Abstract

Residents of social housing spend 17% more time inside their homes than the average population. However, social housing usually records high indoor temperatures, affecting a considerable proportion of their population, the elderly, who are more susceptible to heat-related health issues. Due to economic constraints, they have limited usage of cooling systems, making them more vulnerable during extremely hot periods. Urban overheating is strongly affected by the urban heat island effect, which can rise the outdoor temperatures to ranges between 2.33°C and 4.39°C, having an impact on mortality. This paper examines the thermal performance and residents’ thermal perception of eight apartment units in Melbourne during the summer period. Thermal conditions in each apartment unit were monitored for 4 weeks across the summer period (Dec-March). Residents’ perceptions were cross-referenced with survey questionnaires, capturing thermal sensation/satisfaction and behavioural actions. The apartment units were, on average, overheated (>26°C) for around 25.74% of the time. However, when units were overheated, the outdoor temperatures were lower than the indoor temperatures for 70.7% of the time, implying that higher ventilation rates can, not only, reduce overheating, improve thermal comfort and residents’ resilience to UHI effect, but also, help release stored heat, mitigating the UHI effect.