Sweden's research council for sustainable development, Formas, has awarded about nine million Swedish kronor to a large-scale scientific project aimed at protecting the mental well-being of older people during extreme heatwaves at home. Researchers at Umeå University launched the study, the website infohub.kz reports.
Professor Weizhuo Lu, who heads the Intelligent Human-Buildings Interaction (IHBI) laboratory in the Department of Applied Physics and Electronics, leads the interdisciplinary team.
The experiments will take place in a specialized climate chamber integrated with virtual reality technology that faithfully recreates the interior and atmosphere of a standard home. This will let participants feel they are in familiar domestic surroundings while the researchers strictly control the microclimate parameters.
The laboratory is equipped with physiological sensors and equipment for recording brain activity. The researchers will compare the instrument data with participants' subjective reports of how they feel in order to identify the effects of overheating on stress levels, fatigue and sleep.
The challenge of adapting housing to heatwaves is particularly acute in northern Sweden. Local homes were traditionally designed for harsh winters: energy-efficient structures and thick insulation retain heat well but hinder cooling in summer. Heat takes a toll on older people's mood and their ability to cope with everyday tasks.
The project's authors intend to assess how a person's mobility, financial means, housing conditions and level of social support affect tolerance of the heat. The work will produce practical recommendations on shading windows, ventilation and everyday adaptation measures. The advice will be developed together with the pensioners themselves, their relatives, veterans' organizations and the municipality of Umeå.