Sustainable subdivision design and energy consumption of households in the hot and humid tropical climate of Darwin
Other Publication ResearchOnline@JCUAbstract
This paper examines the relationship between sustainable subdivision design principles, local microclimate, and household energy consumption. The energy-efficient subdivision design principles, energy consumption and adjustment behaviour of 36 households were investigated in two suburbs of the city of Darwin. The participating households completed a questionnaire on family structure, thermal preferences and behaviour adjustment to the indoor environment. Electricity consumption of households was recorded at 30-minute intervals from Nov 2015 to Aug 2016. The Muirhead suburb, designed with energy-efficiency and climate-responsive design principles, has 16.9 lots per hectare in dense areas and minimum lot area of 450m2. Another suburb, Lyons, has 14.4 lots per hectare and a minimum lot area of 525m2. Households were divided by lot areas into three categories: category 1 (450-610m2), category 2 (611-710m2), and category 3 (>710m2). In Muirhead, the average daily consumption of category one household in the warmer wet season was 98 Wh/m2 per person compared to 154 Wh/m2 per person in Lyons. In the cooler dry season 48 Wh/m2 per person in Muirhead and 87 Wh/m2 in Lyons. The cooling load was calculated using multiple regression analysis showed that the main difference in energy consumption between two suburbs was in the base load. Thus, the energy-efficiency and climate-responsive design principles, applied to the subdivision, mitigate the impact of urban heat on cooling energy consumption in the hot and humid climate of Darwin. These are preliminary results and further investigation of the factors that have an impact on energy consumption of participating households is continuing.
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Sustainable Development Research in the Asia-Pacific Region: education, cities, infrastructure and buildings
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978-3-319-73292-3
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525
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Springer
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Cham, Switzerland
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