How to kick the airconditioning habit and save money this summer
Staying cool this summer need not cost a fortune in power bills if you follow these experts’ tips
Home Mag
Don't miss out on the headlines from Home Mag. Followed categories will be added to My News.
We’re in for a long hot summer if recent years are any indication. But if you’re worried about CO2 emissions or the damage to your hip pocket with rising electricity bills, turning on the aircon may not be the solution.
Architect Mark Szczerbicki says more of his clients are saying no to reverse-cycle aircon.
“People are definitely stepping away from aircon,” Mark says. “It has always worked better for heating rather than cooling but we do a lot of hydronic heating now so there’s less need for it.”
Architect Matt Elkan says our reliance on aircon is relatively new and largely unnecessary in Sydney’s temperate climate. “If you look at the history of housing styles in Australia, everything up to the 1980s was driven by a better response to climate, like adding verandas and providing better ventilation,” Matt says. “Then aircon kicked off and we solved all our problems by pushing a button.”
he says. “No one has ever come back and said they’ve wanted aircon.” Pictures: Tom Ferguson
Building designer Luke van Jour from Distinct Innovations lives and works in western Sydney where temperatures can exceed 40C in summer. While he says aircon is a necessary part of life for many in the area, it’s not always used well.
“I set my aircon at 28C or 29C at my place but some clients misunderstand how to use the thermostat,” he says.
Electricity is not the problem, it’s the way it is generated that causes emissions and hikes up bills. Solar panels are the obvious solution, says Matt. “Solar panels for aircon are good in that it is generating power at the same time that you need it — in summer,” he says.
SHADE THE HOUSE
The key to keeping the house cool is to stop the sun from hitting the windows with external awnings and blinds.
“Windows are the weakest points, particularly on the eastern and western sides of the house,” says Luke. “Once the heat gets in, it heats surfaces which then produces radiant heat. Stopping that can drop the temperature by two or three degrees.”
Architect and builder Clinton Cole from C+C Architectural Workshop says well placed trees and shrubs work wonders.
“We do screening on the outside of the window to cut out the direct sun before it interacts with the glass. Plants are wonderful in terms of what they can do. You get transpiration off the leaves which will provide a cooling effect on the house.”
SWITCH TO FANS
Fans cost considerably less to run than aircon and are useful tools in Sydney’s humid summer.
“I really like fans,” says Clinton. “You can do away with fly screens if you have a ceiling fan. If you have it on low, mossies won’t land. And when you have those nights where it’s 28C or 30C, a light breeze makes a big difference.”
They can also be used in tandem with aircon to get the most out of your system without running up bills.
“Use ceiling and pedestal fans and keep them on level rotation,” says Luke. “If you can reduce heat by half a degree here or there, soon it’s four or five degrees cooler.”
CROSS-VENTILATION
These two words could make all the difference to a hot house in summer: cross ventilation.
“The basic principles that everyone understands but doesn’t do is opening doors and windows for ventilation and getting shading externally on to windows,” says Mark. “Have high level windows to get the heat out. All those principles work beautifully well, even on a 40C day without aircon.”
Open windows at key times of the day, like early mornings and late in the evening when the air has cooled for the greatest benefit and then close the house down for the hottest times.
OPEN THE WINDOWS
Hot air rises so opening windows on upper floors will ‘purge’ the house.
“It’s learning to use your house like a machine,” says Clinton. “I have walked into friends’ houses on hot days and gone upstairs to open the windows and everyone has remarked how much cooler it feels.”
Louvred windows give maximum control of air flow. “While insulation and seals are good to ensure you don’t have heat gain and loss in a home, its relevance to the east coast of Australia is questionable,” says Clinton. “Cross ventilation and opening your house up is the efficient way to stay cool.”
More: cplusc.com.au; distinctinnovations.com.au; mattelkanarchitect.com.au; markszczerbicki.com
