<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/jul/01/australia-cold-homes-warmth-energy-solutions>
"If you own or rent one of Australia’s 6m-plus homes built 30 years ago or
more, the words “coldest start to winter” can be especially depressing.
These older dwellings are leaky, rely heavily on heating and cooling, and emit
more carbon than modern homes. This exacerbates health problems, spikes bills
and notches up emissions. “Before time” houses, built prior to the National
Construction Code’s introduction of energy standards in 2003, typically score
just 1.8 stars on the 10-star nationwide house energy rating scheme. New builds
are generally rated between 6 and 7 stars.
So what can be done to reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions of
these pre-2003 homes?
The perceived complexity of bringing these older buildings up to modern energy
standards means, according to experts speaking to
Guardian Australia, “there
is a real bias towards building new”.
But retrofitting homes for better energy efficiency often doesn’t require
dramatic structural changes to reap thermal, financial and environmental
benefits. It’s about finding ways to use less energy to accomplish the same
tasks. A few simple modifications and appliance adaptations have the power to
reduce energy usage without harming your hip pocket."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
