The heat is on: A changing climate means future-proofing our homes is crucial
The dangers of excess heat have been all too clear over the summer months, but now isn’ t the time for short-term thinking, warns Chris McQuillan, Framework Manager at Fusion21.
This summer’ s multiple heatwaves have made it clear that the UK’ s housing stock is not designed for sustained high temperatures.
With climate change making hotter summers much more likely, overheating risk in homes is becoming a mainstream housing challenge. Climate change adaptation in social housing needs to sit alongside decarbonisation, energy efficiency and fuel poverty in long-term thinking and planning.
For housing providers this is a real challenge- the priority has always been ensuring that homes are warm enough, a key consideration in decarbonisation projects, alongside improving energy efficiency and tackling fuel poverty.
The challenge is no longer simply to keep homes warm and affordable during winter but to understand and manage wholeyear performance, ensuring homes remain safe, comfortable and resilient as climate changes.
This isn’ t straightforward either. Whilst excess heat is covered by both building regulations( affecting new build properties) and by HHSRS( affecting all rented properties), neither specify a maximum temperature …
From 30 November 2026, Phase 2 of Awaab’ s Law will bring excess heat hazards within scope, increasing pressure on landlords to understand where homes and residents are most at risk and to act within prescribed timescales.
Excess heat also presents a particular operational challenge. The lack of measurement and recording of excess heating in properties means it is difficult to know which properties may be affected. Where similar homes across an estate are affected at the same time, decanting large numbers of residents may not be realistic or sustainable.
But is now the time to rush into installing air conditioning, or are there better long-term options out there? Good procurement can help to navigate the landscape. Fusion21’ s procurement frameworks offer such an important opportunity to find the right answers. 76 Issue 28
Climate resilience needs to be taken seriously
The dangers caused by extreme weather conditions can’ t be underestimated and are becoming increasingly visible and disruptive, affecting ever larger numbers of homes and residents.
The Climate Change Committee estimates 92 % of existing UK homes could be at risk of overheating by 2050, while heatrelated deaths could rise to around 10,000 a year without further adaptation— a stark warning to housing leaders that climate resilience must now shape long-term asset management and investment decisions.
The Chartered Institute of Housing( CIH) wants to see incentives for passive cooling and recent public debate has highlighted the need for cooling measures to be considered more seriously in the design and management of homes.
However, the conversation needs to look beyond new homes alone. Most of the homes people will live in by 2050 already exist, and University of Reading data suggests that only 4.3 % of homes in England currently use air conditioning.
This underlines the need for balanced, long-term approaches rather than focusing on a single solution.
How to balance competing priorities
Chris McQuillan
Framework Manager
( Building Safety and Compliance)
The main challenge is how to balance over-heating against all of the other priorities that housing associations and local authorities are having to juggle at the moment. If you are undertaking decarbonisation projects in order to hit net zero targets, is installing air conditioning systems the right thing to do?
How do you balance energy efficiency and affordability with ways to keep a home cool during heatwaves, while also battling constrained budgets and strict building regulations? There are no easy answers, but procurement can help you explore the options available and ensure you have the right supply chain in place to deliver them.