ABSTRACT
Within the context of an increasingly connected society, a growing awareness of the concentration of wealth among a small minority, and the threats posed by climate change; access to healthy, affordable and efficient housing is an imperative in the design of equitable communities. Not all sectors of society have access to housing that satisfies even the most basic needs of shelter or efficiency. As architects, we seek to shift this paradigm beginning with an understanding of baseline conditions. This paper chronicles efforts to determine the energy efficiency rates of a sample of low-income housing in the Mississippi Delta as a first step toward developing solutions for fair, sustainable housing.
A clear picture of energy efficiency, or inefficiency, in existing low-income housing in the Mississippi Delta does not exist, and the rate of air infiltration in this housing sector is an understudied subject. Blower door tests are typically performed on new housing to insure they meet current code mandated air infiltration standards, but blower door tests can also be used to measure the “as-is” air infiltration condition of a home. In this study, blower door tests were performed on 27 houses in Greenwood, MS, to determine how many air changes per hour (ACH) are occurring in real living conditions. This data was collected as a first step toward understanding and addressing the health and financial burdens imposed on the homeowner by inefficient housing.
Preliminary results show that older homes have a much higher ACH rate – sometimes too high to even measure – than newer housing. On average, homeowners of typical existing housing are expected to spend approximately $150 during a typical December to maintain 65°F (18°C) indoors – a significant amount for a region where 40% of the population lives below the poverty level (US Census Bureau, 2014) This can be attributed to era construction techniques and a lack of maintenance. Additionally, results show a strong correlation between high ACH rates and window air conditioning units that are not seasonally covered or removed.
The value of this research is identifying the monetary costs and health burdens associated with low-income housing in Greenwood, Mississippi, and providing a framework for responding to these burdens through recommendations to non-profits, housing authorities, municipalities, developers, and architects. The study is a first step within a larger framework, but begins the process of allowing professional architects, academics, and students to define the value of the role of design beyond the aesthetic, applying the expertise of the field to contemporary economic, social, and environmental challenges.
