Wendy Miller

Anatomy of a sub-tropical Positive Energy Home (PEH)

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 2012

DOI: 10.1016/J.SOLENER.2011.09.028

Performance evaluation of eight contemporary passive solar homes in subtropical Australia

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 10-2012

DOI: 10.1016/J.BUILDENV.2012.02.023

Improving information gathering and distribution on sustainability features in the Australian residential property market

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 05-2018

DOI: 10.1016/J.JCLEPRO.2018.02.163

Comparison of Different Solar-Assisted Air Conditioning Systems for Australian Office Buildings

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 22-09-2017

DOI: 10.3390/EN10101463

Analysis of Cool Roof Coatings for Residential Demand Side Management in Tropical Australia

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 03-06-2015

DOI: 10.3390/EN8065303

Social transition from energy consumers to prosumers: Rethinking the purpose and functionality of eco-feedback technologies

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 11-2017

DOI: 10.1016/J.SCS.2017.09.009

Green Energy

Publisher: IGI Global

Date: 2011

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-60960-472-1.CH101

Abstract: Despite the general evolution and broadening of the scope of the concept of infrastructure in many other sectors, the energy sector has maintained the same narrow boundaries for over 80 years. Energy infrastructure is still generally restricted in meaning to the transmission and distribution networks of electricity and, to some extent, gas. This is especially true in the urban development context. This early 20th century system is struggling to meet community expectations that the industry itself created and fostered for many decades. The relentless growth in demand and changing political, economic and environmental challenges require a shift from the traditional ‘predict and provide’ approach to infrastructure which is no longer economically or environmentally viable. Market deregulation and a raft of demand and supply side management strategies have failed to curb society’s addiction to the commodity of electricity. None of these responses has addressed the fundamental problem. This chapter presents an argument for the need for a new paradigm. Going beyond peripheral energy efficiency measures and the substitution of fossil fuels with renewables, it outlines a new approach to the provision of energy services in the context of 21st century urban environments.

Impact of a Warming Climate on Hospital Energy Use and Decarbonization: An Australian Building Simulation Study

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 19-08-2022

DOI: 10.3390/BUILDINGS12081275

Abstract: The high energy use of hospitals and healthcare facilities globally contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, a large percentage of this energy use is attributed to space heating, cooling and ventilation, and is hence correlated to the climate. While the energy performance of Australian hospitals at the design stage is evaluated using historical weather data, the impact of the warming climate on Australian hospitals into the future remains unknown. The research question addressed is: What is the impact of future climates on the energy use of Australian hospitals built with the current design conditions? Two archetype hospital models were developed (a small single-story healthcare facility and a large multi-story hospital). DesignBuilder was used to simulate the performance of these models in 10 locations, ranging from the tropics to cool temperate regions in Australia. Current (1990–2015) and future climate files (2030, 2050, 2070 and 2090) were used. The results show that with the warming climate, the heating demand decreased, while the cooling demand increased for both hospital models for all sites. Cooling dominated climates, such as Darwin and Brisbane, were significantly impacted by the changing climates due to a substantial increase in cooling energy use. Heating based climates, such as Hobart and Canberra, resulted in an overall small reduction in total building energy use. In addition, the single-story facility was more impacted by the change in climate (in terms of energy use intensity) than the multi-story facility. The study highlights the importance of future climate files in building simulation and decarbonization planning.

Evaluation of an Australian Solar Community: Implications for Education and Training

Publisher: International Solar Energy Society

Date: 2011

DOI: 10.18086/SWC.2011.06.08

Green Energy

Publisher: IGI Global

Date: 2010

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-61520-775-6.CH001

Abstract: Despite the general evolution and broadening of the scope of the concept of infrastructure in many other sectors, the energy sector has maintained the same narrow boundaries for over 80 years. Energy infrastructure is still generally restricted in meaning to the transmission and distribution networks of electricity and, to some extent, gas. This is especially true in the urban development context. This early 20th century system is struggling to meet community expectations that the industry itself created and fostered for many decades. The relentless growth in demand and changing political, economic and environmental challenges require a shift from the traditional ‘predict and provide’ approach to infrastructure which is no longer economically or environmentally viable. Market deregulation and a raft of demand and supply side management strategies have failed to curb society’s addiction to the commodity of electricity. None of these responses has addressed the fundamental problem. This chapter presents an argument for the need for a new paradigm. Going beyond peripheral energy efficiency measures and the substitution of fossil fuels with renewables, it outlines a new approach to the provision of energy services in the context of 21st century urban environments.

