Understanding Overheating in Buildings

New research has revealed that 20% of building service engineers are unfamiliar with the UK Building Regulations’ Approved Document O, which addresses overheating in buildings – and almost half (46%) claim to understand the theory behind it but are unsure how to put it into practice.

The new study, commissioned by Zehnder Group UK in collaboration with CIBSE Journal, found that while a third (34%) of respondents claimed to know Part O ‘inside out’, the majority had a limited understanding – with 19% admitting they simply don’t understand it at all.

These concerning findings form part of a new report that surveyed architects, consultants, developers and contractors to get a better view of the understanding across the building industry when it comes to overheating.

Overheating is a real problem in residential buildings. When properties exceed a temperature threshold of 26°C for extended periods it can seriously affect occupant thermal comfort, health and wellbeing as well as productivity.

The research found that despite this evidence of overheating risks, the topic ranked relatively low among the respondents’ list of priorities, with design, quality, building regulations and energy efficiency coming out on top in new building projects – whereas modelling against the risk of overheating ranked eighth.

When asked what kept them up at night when planning a new building project, the top three concerns were design, cost and quality, with overheating being cited as sixth.

Jason Bennett at Zehnder Group UK said: “The issue of overheating isn’t going to go away; it’s only going to get worse as climate change has more of an impact, heatwaves become more frequent and we continue to create highly energy efficient homes that are effectively turning into ‘hot boxes’.”

The survey findings underscore the need for a holistic and joined-up approach to buildings that incorporate robust strategies to mitigate overheating risks. This includes promoting better indoor air quality alongside cooling.

CLICK TO Read the full report here: