Cold houses kill people.
“Better Renting has released a report that estimates low-quality housing causes approximately 140 cold-related deaths per year in the ACT. The report is titled Unsafe as Houses: Cold-housing deaths in the ACT, and compares temperature data with statistics on monthly deaths from 2009–17.”
According to RMIT University’s Dr Nicola Willand, over a quarter of a million older Australians are “fuel poor”; that is, they are unable to heat their homes to a comfortable and safe temperature, owing to low household income and low energy efficiency.
“Cold homes can lead to mould and dampness, to allergies, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, to chilblains and avoidable winter deaths,” said Willand, speaking on episode seven of the AIRAH on Air podcast.
She pointed to report released in July by Alfred Health, which looked at 217 hypothermic emergency presentations in Victoria and found that 87 per cent of elderly patients were found indoors, raising further concerns about whether this vulnerable population was able to afford adequate heating.
Content by HVAC&R News.