Cool Living
ed. Hot Dry
TECHNICAL
Passive Cooling & Upgrades
There is proof 'Passive' Upgrades work
Many real-life Temperature Control and Temperature Improvement projects prove that passive retrofits can make a difference for summer conditions, improving thermal comfort by reducing the temperature of inside the house by up to 9C.
Many Scoping Studies can project future climate change scenarios across Australia and also the thermal performance of houses. Building simulation research has also tested different house designs, upgrades and variations and documented the results to show what building elements are best for the 'Hot Dry' climate.
Why Passive?
Energy Insecurity is a real problem communities face. Disconnection rates are an indicator of energy insecurity issues. Observations were made across 3,300 houses in 28 remote NT communities between June 2018 - July 2019 (1,674,786 daily observations in sample). The research showed that households in the ‘hot dry’ zone increased electricity use on days between 30-40C and corresponded to an average of an increased 16-19kWh/day ($5.13). When temperatures hit between 35-40C, chances of disconnection increased to 1:11. 1
“83% of households experienced multi-day disconnections* at least once.
16% of households experienced multi-day disconnections* at least 10 times.
Average length of disconnection was 125.49hrs (5 days)”
*Disconnection means the power service that is cut due to non-payment. Power will not be turned back on until payment is made.
The reality is that a lot of the existing and legacy housing stock will continue to be lived in for many decades to come. General and priority wait times for housing is 6-8 years in Alice Springs, where for remote housing this is even longer. For 2 bedroom houses, there are 393 people on the wait list and only 8 vacant homes, the need is approximately 50 times more than available housing stock. The question arises, while people wait where do they stay and how functional is that living environment?
Cost of Remote Construction & Maintenance
‘Sustainable Indigenous Housing in Regional and Remote Australia’ AHURI report publishes building and maintenance cost data of SA Housing Authorities housing stock. This research gives a snapshot into the complexities and huge expenses of construction in remote areas.
See photos below.
