Vast majority of students find housing too hot in summer
Students find their homes too hot in the summer, according to research by Asva. The student union wants more attention to be paid to excessively hot housing this summer. “Indoor temperatures of over 30 degrees are not acceptable.”
Asva research shows that 91 percent of the surveyed students in Amsterdam not living at home find their housing too hot in the summer. For this reason, 45 percent of them are considering moving. The study was published in 2021, but concerns are rising again now, according to a press release. "If it gets as hot as the summer of 2020, chances are students will be smoked out of their homes.”
In addition, the Asva housing team that conducted the study compared the indoor temperatures of a number of student housing complexes with the outdoor temperatures at Schiphol Airport. The measurements in these complexes show that the measured temperature is significantly higher than the average maximum outside temperature for the month in question.
Job Vermaas, board member of Asva, wants more attention to be paid to the problem of excessively hot student housing. “There are a lot of student flats in and around Amsterdam. We conducted the research mainly among students who live in housing complexes run by Duwo and De Key.”
Some of these complexes are right in the sun. “At Uilenstede, the indoor temperature in the summer is over 30 degrees. That is no longer liveable for students, or people in general,” says Vermaas.
A total of 389 students completed a survey about the indoor temperature of their student housing for this study. From June to August 2021 the survey was distributed to students through the social media channels of Asva and flyers at larger student housing complexes, mainly owned by housing corporations Duwo and De Key.
The heat causes sleeping problems and concentration issues, Vermaas observes.”In addition, 2021 was a relatively cold summer. But due to climate change, we are going to have summers in the future that may be hotter, which will only make the problems worse for students.”
But wouldn't it be an expensive endeavour to design and change student housing complexes so that they don't heat up as much in the summer? “We think it is good to come up with solutions against the heat that are not extremely expensive. A good example of a very hot student complex in the summer are the black container houses on Zeeburgereiland, which are right in the sun. A coat of paint other than black would already improve the situation.”
