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 and Veronica Soebarto
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Helen Bennetts: School of Architecture and the Built Environment, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Larissa Arakawa Martins: School of Architecture and the Built Environment, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
Joost van Hoof: Faculty of Social Work & Education, The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Johanna Westerdijkplein 75, 2521 EN Den Haag, The Netherlands
Veronica Soebarto: School of Architecture and the Built Environment, The University of Adelaide, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-22

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.

Keywords: housing; cluster analysis; thermal comfort; design guidelines; heating; cooling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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