Assessing the Effect of Cool Roofs on Health Using Smartwatches

Summary

Ambient air temperatures in Asian, Latin American, African, and Pacific climate hotspots have broken record highs in 2024. Solutions are needed to build heat resilience in communities and adapt to increasing heat from climate change. Sunlight-reflecting cool roof coatings may passively reduce indoor temperatures and energy use to protect home occupants from extreme heat. Occupants living in poor housing conditions globally - for example in informal settlements, slums, and low-socioeconomic households - are susceptible to increased heat exposure.

Heat exposure can instigate and worsen numerous physical, mental and social health conditions. The worst adverse health effects are experienced in communities that are least able to adapt to heat exposure. By reducing indoor temperatures, cool roof application may improve heart health, sleep and physical activity in household occupants.

The long-term research goal is to identify viable passive housing adaptation technologies with proven health benefits to reduce the burden of heat stress in communities affected by heat globally. To meet this goal, the investigators will use smartwatches to measure the effects cool roof application on heart health, sleep and physical activity in four urban climate hotspots: Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso; Hermosillo, Mexico; Ahmedabad, India; and Niue, Oceania.

Conditions

• Heart Rate
• All-day Steps
• Distance Walked
• Active Minutes
• Moderate-intensity Activity Minutes
• Vigorous-intensity Activity Duration
• Sleep Quantity
• Time in Sleep Stages
• Awake Duration
• Sleep Score

Interventions

OTHER

Cool roof

Cool roofs are a sunlight reflecting roof coating that can reduce indoor temperature. Cool roofs have high solar reflectance (reflecting the ultraviolet and visible wavelengths of sunlight, reducing heat transfer to the surface of a roof) and high thermal emittance (radiating absorbed solar energy).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Sika Services AG

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• SOPREMA

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Engineered Polymer Solutions (EPS B.V.)

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• Resene

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Pacific Community

  collaborator OTHER

• Habitat for Humanity

  collaborator OTHER

• The Tindall Foundation

  collaborator OTHER

• Labfront

  collaborator INDUSTRY

• Instituto Tecnológico de Hermosillo

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• University of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

  collaborator OTHER

• Indian Institute of Public Health, India

  collaborator OTHER

• Boston University

  collaborator OTHER

• Rutgers University

  collaborator OTHER

• London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine

  collaborator OTHER

• Heidelberg University

  collaborator OTHER

• Aditi Bunker

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-09-04

Primary Completion

2027-09-01

Completion

2027-09-01

Countries

• Burkina Faso
• India
• Mexico
• Niue

Study Locations