Effect of roof colour on indoor temperature and human comfort levels, with implications for malaria control: a pilot study using experimental houses in rural Gambia

Malaria Journal

Majo Carrasco-Tenezaca¹  Steve W. Lindsay²  Margaret Pinder³  John Bradley⁴  Musa Jawara⁵  Umberto D’Alessandro⁶  Ebrima Jatta⁷  Jakob Knudsen⁸ 

[1]Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, UK

[2]Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, UK

[3]Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK

[4]Department of Biosciences, Durham University, Durham, UK

[5]Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Banjul, The Gambia

[6]London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, MRC International Statistics and Epidemiology Group, London, UK

[7]Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Banjul, The Gambia

[8]Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Banjul, The Gambia

[9]Department of Disease Control, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK

[10]National Malaria Control Programme, Banjul, The Gambia

[11]Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation, The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen, Denmark

关键词: Malaria;    Sub-Saharan Africa;    Housing;    Roofs;    Indoor temperature;    Human comfort;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12936-021-03951-4

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn rural sub-Saharan Africa, thatch roofs are being replaced by metal roofs. Metal roofing, however, increases indoor temperatures above human comfort levels, and thus makes it more likely that residents will not use an insecticide-treated bed net (ITN) at night. Whether the colour of a metal roof affects indoor temperature and human comfort was assessed.MethodsTwo identical, experimental houses were constructed with metal roofs in rural Gambia. Roof types were: (1) original bare-metal, (2) painted with red oxide primer or (3) white gloss, to reflect solar radiation. Pairwise comparisons were run in six, five-night blocks during the malaria season 2018. Indoor climate was measured in each house and multivariate analysis used to compare indoor temperatures during the day and night.ResultsFrom 21.00 to 23.59 h, when most residents decide whether to use an ITN or not, the indoor temperature of a house with a bare metal roof was 31.5 °C (95% CI  31.2–31.8 °C), a red roof, 30.3 °C (95% CI 30.0–30.6) and a white roof, 29.8 °C (95% CI 29.4–30.1). During the same period, red-roofed houses were 1.23 °C cooler (95% CI 1.22–1.23) and white roofs 1.74 °C cooler (95% CI 1.70–1.79) than bare-metal roofed houses (p  < 0.001). Similar results were found from 00.00 to 06.00 h. Maximum daily temperatures were 0.93 °C lower in a white-roofed house (95% CI  0.10–0.30, p  < 0.001), but not a red roof (mean maximum temperature difference  = 0.44 °C warmer, 95% CI  0.43–0.45, p  = 0.081), compared with the bare-metal roofed houses. Human comfort analysis showed that from 21.00 to 23.59 h houses with white roofs (comfortable for 87% time) were more comfortable than bare-metal roofed houses (comfortable for 13% time; odds ratio  = 43.7, 95% CI 27.5–69.5, p  < 0.001). The cost of painting a metal roof white is approximately 31–68 USD.ConclusionsHouses with a white roof were consistently cooler and more comfortable than those with a bare metal roof. Painting the roofs of houses white is a cheap way of making a dwelling more comfortable for the occupants and could potentially increase bed net use in hot humid countries.

【 授权许可】

CC BY