Warmer weather

More heat waves can increase the need for cooling

There is an expectation for a rise in the average temperature until 2100. At the same time, we must brace ourselves for more and longer heat waves. The warmer weather can cause comfort problems in the indoor climate, and heat waves can be life-threatening for the elderly and infirm. It will challenge the way we ventilate our houses.

With more severe heat waves, active cooling may become necessary, for example, in day-care centres, nursing homes, homes for the elderly, sports facilities, and schools. It is about finding solutions that align to make construction sustainable and not increase energy consumption in the building mass, as is also prescribed in the Building Regulations. Such a solution could be a combination of cooling and solar cell systems.

However, it is necessary to be aware that summer cooling can give rise to high relative humidity and, thus, the risk of mould growth, which is also the case when using natural ventilation.

A well-thought-out design that works with the entire palette of passive solutions will be the way to meet many of the challenges of warmer weather. These solutions can include, among other things, the orientation of the building concerning light incidence, sun and shade, natural ventilation, the ability of different materials to accumulate or reflect solar heat, etc.

As our houses become increasingly airtight and better insulated, sunlight through the large window areas characterising modern building practices can become problematic. It is about keeping the sun out through external dynamic sun shading. Otherwise, heat from the sun will not escape from well-insulated buildings.

New so-called phase-changing materials hold exciting perspectives in this context, but the impact and effect need adequate documentation. You can find out more about this via the link below.

More hours with stronger sunshine cause a greater UV load and thus accelerate the breakdown of organic building materials such as wood and some types of plastic and paint.