HIGH COMFORT HOMES ?

Perth is blessed with a beautiful climate, but for more than half the year Perth homes are either too cold, too hot, too windy – or the mosquitoes and the neighbours’ lawnmowers are out in force!  We retreat inside, close the windows and doors, but it’s still not as comfortable as it could be.  It’s almost as if Perth people are averse to building high comfort homes. Many Europeans and North Americans who come to Australia claim they have never been so cold as living through winter in an Australian home.

The ideal indoor temperature is between 22 and 24 degrees.  To maintain this all year round in Perth requires some cooling in summer – and five times as much heating energy in winter. Read our article on hot and cold Perth homes.

Of course the temperature is not the only factor affecting our sense of “comfort” inside our houses…  The building innovations team from CSR, one of Australia’s largest suppliers of building materials, recently concluded that “comfort” is the area in which Australian homes most need to improve…
(In an article, they suggest that Australisns need to learn more about comfort)

CSR high comfort homes

ALL of the above issues are addressed by Consortium Builders’ approach to building High comfort homes, with Low energy and Rapid construction times.

The amount of moisture in the air in Perth varies from about 0.7% in August to 1.0% in February, which means up to 12g of water vapour in every cubic metre of air.  How close the air is to saturation and condensation is closely related to the temperature – either of the air, or of a surface that the air comes into contact with.

In addition to the moisture that is naturally present in ambient air, humidity is produced within the home…

CONDENSATION CARTOON 1600pxw

Indoor air quality is strongly related to a combination of  humidity and the temperature of the air – affecting a range of issues from dust mites and mould to allergic reactions.

3-RH mould

World’s best practice for cost-effectively managing internal air quality, thermal comfort and energy consumption is the German ‘PassivHaus” system.  A ventilation system consistently supplies fresh air yielding superior air quality  – free of dust, pollen and odours – without causing any unpleasant draughts.  A highly efficient heat recovery unit allows for the energy contained in the exhaust air to be re-used (for heating or cooling).  Ideal indoor temperatures and low humidity levels are maintained all year round so none of the above issues occur – ever!

See next: LOW ENERGY