Study: Health hazards and respiratory infections caused by hot weather preventable through cooling of buildings and adequate ventilation
According to a recent study, buildings in Finland overheat significantly during a very hot summer. This significantly increases the number of premature deaths and hospitalisations. Insufficient ventilation may also increase the risk of respiratory tract infections and the health effects of infections.
However, overheating can be reduced with sunshades and more efficient ventilation. Of the sunshade solutions examined, installing a sun-protection film in existing windows was the most cost-effective method. Replacing old windows with new ones, on the other hand, was cost-effective from the perspective of preventing overheating only when the condition of the windows required them to be replaced anyway.
In new buildings, solar control glazing in the windows facing the sun is an efficient way to combat overheating.
Improving the efficiency of ventilation during the summer was the most cost-effective way to reduce overheating in all example buildings of the study. If the ventilation has not been equipped with active cooling, the effect on overheating is very small, however.
Threat of an increase in serious health hazards caused by hot weather as the climate warms and the population ages
In Finland, high temperatures during the summer are a health risk especially to people aged over 65 and to persons with chronic diseases. Even in the current climate, heatwaves already cause considerable health hazards.
If the climate change scenario currently considered to be the most probable one is realised, the earth's mean temperature would be approximately 2.7°C higher by the end of the century than in pre-industrial times. Without preparation for the changing conditions and adaptation to them, it is estimated that heatwaves will cause approximately 3–4 times more deaths and hospitalisations in Finland in 2050.
Installing an air source heat pump that makes active cooling possible in the homes of all the elderly people would potentially prevent up to 55% of deaths associated with hot weather and 95% of inpatient care periods in hospitals. The greatest impact would be achieved by cooling homes in apartment blocks, as only a small proportion of them have an air source heat pump. Preventing serious health hazards also requires cooling of nursing and care facilities in healthcare and social welfare.
Air purifiers effectively reduce the risk of respiratory tract infections
Room-specific air purifiers are an efficient way to reduce virus concentrations and infections. During epidemics, placing air purifiers in central locations may be difficult in places such as cramped classrooms. In open-plan offices, air purifiers significantly limited the spread of pathogens when they had been scaled for the same airflow as the normal airflow in the office (2 l/s per m2).
The study was carried out by Aalto University, the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare and the Finnish Lung Health Association Filha ry as part of the implementation of the Government plan for analysis, assessment and research for the year 2022.
Further information:
Read the whole press release on the Government’s website (in Finnish)
Risto Kosonen
Director responsible for the project
Aalto University
tel. +358 40 5027484
[email protected]
Juha Jokisalo (overheating of buildings)
Senior Scientist
Aalto University
tel. +358 50 407 2287
[email protected]
Jarek Kurnitski (ventilation and respiratory tract infections)
Adjunct Professor
Aalto University, tel. +358 40 5741870
[email protected]
Tuula Vasankari (health effects of respiratory tract infections)
Professor
Filha ry (Finnish Lung Health Association)
tel. +358 50 5450589
[email protected]
Virpi Kollanus (health effects of overheating) (from 23rd October)
Specialist
Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
tel. +358 20 524 6392
[email protected]
