Thermal Personalities of Older People in South Australia: A Personas-Based Approach to Develop Thermal Comfort Guidelines.

Helen Bennetts,Larissa Arakawa Martins,Joost Van Hoof,Veronica Soebarto

doi:10.3390/ijerph17228402

Abstract

An important consideration for future age-friendly cities is that older people are able to live in housing appropriate for their needs. While thermal comfort in the home is vital for the health and well-being of older people, there are currently few guidelines about how to achieve this. This study is part of a research project that aims to improve the thermal environment of housing for older Australians by investigating the thermal comfort of older people living independently in South Australia and developing thermal comfort guidelines for people ageing-in-place. This paper describes the approach fundamental for developing the guidelines, using data from the study participants’ and the concept of personas to develop a number of discrete “thermal personalities”. Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) was implemented to analyse the features of research participants, resulting in six distinct clusters. Quantitative and qualitative data from earlier stages of the project were then used to develop the thermal personalities of each cluster. The thermal personalities represent different approaches to achieving thermal comfort, taking into account a wide range of factors including personal characteristics, ideas, beliefs and knowledge, house type, and location. Basing the guidelines on thermal personalities highlights the heterogeneity of older people and the context-dependent nature of thermal comfort in the home and will make the guidelines more user-friendly and useful.

Highlights

The ability to stay in one’s community and age-in-place is the preferred strategy for most people, including the majority of older Australians [1]
Essential features of Age-friendly Cities notes that appropriate accommodation is important for the independence and quality of life of older people and that the accommodation should be “appropriately equipped to meet the ambient environmental conditions” [2] (p. 31). This could refer to the design of the house itself and the way it can respond to the environment, or to the heating and cooling equipment installed to assist with the thermal comfort of the occupants
The cluster analysis identified that with six clusters, the silhouette score was greater than 0.0 (0.1), and the clusters were considered significantly different in all 18 features tested through Pearson’s X2 tests (p < 0.05) (Table 2)

Summary

Introduction

The ability to stay in one’s community and age-in-place is the preferred strategy for most people, including the majority of older Australians [1]. For some people, this may mean moving to a smaller or more manageable dwelling as they approach older age. This could refer to the design of the house itself and the way it can respond to the environment, or to the heating and cooling equipment installed to assist with the thermal comfort of the occupants. Either approach requires an understanding of local conditions: the climate, housing, and the thermal preferences and behaviours of older people in their homes

Methods

Results

Conclusion