Home environmental temperatures in an Irish infant population

In this study the ambient temperature in which thirty-three Irish infants, within six weeks of birth, were nursed was documented. The study was conducted from October to March and a total of 1,250 individual room temperatures were recorded with a mean of 19.3 degrees C and a range of 8 degrees C, to 28 degrees C. The highest ambient temperature occurred from 1800 to 2100 hours and the lowest from midnight to 0300 hours. There was no central heating in 60% of the homes in this study. Comparing the various methods of home heating we found that houses with a coal fire and back boiler had the greatest range of temperatures recorded (from 10 degrees C to 23.5 degrees C) and also the lowest mean temperature recorded (17.14 degrees C). There was little relationship found between the ambient temperature and the amount of clothing and bedding used and some infants were heavily clothed despite a high ambient temperature. The purpose of this paper is to provide background data on which to base future studies examining the effects of varying ambient temperatures and amounts of clothing on an infant's physiological homeostasis.