And Now They Want Us to Build Houses Able To Cope With High Temperatures?

UK house builders have tended to be old-fashioned constructors of 'boxes', designed as places where people can live (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/jul/19/a-lot-of-challenges-can-housing-industry-build-homes-habitable-in-high-temperatures). The 2020 English heatwave killed more than 2,500 people in that country. English heat-related deaths could be nearer 7,500 by 2050. High temperatures damage buildings, as well as the people who live in them. The UK's Climate Change Committee (CCC) noted that more than 570,000 residences, constructed since 2016, had no resilience to high temperatures. Improvements in this feature had not been planned for a further 1.5 million homes, due to be built over the next 5 years. The CCC maintained that a failure to act, 'could even leave many existing new homes uninhabitable'. Changes in building regulations to deal with high temperatures have been added. Predictably, this has not gone down well with house builders, who have often dragged their heels over better insulating new builds to increase winter energy efficiency. The builders moan that the changes will delay their starting of house constructions and increase costs. It will be interesting to see, if the new regulations are enforced. So, what can be done? Pretty obviously, retro-fitting houses with air conditioning would be a bad idea. Such systems are expensive to fit and run. Their associated 'greenhouse gas' emissions, would also intensify climate change. 'Passive systems' seem a much better bet. Installing shutters and providing white surfaces to reflect heat, have proved effective in more southerly countries. Heat pumps can be used to cool, as well as heat, properties. There are some interesting prototypes such as the 5 'passive houses' in London Fields. They are airtight and highly-insulated, meaning that they ensure a constant temperature, as their air circulates. The 'Zed house' trial also seems to be building in better resilience to higher than 'normal' temperatures. We clearly need innovation from our builders, rather than box building.