How it works
A cooled shared indoor place temporarily reduces exposure for people without adequate cooling at home or work. The intervention includes access, operating hours, outreach and onward support, not just an air conditioner.
Dry or humid heat
Dry and humid heat. Appropriately sized mechanical cooling can lower exposure in both; hot-humid climates also need latent-load/ventilation management and safe travel to the refuge.
What it has done
- measured Core temperature was 0.8 °C lower after the two-hour cooling period; the difference did not persist through the subsequent hours of renewed heat exposure. University of Ottawa, Canada, February 2019–April 2021 trials; 2023 paper. 40 adults aged 64–79; nine-hour simulated heatwave; two-hour AC interruption. Limits: Laboratory exposure, not measured real-centre attendance or mortality prevention; transient response, not all-day protection. Meade et al.: laboratory cooling-centre simulation (opens in a new tab) ↗
Energy
AC, ventilation and operations require energy; incremental peak demand depends on whether existing conditioned space or new equipment is used. No kWh estimate inferred.
Refrigerant and emissions
Actual facility refrigerants/charges and GWP not disclosed; assess equipment, leakage and grid emissions separately.
In a power cut
Existing facilities still depend on functioning power; a published refuge designation does not establish backup capacity.
The cooling-trap risk
Cooling can add electricity demand, charging/refrigeration needs and waste heat outside the protected zone. What helps: Reduce exposure and envelope heat gain, use appropriate efficient cooling, maintain access and test actual energy demand; do not substitute gadgets for work-rest protection.
For the poorest
Purchase and recurrent costs as a share of income were not published in reviewed sources. Do not infer affordability or free access. Assess transport, missed earnings and maintenance/charging costs.
What makes it work
Known opening times, free/affordable practical access, transport/outreach, accessibility, staffing, electricity and escalation arrangements are funded.
What could stop it
Distance, hot journeys, stigma, entry requirements, night closure, care obligations, pets, crowding or power failure.
Rough cost
No verified installed/local lifecycle price in the opened sources; affordability adjectives in abstracts are not accepted as price evidence.
Upkeep
Operator would ideally inspect, clean and maintain the cooling equipment and its energy/coolant supply. Obtain manufacturer-specific safe-use and replacement instructions; published validated life and servicing interval not verified here.
Who acts
City and local governments, Health authorities, Community and civil society groups, Utilities and energy regulators, Development banks, donors and climate funds. Suggested, not commitments.
Who pays
Proposed responsibility: employer for required occupational protection; facility/public authority for shared public cooling. Confirm recurrent budget and access arrangements; no funding commitment implied.
Fairness and risks
Assess language, documentation, women’s safety, disability access, toilets, seating, accompaniment and income lost while attending. Public listing does not establish actual uptake; cooling-centre access cannot replace safe homes or overnight protection.
Moving it elsewhere
Transfer the service-design lesson, not Canadian laboratory effect size or Seoul costs; co-design routes and hours with local users.
Known, inferred, uncertain
Known: Asian municipal programmes exist; a lab study shows transient physiological relief.
Inferred: Shared cooling may extend access where household AC is unaffordable, if the complete service is reachable and usable.
Uncertain: Real-world morbidity/mortality effect, inclusive uptake, current site-by-site hours and recurrent cost were not verified here.
On the map, it can help break: The displacement loop
Related practical actions: Markets and neighbourhoods · Before summer: for municipalities