energy Efficiency and Innovative Energy Systems

The use of energy in buildings is at the crossroads between comfort and productivity requirements, passive and active technological options, and health and environmental consequences [...]