Heat vs. Health: Home Office under a Changing Climate

Sophie Kathrin Schaffernicht, Andreas Türk, Martha Kogler, Andreas Berger, Bernhard Scharf, Lukas Clementschitsch, Renate Hammer, Peter Holzer, Herbert Formayer, Barbara König and Daniela Haluza ()
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Sophie Kathrin Schaffernicht: Department of Environmental Health, Center for Public Health, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Andreas Türk: Institute of Building Research and Innovation ZT-GmbH, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Martha Kogler: Greenpass GmbH, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Andreas Berger: Green4Cities GmbH, 1070 Vienna, Austria
Bernhard Scharf: Greenpass GmbH, 1190 Vienna, Austria
Lukas Clementschitsch: bauXund forschung und beratung gmbh, 1220 Vienna, Austria
Renate Hammer: Institute of Building Research and Innovation ZT-GmbH, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Peter Holzer: Institute of Building Research and Innovation ZT-GmbH, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Herbert Formayer: Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Barbara König: Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 1180 Vienna, Austria
Daniela Haluza: Department of Environmental Health, Center for Public Health, Medical University Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-24

Abstract: Stressors are especially widespread in urban agglomerations. Common themes of built environment interventions that support health and well-being are blue and green infrastructure, indoor and outdoor air quality, thermal comfort, access to natural lighting, and acoustics. Given the current megatrends of increasing summer temperatures and the high popularity of home offices, we aimed at modeling thermal comfort changes of people working at home in three Austrian cities (Vienna, Innsbruck, and Graz) during the next decades until 2090. We present findings based on (I) an inter-disciplinary literature search and (II) indoor and outdoor climate simulations for actual and future climate scenarios. Based on the results, we discuss the potential impacts for work and human health and well-being, and we suggest a framework for the home office in “post-COVID-19 Austria” that integrates social, ecological, and economic aspects. The results of our study indicate that, in future climate scenarios, overheating of the interior can no longer be prevented without active cooling measures and nature-based solutions. Recommendations on the adjustment of behavior under climate change, including greening, adequate ventilation, and cooling techniques, are thus urgently needed for employees who are working from home in order to maintain physical and mental health and wellbeing.

Keywords: home work; climate simulations; Austria; built environment; urban heat island effect; health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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