A study on the thermal and living environment of the slice room in Korea during winter season

The slice room is a typical type of housing for the energy poverty in Korea. The resident of a slice room has a personal space with an average size of 4 square metres and a shared toilet and a washroom. A mechanical system for maintaining indoor air quality and thermal environment is not normally installed. Therefore, common residents in slice rooms cannot guarantee an acceptable living environment. Energy poverty and housing welfare are global issues. To establish a policy for housing welfare and energy poverty, collecting base data is essential. In this study, the results of the survey and analysis on the living and thermal environment of residents in slice rooms are presented. Interviews and field surveys were conducted for 35 households. Measurement instruments was installed in 29 households to collect indoor air quality and thermal environment data. Deep-interviews were conducted to investigate the living and thermal environment of the households. We collected residents’ personal information, room stay-time, comfort sensation vote in indoor environments, income and energy cost burden. The field surveys were conducted to derive architectural characteristics of the slice rooms. Insulation, structural materials and building locations were collected. Indoor air quality was monitored by DIY sensor. Internet of Things (IoT) based data acquisitor is designed to not disturb the daily life of the residents. The measuring factors were indoor dry-bulb temperature, relative humidity, black bulb temperature, air velocity, CO2, PM 2.5, occupancy (PIR). The results of the investigation show that the average indoor temperature inside the room was 15.7°C (±4.7°C). The measured IAQ was analysed and compared with the standard and recommendation. The indoor air quality mostly cannot meet the recommendation especially during cooking and when smoking inside. Predicted mean vote was calculated based on the thermal environment data. Most residents have been living in an unpleasant environment due to energy cost.