Excessively Cold Homes
In the UK the main reasons for excessively cold homes, is the absence of efficient heating, the prevalence of poor insulation and the prohibitive cost of energy, these prevent people from being able to heat their homes to acceptable levels.
There are several reasons why homes become become excessively cold and hard to heat.
- Lack of insulation increases the heat loss.
- Structural disrepair
- Increased ventilation causes cold draughts to enter the property making it colder and harder to heat.
- A home suffering from one or more of the above problems becomes very expensive to heat up to a healthy indoor temperature.
Excess cold has the highest average score of all the hazards on the HHSRS list, it covers the threats to health from sub-optimal indoor temperatures, and in most cases the average is considered a category 1 hazard.
A range of health issues, illnesses and infections can be triggered by low indoor temperatures. Adverse health effects begin once the temperature drops to below 19°C but with serious risk below 16°C.
If the temperature drops below 10°C, the risk of hypothermia increases, particularly in the elderly. Cardiovascular conditions (heart attacks and strokes) account for half of the excess winter deaths and respiratory diseases (Influenza, Pneumonia and Bronchitis) for another third