I’m doing some work at present for a friend who researches in the area of sustainable housing. Wendy is currently trying to recruit participants for a study of how homes respond in heat waves and how well homes perform in terms of heating/cooling in relation to approved design and construction plans. If you’re in Brisbane or Townsville, and interested in participating, please read on.

The study is a national research project that involves researchers from the University of South Australia, the University of Adelaide, and Sydney University. Participation would involve an initial questionnaire about your house and your family, periodic short questions (via SMS) about your comfort and behaviour during periods of hot weather, and monitoring of your air conditioner and electricity use and internal temperature and humidity (it involves installing a monitoring device in your home). Monitoring should last about 12 months. Houses need to be less than 6 years old, have an air conditioner, and have internet access. By preference, houses would also be small to medium in size. You may also be asked for permission for the researchers to test your house for air leakage and insulation levels.

If your house fits the criteria and you’d like to help, you can contact Wendy using the details below:

Wendy Miller
Senior Research Fellow
Faculty of Science and Engineering
Queensland University of Technology
(07) 3138 9126 or
w2.miller[at]qut.edu.au (replace [at] with @ when you type in the address, of course)