Opportunities to improve indoor temperatures and electricity use in remote Australian buildings

Opportunities to improve indoor temperatures and electricity use in remote Australian buildings

Authors:

Peter Osman, Lisa Havas, Michael Ambrose and Kevin Williams

Organisation of Presenter:

CSIRO, Australia

Abstract:

Adaptation to climate change and the increasing costs of electricity are key incentives for improving building energy efficiency. The need is particularly acute in remote communities in Far North Queensland and Central Australia. Electricity and transport are expensive, incomes are relatively low and maintenance services are difficult to access. At the same time buildings have to provide an environment that is safe and productive while coping with extremely challenging climates. We report eight case studies that investigated enterprise building structures and their associated electricity consumption, temperatures and relative humidities over a nine month period. The study focused on two building construction types: i) concrete block and ii) steel frame, in the hot arid and hot humid climate zones of northern Australia.

Key findings are described relating to i) improving building thermal efficiency, ii) reducing the electricity consumption by appliances, particularly standby consumption, which typically ranged from 20% to 50% of total electricity consumption, iii) the potential for adapting AccuRate for use in remote communities in arid and tropical northern Australia.