Personal comfort systems for adults with intellectual disabilities

Katherine Exss; Maureen Trebilcock; Paulina Wegertseder-Martínez; Stefano Schiavon; Hui Zhang

doi:10.5334/bc.695

Personal comfort systems for adults with intellectual disabilities

Buildings and Cities

Volume 7 (2026): Issue 1

By: Katherine Exss , Maureen Trebilcock , Paulina Wegertseder-Martínez , Stefano Schiavon and Hui Zhang

Open Access

|May 2026

Abstract

This study examines how personal comfort systems (PCS) support thermal adaptation among adults with intellectual disabilities living in energy-poor households in Chile. Participants (n = 8) in two identical social-housing units completed two in-home field campaigns: winter (June–August 2023; 10 weeks) and summer (December 2023–March 2024; 14 weeks). The study combined an adapted daily point-in-time thermal comfort questionnaire, continuous indoor dry-bulb temperature monitoring (15 min), and pre-/post-season interviews. Indoor conditions frequently fell outside reference comfort thresholds (92.6% of winter temperatures < 21.5°C; 64.1% of summer temperatures > 26°C). Using participant-level paired comparisons with thermal preference ‘No change’ as a comfort proxy, PCS use showed no systematic winter increase (median Δ = –0.014; p = 0.944) but a consistent summer increase (median Δ = 0.126; p = 0.014). Interview accounts indicated that PCS supported everyday adaptation, while operability and access constraints sometimes limited independent use. Findings highlight the potential of inclusive PCS to improve perceived comfort under summer heat stress, alongside the need for complementary building-level measures to reduce thermal exposure in vulnerable housing.

POLICY RELEVANCE

This research offers insights for housing, energy, and disability policy:

Current indoor temperatures in vulnerable housing can fail to meet thermal comfort standards, exacerbating energy poverty among people with intellectual disabilities.
PCS can support autonomy and thermal adaptation, but must be accessible, usable, and tailored to diverse cognitive profiles.
Policies promoting energy equity should incorporate adaptive and personalized technologies alongside improvements in housing infrastructure.
Interdisciplinary collaboration is crucial to develop inclusive thermal solutions that bridge health, housing, and disability sectors.

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Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/bc.695 | Journal eISSN: 2632-6655

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Language: English

Page range: 523 - 540

Submitted on: Sep 15, 2025

Accepted on: Apr 15, 2026

Published on: May 4, 2026

Published by: Ubiquity Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

Keywords:

thermal comfort,

personal comfort systems,

energy poverty,

intellectual disability,

environmental control,

Chile

© 2026 Katherine Exss, Maureen Trebilcock, Paulina Wegertseder-Martínez, Stefano Schiavon, Hui Zhang, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 7 (2026): Issue 1