High temperatures raise cooling consumption to record levels in Helsinki
The highest temperature of the year so far, 29.6 degrees, was measured at Helsinki Airport on 15 May. On the same day, the consumption of Helen's district cooling reached a record high.
The exceptionally long hot spell the week before last raised district cooling consumption to a record level. If the forecasts of warmer weather are right, the record may be broken already this week.
“There is plenty of cooling available even if the hot weather continues all summer,” assures Helen’s Product Group Manager Anssi Juvonen.
“The more cooling is consumed, the more excess heat is recovered. The excess heat of properties is recycled with district cooling and processed into district heat. At best, this can meet up to a half of the heating need in Helsinki,” Juvonen continues.
More than half of Helsinki residents have no cooling solution of any kind
If the temperature in your home is too high, it reduces comfort of living, disrupts sleep and impairs working capacity. It is also found to be a health risk that increases with age. These findings come from a study which was commissioned by Helen Ltd and conducted by IROResearch Oy.
However, it was discovered in the study that more than half of Helsinki residents have no cooling solution of any kind in their home.
The most common method of cooling is an electric fan, which is found in one in three households.
Senior citizens are not as well equipped for the hot weather as the rest of the population. Almost two out of three people over 65 years of age do not have any kind of cooling device in their home.
According to the study, 63 per cent of Helsinki residents have disturbed sleep during excessively warm weather, and 21 per cent suffer from actual sleeplessness.
Similarly, clearly over half are of the opinion that during hot weather the temperature of their home rises too high and that it feels oppressive to be indoors. This is experienced more by people under 40 years of age than in the other age groups.
According to the study, the possibility of reducing the indoor temperature increases living comfort to a substantial degree. The quality standards of living are clearly higher among people under the age of 40 than among the older generations. Especially people in the younger age groups prefer the opportunity of regulating the ambient temperature at home to their liking even during hot weather. Air conditioning in the car is taken for granted by young people, and the same kind of comfort is also expected in homes.
District cooling, which is available throughout the Helsinki region, is gaining in popularity as a cooling solution for homes. Currently, almost 2,000 homes have access to district cooling, and this number will rise by at least another 400 homes this year.
The study commissioned by Helen Ltd investigated the impact of home indoor temperature on living comfort. The target group of the study was Helsinki residents over 18 years of age who live in areas where district cooling is available. The study was conducted by IROResearch Oy in summer 2016.