Palmer, J; Bennetts, H; Pullen, S; Zuo, J; Ma, T and Chileshe, N (2014) The effect of dwelling occupants on energy consumption: The case of heat waves in Australia. Architectural Engineering and Design Management, 10(1-2), pp. 40-59. ISSN 1745-2007
Abstract
Climate change predictions indicate more extremes in weather conditions in the coming decades with more frequent and severe heat waves in certain locations including Australia. It is likely that the more vulnerable members of the community will be at risk during heat waves in the future from both health and financial perspectives. The trend towards fully air conditioned larger homes has already seen very large peaks in electricity demand during past heat waves. Electricity prices have increased substantially in recent years and will increase further due to greater peak demand and environmental levies. To manage the risks to dwelling occupants during heat waves, research has been carried out to determine methods of promoting adaptive behaviours through residential design. This paper describes the concept of a "cool retreat" within a dwelling which can provide comfort conditions with minimal cooling costs during heat wave periods. The cool retreat concept is shown to have its origins in the past in a number of locations around the world subject to hot conditions. Various cool retreat configurations have been analysed for thermal performance, demonstrating the viability of this approach for dealing with extreme conditions in the future.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | behaviour change; dwelling design; energy use; heat wave risks |
| Index terms: | energy use, electricity demand, weather, climate change, energy consumption, configuration, thermal performance, comfort, adaptive behaviour, Australia, behaviour change, peak demand |
| Subjects: | Geography, occupational health and safety management, behavioral psychology, systems engineering, air quality, human factors, climate science, energy systems |
| Topics: | Sustainability, Health and Safety, Engineering Principles, Research Practice, Geographical Context |
| Descriptive scope: | 3 PCT |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here