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Extreme heat events are becoming more frequent and more severe, increasing the occurrence of heat-related illness and death. Much of this risk is attributed to overheating in multifamily dwellings, particularly in neighborhoods with abundant asphalt, few trees and limited financial resources. This talk will examine research that uses the heat data recorded in five cities during the June 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave and demonstrates the extent to which passive cooling strategies of shading and natural cooling could have diminished the hours in which indoor heat index levels exceeded “caution,” “extreme caution,” “danger,” and “extreme danger” thresholds. This same research methodology was used to analyze the September 2022 California heat wave on apartment units in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Join Mithun senior associate Mike Fowler for “Improving Passive Survivability of Residential Buildings During Extreme Heat Events” to explore occupant heat stress and how cooling strategies during extreme heat events become a matter of survival.

Date Posted: 06.10.2023