Energy poverty goes south? Understanding the costs of energy poverty with the index of vulnerable homes in Spain

In southern European countries, despite having mild winters, many people live in cold and energy-inefficient properties and struggle to meet their energy needs for comfort and warmth, and therefore they run the risk of developing cold-related illnesses. Although the relationship between health, ener...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Castaño de la Rosa, Raúl, Solís Guzmán, Jaime, Marrero Meléndez, Madelyn
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:España
Institución:Consejo General de la Arquitectura Técnica de España (CGATE)
Repositorio:RIARTE
OAI Identifier:oai:www.riarte.es:20.500.12251/1896
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12251/1896
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.erss.2019.101325
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Sevilla
Confort térmico
Pobreza energética
Vivienda social
Índice de Hogares Vulnerables (IHV)
Riesgo del consumidor
Hogar vulnerable
Salud
Estimación de costes
6310.08 Pobreza
3305.14 Viviendas
6310.09 Calidad de Vida
6114.06 Comportamiento del Consumidor
6310.03 Enfermedad
5902.10 Política Sanitaria
Descripción
Sumario:In southern European countries, despite having mild winters, many people live in cold and energy-inefficient properties and struggle to meet their energy needs for comfort and warmth, and therefore they run the risk of developing cold-related illnesses. Although the relationship between health, energy poverty, and cold/warm homes has been analysed by numerous studies, the identification of the direct impact of this relationship on society remains elusive in these countries. This paper shows a case study in a working-class district of Seville, Spain. Six multi-family residential buildings (providing social housing for a total of seventy-one households), built prior to energy-efficiency regulations being in place, are retrofitted by Seville City Council. The Index of Vulnerable Homes, defined by the authors, assesses the vulnerability to energy poverty (pre- and post-intervention) of those households. Furthermore, the costs to the National Health Service (NHS) are also estimated. The results show that savings for the NHS could be used in order to define the payback period of those retrofitting funds. In conclusion, this paper presents how the Index of Vulnerable Homes would be able to help in the development of a comprehensive and coordinated strategy in social housing to address energy poverty, and in the monitoring of the effectiveness of ongoing projects in the city of Seville.