The Harlem Heat Project: A Unique Media–Community Collaboration to Study Indoor Heat Waves

Abstract

AbstractHeat waves killed more people in the United States than all other weather-related disasters combined over the last three decades. However, human?environment interactions during these episodic events are not well understood because of a lack of data on the crucial indoor temperatures, especially in non-air-conditioned residences. To address this gap, a unique consortium of media and community groups conceived the Harlem Heat Project to place sensors in people?s homes in northern Manhattan, New York, forming the basis for ongoing radio human-interest stories and online reporting alongside scientifically valuable information. The advantage that a media?community partnership brings to this work is the ability to attract a large number of community volunteers for sensor placement and reporting of human impacts, surmounting the normal barrier facing scientific study. The sensors were hand constructed and distributed through the WE ACT environmental justice community group. Interviews, personal stories, and key data summaries were posted on the ISeeChange, AdaptNY, and WNYC websites. Results from the pilot study document that indoor temperatures are far more stable than outdoor temperatures, with the indoor diurnal average typically above the outdoor average. The thermal inertia of building interiors results in a lag and smoothing of indoor versus outdoor heat waves. Statistical modeling based on energy balances demonstrates that indoor temperatures can be forecast a day in advance with useful accuracy based on weather conditions.