Interests in Japanese living, traditional architecture and climate- based architecture are increasing, and importance of environmental design using natural materials such as wood, paper and mud is increasing. The thermal characteristics and thermal insulation effect of the mud wall which is the element of Japanese traditional architecture, influence on the thermal sensation of the softwood flooring material, the knowledge about the ventilation effect of the opening part are summarized. Comparative survey of house of mud wall and house of non-mud wall confirmed that the temperature inside the house of mud wall is stable.

In the summer and daytime, the indoor air temperature which was ventilated was the same in both houses, but the indoor air temperature was lower in the house with external insulation at night.In subject experiments on flooring materials, materials with low thermal conductivity such as tatami, cedar and cypress were evaluated on warm side and comfortable side in winter.In the traditional houses, the opening method is seen as regionality, whereas it was not seen in contemporary houses.How to develop into a nature symbiotic housing was shown.

We investigated the effects of renovating living rooms with thermal insulation and floor heating system installation on the indoor environment and health of elderly residents. We measured aspects of the indoor environment for 4 weeks and the health conditions of participants before and 1 year after renovating the living rooms with thermal insulation alone (10 elderly residents in nine houses), and additionally installing a floor heating system (42 elderly residents in 29 houses). Living room temperature, floor surface temperature and temperature 10 cm above the floor were significantly higher, and living room relative humidity was significantly lower after installing the floor heating system. Mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure, mean blood pressure, and pulse pressure over an entire day and night based on 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring were significantly lower after installing the floor heating system. Participants measured their blood pressure five times per day (after waking, after breakfast, after lunch, after dinner, and at bedtime) and recorded the frequency of urination and defecation for 4 weeks. Mean diastolic and mean blood pressure after waking and after breakfast were significantly lower after installing the floor heating system. Overactive bladder symptom and rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life improved significantly after installing the floor heating system. Changes in temperatures, relative humidity, blood pressure, overactive bladder symptom score (OABSS), and rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life score (JRQLQ No.1) were statistically unchanged after installing thermal insulation alone. These results suggest that renovating living rooms with a floor heating system improves some aspects of the health of elderly residents.