In the Peruvian mountains, hundreds of thousands of rural households living in poverty live in cold indoor environments, close to 0 °C. Indoor cold causes thousands of respiratory diseases and excess of winter deaths. In this study, we numerically calculated the impact of simple low-cost refurbishments on discomfort time during a year.

In high-altitude regions of the Global South, social housing programs are essential for mitigating vulnerability to low temperatures, but their standardized designs often fail to meet thermal performance codes. This study evaluates a “Sumaq Wasi” adobe housing module in the Peruvian Andes (Kunturkanki, 4237 m a.s.l.) during the 2023 frost season. We comparatively applied the 2014 and 2022 draft versions of the Peruvian standard EM.110 to assess the building envelope’s thermal transmittance and condensation risk, benchmarking monitored indoor temperatures against adaptive comfort models. The results revealed widespread non-compliance with thermal transmittance limits, especially for the roof and floor, although condensation risk was low. While indoor temperatures failed to meet conventional standards, they aligned with regionally adapted comfort ranges. We conclude that the standardized module design is insufficient for local climatic demands and argue that social housing policies must evolve, balancing regulatory stringency with context-aware bioclimatic design to be effective.

Cold indoor environments in rural Andean housing raise concerns about thermal comfort, yet the applicability of existing comfort models to these contexts remains insufficiently examined. This study has compared predictions from five thermal comfort models, including PMV, aPMV, and regional approaches, against field data. Data were collected from 154 residents of Langui (3,969 m.a.s.l.) through culturally adapted surveys and environmental measurements. The aPMV model showed the highest agreement with thermal sensation votes, achieving 58.4% accuracy (±1 category), and enabled the definition of a comfort range between 14 °C and 25 °C. The results emphasize the need for local design criteria that address cold indoor conditions in Andean housing.

In Peru, there are few studies that systematically address the issue of high-Andean rural housing. This study is based on the survey and diagnosis of 26 rural houses in Langui, Cusco, with the aim of characterizing them from a typological, constructive, and contextual perspective. The data collection was carried out through analysis sheets, interviews, measurements, and photographic records; the information was then systematized and analyzed. The study concludes that rural housing in Langui is productive, evolutionary, and naturally absorbs changes due to external interventions, such as the increased availability of industrial materials or the insertion of government-built housing modules.

In high-altitude regions of the Global South, social housing programs are essential for mitigating vulnerability to low temperatures. However, a gap often exists between the actual thermal performance of these standardized dwellings and their compliance with national energy regulations. This study evaluates the "Sumaq Wasi" adobe housing module in Kunturkanki (Cusco, Peru) during the 2023 frost season, analyzing its regulatory compliance and its capacity to provide thermal comfort. The methodologies of the Peruvian standard EM.110 (2014 version and 2022 draft update) were applied to calculate thermal transmittance and surface condensation risk, while monitored indoor temperatures were benchmarked against adaptive comfort models. The results show widespread non-compliance with thermal transmittance limits for the roof and floor under both standards, although the condensation risk was found to be low. Indoor temperatures failed to meet conventional comfort standards but aligned with regionally documented adaptive comfort ranges. It is concluded that the module's design is insufficient for the local climatic conditions. Therefore, social housing policies must balance regulatory stringency with context-aware bioclimatic design to ensure their effectiveness.

El nivel de hermeticidad al aire de una vivienda influye directamente en las condiciones térmicas, acústicas y de salubridad que se presentan en su interior. Ante la ausencia de estudios que abordan el tema en el ámbito local, la presente investigación tuvo como objetivo identificar el valor y los factores que condicionan el nivel de hermeticidad de viviendas precarias construidas en barrios informales de la ciudad de Lima. Mediante el método de ‘puerta sopladora’, se realizaron mediciones en cinco viviendas que evidenciaron tasas de renovación de aire de entre 280 y 40 ACH (renovaciones de aire por hora) a una presión diferencial de 50 pascales, valores considerablemente altos que reflejan la baja hermeticidad de estas viviendas. Estos hallazgos constituyen una primera aproximación empírica a la hermeticidad al aire en viviendas precarias, al aportar datos preliminares útiles para el análisis del confort térmico en contextos de alta vulnerabilidad urbana.