Using Relationship Mapping to Understand Sustainable Housing Stakeholders' Actions

Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers

Date: 24-09-2015

DOI: 10.1061/9780784479681.022

Positive-energy homes: Impacts on, and implications for, ecologically sustainable urban design

Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC

Date: 07-12-2012

DOI: 10.1057/UDI.2011.20

Enhancing information about sustainability features for sustainable housing delivery

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Date: 2016

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-27064-7_39

Single household domestic water heater design and control utilising PV energy: The untapped energy storage solution

Publisher: IEEE

Date: 11-2016

DOI: 10.1109/APPEEC.2015.7381047

Aged Care Energy Use and Peak Demand Change in the COVID-19 Year: Empirical Evidence from Australia

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 23-11-2021

DOI: 10.3390/BUILDINGS11120570

Abstract: Aged care communities have been under the spotlight since the beginning of 2020. Energy is essential to ensure reliable operation and quality care provision in residential aged care communities (RAC). The aim of this study is to determine how RAC’s yearly energy use and peak demand changed in Australia and what this might mean for RAC design, operation and energy asset investment and ultimately in the healthcare plan for elderly residents. Five years of electricity demand data from four case study RACs in the same climate zone are analyzed. Statistical tools are used to analyze the data, and a clustering algorithm is used to identify typical demand profiles. A number of energy key performance indicators (KPIs) are evaluated, highlighting their respective benefits and limitations. The results show an average 8% reduction for yearly energy use and 7% reduction for yearly peak demands in the COVID-19 year compared with the average of the previous four years. Typical demand profiles for the four communities were mostly lower in the pandemic year. Despite these results, the KPI analysis shows that, for these four communities, outdoor ambient temperature remains a very significant correlation factor for energy use.

Householder experiences with resource monitoring technology in sustainable homes

Publisher: ACM

Date: 22-11-2010

DOI: 10.1145/1952222.1952271

Factors influencing sustainability outcomes of housing in subtropical Australia

Publisher: Emerald

Date: 24-05-2013

DOI: 10.1108/20466091311325854

Abstract: The challenges of providing housing that sustains its inhabitants socially, economically and environmentally, and is inherently sustainable for the planet as a whole, requires a holistic systems approach that considers the product, the supply chain and the market, as well as the interdependencies within and between each of these process points. The purpose of the research is to identify factors that impact the sustainability performance outcomes of residential dwellings and the diffusion of sustainable housing into the mainstream housing market. This research represents a snapshot in time: a recording of the experiences of seven Australian families who are “early adopters” of leading edge sustainable homes within a specific sustainable urban development in subtropical Queensland. The research adopts a qualitative approach to compare the goals and expectations of these families with the actual sustainability aspects incorporated into their homes and lifestyles. The results show that the “product” – a sustainable house – is difficult to define that sustainability outcomes were strongly influenced by in idual concerns and the contextual urban environment and that economic comparisons with “standard” housing are challenging. This qualitative study is based on seven families (13 in iduals) in an Ecovillage in southeast Queensland. Although the findings make a significant contribution to knowledge, they may not be generalisable to the wider population. The experiences of these early adopter families suggest that the housing market and regulators play critical roles, through actions and language, in limiting or enhancing the diffusion of sustainable housing into the market.

A multi-dimension clustering-based method for renewable energy investment planning

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 07-2021

DOI: 10.1016/J.RENENE.2021.03.056

The relationship between indoor and outdoor temperature in warm and cool seasons in houses in Brisbane, Australia

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 05-2019

DOI: 10.1016/J.ENBUILD.2019.03.010

Conceptualising a resilient cooling system: A socio-technical approach

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 08-2021

DOI: 10.1016/J.CACINT.2021.100065

Steel SIPs for Residential Building Construction: Lessons from Air Leakage and Thermography Analysis of Australian Houses

Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

Date: 09-2017

DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)AE.1943-5568.0000254

A Fairer Renewable Energy Policy for Aged Care Communities: Data Driven Insights across Climate Zones

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 08-10-2022

DOI: 10.3390/BUILDINGS12101631

Abstract: Communal living for older people exists in many different forms, such as suburban communities, lifestyle communities, retirement villages and residential aged care communities (RAC) where electricity is supplied via a main gate meter to the whole community. Australia’s Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme incentivizes in iduals and businesses to install renewable energy systems up to 100 kW peak. A system of this size, however, may not meet a community’s energy needs or sustainability goals. In contrast, other residential dwellings are allowed to install a minimum solar inverter of 5 kW. Therefore, this paper investigates small-scale renewable energy targets on a per bed basis for RACs and the impact of a change from the current 100 kW peak small-scale renewable energy policy. A data driven clustering-based method has been implemented to identify financially optimal photovoltaic (PV) system ratings for ten RACs across four climate zones. Explored are 100 kW peak PV and net zero electricity scenarios. Results show RACs with 5 kW PV per bed can move closer to a net zero electricity goal and generate 800 to 1400 GWh of renewable electricity each year with significant financial savings. A fairer renewable policy, based on kilowatts per bed, is advocated to improve communities’ energy resilience, financial sustainability, and environmental sustainability.

