Retrofitting To Reduce the Carbon Footprint of a Household :: improving energy efficiency

Executive summary This report aims to explain the interconnected nature of human behaviour and the result it has on the residential environment. Despite finding that human behaviour changes from household to household, it can be concluded that human behaviour and activities ultimately has an impact on our energy consumption. Hence, this report details the finding on how different retrofitting measure that may be invested in can change the energy consumption of a household, lower their annual running costs and carbon footprint. In the processes of researching different measures of improving energy efficiency, I also analyse my own house and determine measures I could take to further improve our consumption and what behavioural changes my family and I can make to modify our habits. I look at retrofitting measures including; energy conservation measures, heating, insulation, lighting, PV cells, solar hot water, water tanks and windows and doors, and determine the disadvantages and estimates of total costs that are associated with each selection. Table of contents Title page 1 Executive summary 2 Table of contents 3 Introduction 4 Building description 4 Retrofitting measures 5-6 - Energy conservation measures - Heating - Insulation - Lighting - PV cells - Solar hot water - Water tanks - Windows and doors 5 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 Three most beneficial measures 6-7 - Energy conservation measures - Water tanks - Windows and doors - Consideration and rejection of measures 6 6 6 7 Conclusion 7 Appendix 8-9 References 10 Introduction Sustainable housing is a major part of residential development and is increasing getting larger. Sustainable development aims meet our needs while not depleting resources and not compromising the ability for future generations to meet their own needs (Green Building Council Australia, 2014) because the capacity of our world is finite. The phases of a building’s life cycle impacts greatly on the environment and it is a system encompassing the extraction and processing of raw material, the embodied energy in construction and manufacturing, transportation and distribution; use, reuse, maintenance and recycling and final disposal of waste (Khasreen, M, Banfill, P & Menzies, G 2009, p. 676). Human interactions and behaviour also impact upon energy and resource consumption within the residential environment and contribute to our carbon footprint and hence changing and modifying our actions and habits can have a great impact of the lifestyle we lead. This report will detail the findings of many sustainable technologies that are available commercially and aim to reduce our impact on the environment through retrofitting, to modify the efficiency of household components. It will also factor in the disadvantages and costs involved in retrofitting efficient energy measures. Building description The house I am currently residing in is a single story, fully detached dwelling, built in the late 1970s and is a 758sqm property in Templestowe.