<
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/aug/20/we-basically-live-in-the-jungle-how-one-couple-cooled-their-home-naturally>
"As soon as John Boland moved into his house in inner-city Adelaide he got rid
of the concrete and sheds and planted fruit trees. In the 30 years since, those
trees have provided him with a third of his food and cooled his home so well he
doesn’t need air conditioning.
Deciduous trees on the western side of the house bathe the house in shade in
the hot South Australian summer while letting in afternoon sun during winter.
They also block hot breezes in summer and cold winds in winter.
“We basically live in the jungle,” Boland says. “We [sit] listening to birds
singing, rather than listening to air-con belching away, and enjoy having a
meal in a beautiful bush setting in the middle of the city.”
A 76-year-old professor of environmental mathematics, Boland lives with his
wife, Chris Bryant, on a traditional quarter-acre block in Felixstow, 6km from
the city centre. The couple have long had a keen interest in sustainability and
started to make the house more efficient and comfortable shortly after moving
in 28 years ago.
“We try to pick the easy things first and see if they work,” Boland says. “We
know a lot of the principles – me from the climate side of things, and Chris
from the food production side of things – and we’re able to merge the two and
just see how we go.”
Instead of knocking their 1940s weatherboard house over and starting from
scratch, Boland and Bryant found opportunities to improve sustainability as
they arose. A simple example: when they had to take their walls apart to remove
asbestos or fix termite damage they made sure to have insulation installed as
part of the repairs."
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
