HEAT Solution – comprehensive diagnosis, mitigation strategies and practical solutions to reduce heat impact
Hot and outdoor workplaces were always of concern regarding heat stress. Nowadays, an even greater population is affected by heat due to climate change, resulting in more frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves and milder cold seasons. In many areas of life (on the job, leisure, and everyday life), exposure to heat is unavoidable and entails health and well-being as well as economic consequences, especially in vulnerable populations such as the elderly and diseased people, children and workers exposed to heat.
To counteract these challenges, a integrative approach is necessary that incorporates diagnosis, measures for heat mitigation and protective solutions. Our mission in this regard is to:
- understand the heat exposure in populations through monitoring/smart sensing and modelling for a more holistic assessment of heat load,
- early detect heat stress and establish safe limits (long-/short-term, for safety/well-being/comfort) with easily accessible approaches,
- evaluate mitigation/prevention strategies for their efficacy, effectiveness and efficiency for different populations and scenarios through validated modelling methods, and
- develop and evaluate materials and equipment through lab tests and modelling to protect against the effects of heat exposure.
Dr. Simon Annaheim
+41 58 765 7768
Dr. Agnes Psikuta
+41 58 765 7673
Martin Camenzind
+41 58 765 7342
Diagnosis
Development of unobtrusive and continuous monitoring approaches for assessing the heat stress of people exposed to hazardous conditions or populations highly susceptible to heat stress.
Keywords: Sensors, Monitoring
Mitigation
The application of reliable models of human thermal physiology enables an efficient screening of heat exposure scenarios considering personal body condition, activity, clothing, and environmental thermal factors.
Keywords: Modelling, digital twins
Tangible solutions
We focus on optimizing clothing thermal performance through design in virtual space, supporting thermal regulation using active, textile-based systems and computer-based control algorithms, and validating optimized prototypes through laboratory tests.
Keywords: Cooling strategies, protective clothing, apps