Energy Analysis and Forecast of a Major Modern Hospital

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 28-07-2022

DOI: 10.3390/BUILDINGS12081116

Abstract: Healthcare buildings often have high energy use intensity, which is potentially influenced by a few factors, such as occupancy and climate. A suite of data analysis methods, including principal component analysis and regressions, is applied to analyse monthly electricity data of a modern major hospital in subtropical Australia. The analysis shows that occupancy is not highly correlated with the hospital’s electricity use, nor is it important for building energy modelling. However, outdoor environment temperature is highly correlated with the hospital’s electricity use. Then, the hospital’s electricity uses in 2030 to 2090 scenarios are forecast with future climate files. The impacts are analysed in terms of bill increases and renewable capacity needed to offset the increased electricity use. This study has established a process to predict future hospital energy use using data-driven energy modelling. This succinct article provides vital evidence to support the healthcare sector to continuously improve energy efficiency for health buildings, which is a major asset to adapt to the changing climate.

Energy efficiency of housing for older citizens: Does it matter?

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 02-2017

DOI: 10.1016/J.ENPOL.2016.11.050

Prevalence, Risk Factors and Impacts Related to Mould-Affected Housing: An Australian Integrative Review

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 07-02-2022

DOI: 10.3390/IJERPH19031854

Abstract: In response to an Australian governmental inquiry into biotoxin-related illness, the purpose of this integrative review is to bring together the current state of evidence on the prevalence, risk factors and impacts related to mould-affected housing in an Australian context, in order to inform building, housing and health research, practice and policy. The robust integrative review methodology simultaneously sought quantitative and qualitative studies and grey literature from multiple disciplines, identifying only 45 studies directly relating to Australian housing and indoor mould. Twenty-one studies highlight negative health impacts relating to indoor residential mould, with asthma, respiratory, allergy conditions and emerging health concerns for chronic multiple-symptom presentation. The majority of studies reported risk factors for indoor mould including poor housing conditions, poor-quality rental accommodation, socioeconomic circumstance, age-related housing issues and concerns for surface/interstitial condensation and building defects in newer housing. Risks for indoor mould in both older and newer housing raise concerns for the extent of the problem of indoor mould in Australia. Understanding the national prevalence of housing risks and “root cause” associated with indoor mould is not conclusive from the limited existing evidence. Synthesis of this evidence reveals a lack of coverage on: (1) national and geographical representation, (2) climatical coverage, (3) housing typologies, (4) housing defects, (5) maintenance, (6) impact from urbanisation, and (7) occupant’s behaviour. This integrative review was key in identifying emerging housing and health concerns, highlighting gaps in data and implications to be addressed by researchers, practice and policy and acts as a comprehensive holistic review process that can be applied to other countries.

What does built environment research have to do with risk mitigation, resilience and disaster recovery?

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 12-2015

DOI: 10.1016/J.SCS.2015.07.004

Power Quality and Rooftop-Photovoltaic Households: An Examination of Measured Data at Point of Customer Connection

Publisher: MDPI AG

Date: 17-04-2018

DOI: 10.3390/SU10041224

Quantifying stakeholders’ influence on energy efficiency of housing: development and application of a four-step methodology

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Date: 14-12-2017

DOI: 10.1080/01446193.2017.1411599

Residential electricity costs - Assessment of Queensland electricity tariffs for solar households

Publisher: IEEE

Date: 11-2016

DOI: 10.1109/APPEEC.2015.7381038

Involving occupants in net-zero-energy solar housing retrofits: An Australian sub-tropical case study

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Date: 2018

DOI: 10.1016/J.SOLENER.2017.10.008

University Of Queensland

Location: Australia

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Queensland University Of Technology

Location: Australia

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A Roadmap For Greening Existing Australian Housing

Start Date: 2009

End Date: 2012

Funder: Australian Research Council

From Innovators To Mainstream Market: A Toolkit For Transforming Australian Housing And Maximising Sustainability Outcomes For Stakeholders

Start Date: 2013

End Date: 2016

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP120100348

Start Date: 10-2012

End Date: 12-2015

Amount: $198,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP130100650

Start Date: 06-2014

End Date: 12-2017

Amount: $450,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Linkage Projects - Grant ID: LP0990211

Start Date: 07-2009

End Date: 12-2012

Amount: $321,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council