Climate and Comfort
This theme examines some of the tensions in how to address uncertain climatic futures. How and where we live impacts the climate through energy use and carbon emissions. It also impacts our health through other factors such as air quality. Almshouse charities, like all other housing organisations, need to be able to respond to current and future policy and environmental pressures. For some partner charities the focus is on energy conservation, energy reduction and making homes thermally comfortable rather than mitigation of climate change. Although the motivations and focus may differ the outcomes can be similar for residents in terms of improved efficiencies and living conditions. We have brought these two issues together in this theme because climate and comfort are related, especially when we think of the changing climate and opportunities for urban cooling:
“… we’ve got several properties where we’ve installed double glazing where the previous trustees haven’t … because our issue has been focusing on the wellbeing of the residents rather than for climate purposes …”
(Governance 1)
Longer term planning for an uncertain future is difficult for any organisation. Almshouse trustees are grappling with near- and longer-term implications and impacts, reflecting on what for some charities is a several hundred year legacy, and thinking how to take that forward, in what we know to be a changing and uncertain world:
“[a] really long term piece of thinking that we will be doing … is saying, ‘Actually, in 300 years’ time, is [this site] … even going to be habitable?’”
(Governance 11)
Government data can predict now that certain places will be prone to flooding (existing vulnerable areas are already subject to annual flooding), higher temperatures and potentially worsening air pollution (urban centres). Trustees recognise a dilemma when it comes to the health and wellbeing of residents and the fitness for purpose of the almshouse buildings and in some cases are having to question what takes priority in future provision: location or quality, living in place you know or have known, even if that place is changing, amenities may be reducing, the air quality aggravating existing conditions for example. We know from our research that moving home can be distressing for residents, and redeveloping older almshouses that are no longer fit for purpose away from their original location presents challenges. This issue leads to several societal and ethical considerations concerning resident choice, the rights to live where you choose regardless of income, how we live now and the impact on the planet, as well as thinking about how we adapt for healthier living in our towns and cities, and in particular making places liveable as we age (see Architecture and Adaptation). Building a clear strategic approach to climate change, that addresses the range of issues from resident wellbeing to fabric performance of the buildings, can bring some security in terms of direction and ambition:
“the biggest challenge … going forward is blending the responsibility and the custodianship … against the financial reality and the climate change requirements of ensuring that the stock is fit for purpose and can continue to be used for the purpose for which it has been built”
(Governance 12)
Throughout our research we have been looking at almshouses, which vary from historic listed buildings to newly built flats, so the range of issues is very varied. It is really important for all of us that we feel comfortable in our own homes, whether this is from a safety perspective (see Safety and Stability) to being thermally comfortable. This is particularly important as we get older, possibly frailer and perhaps less mobile. Residents tend to be aware of their changing needs and how their current home may adapt to accommodate those changes. In the case in the quotation below, increased insulation provides a buffer for this resident thinking about how they might live as they get older:
“… with all the insulation … I don’t need heating on. I know I’ve got the fire, but that’s just for show. But I presume, when I get a bit older, I’ll start feeling the cold and I’ll deal with that when the time comes.”
(Resident 4)
Other research has found that people are generally more tolerant of temperatures higher and lower than we usually expect (18° – 21°C) if they have opportunities to change their surroundings or their clothing by taking off a jumper, closing or opening a window or putting the heating on, for example. During the interviews being warm was often talked about in the same sentence as being safe and secure (see Safety and Stability), and conversely where thermal instability is recognised as problematic:
“I think there is a problem here. I think heating, during the winter, is a problem and keeping cool during the summer is also a problem.”
(Resident 3)
Comfort is not only about not being too cold (and not being too hot) but also the security and safety that comes with knowing you have a place to live that can cope with extremes. Whilst residents invariably found ways of dealing with being too hot or too cold in their own homes, these solutions often included additional costs that will not be economically sustainable for everyone:
“… but then we thought, “Well, if we get the shutters it’ll be money well spent because…And it keeps it cool in the summer … in the summertime means you can open them windows and shut your shutter so nothing gets in, if that makes sense, flies and whatever.”
(Resident 33 and 34)
Poorly insulated properties, those without double glazing and those with walls that are hard to insulate present different issues during various times of the year. A cold bathroom in the winter can be a refuge in an excessively hot summer:
“… honestly, it’s icy. Even now. I enjoyed it, I spent a lot of time in the bathroom those two days last week because it’s cool”
(Resident 14)
Where residents have access to outside space, especially with trees where these provide access to shade and coolness, there is opportunity to cool down. Roof top gardens can help to reduce the impact of rainfall and even a modest green roof can increase insulation levels and guard against sudden changes in temperature. Gardens not only provide more even temperatures and spaces for human activity but also contribute to biodiversity, providing habitat for insects and pollinators (see Gardens). A changing climate implies not only a changing temperature, we have to consider changing weather patterns and potentially an increase in storms, which can also impact residents’ peace of mind, and the costs of maintenance for the charity:
“I don’t feel safe when I go to bed on a nighttime mind when it’s really windy”
(Resident 33 and 34)
Planning for an uncertain climate in the future requires flexible approaches. Small economic interventions such as increasing insulation can make a big difference to daily life. Where bigger changes need to be made to secure a resilient future for both residents and the almshouse buildings (rebuilding either on the same site or a new site), this can have short term impacts which lead to longer term benefits, to ensure the provision of a valued home:
“… two-thirds of the people here, possibly including me, aren’t interested in the day-to-day running of the place. They just want to live here and have it be here and to feel secure and safe and warm”
(Resident 6)
While residents may be interested only in their current home and comfort, trustees and senior staff have the responsibility to consider comfort for future residents, meeting regulatory requirements and doing what they can to minimise negative environmental impacts.
