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An energy-autonomous home in Melbourne - myth or reality?

Fuller, R. J. and Loersch, S. J. 2011, An energy-autonomous home in Melbourne - myth or reality?, in WREC 2011 : World Renewable Energy Congress : Future trends and applications in renewable energy technologies and sustainable development, Linköping University Electronic Press, Linköping University, [Linköping, Sweden], pp. 1765-1772.

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Title An energy-autonomous home in Melbourne - myth or reality?
Author(s) Fuller, R. J.
Loersch, S. J.
Conference name World Renewable Energy Congress (2011 : Linkoping, Sweden)
Conference location Linkoping, Sweden
Conference dates 8-13 May 2011
Title of proceedings WREC 2011 : World Renewable Energy Congress : Future trends and applications in renewable energy technologies and sustainable development
Editor(s) Moshfegh, Bahram
Publication date 2011
Series Linköping electronic conference proceedings
Conference series 9789173930703
Start page 1765
End page 1772
Publisher Linköping University Electronic Press, Linköping University
Place of publication [Linköping, Sweden]
Keyword(s) energy autonomy
housing
Melbourne
conservation
solar technologies
Summary Energy-autonomous buildings are possible. Completely energy self-sufficient houses can be found, for example, in Europe. If it is possible to cover the entire energy demand of a household from only renewable energy generated on site in a central European climate, what is required in a temperate climate, typical of southern Australia? This paper describes an investigation to broadly assess the technical, practical and financial feasibility of energy-autonomy for a hypothetical suburban house in Melbourne, Victoria. The findings firstly demonstrate the importance of reducing energy demand by using passive solar building strategies and energy efficient appliances to reduce demand to a reasonable level. The paper then discusses four scenarios and combinations of technologies to meet this reduced demand. The three scenarios which give energy autonomy increase the capital cost of a typical house by between 15% and 3%, and there would be insufficient roof area to accommodate the solar technologies required in two of the scenarios investigated. It is therefore concluded that while the goal of energy autonomy is technically feasible, it is not likely to be financially or practically acceptable. A fourth scenario of an energy-exporting house was also investigated and is shown to be a much more attractive option.
ISSN 1650-3686
1650-3740
Language eng
Field of Research 120104 Architectural Science and Technology (incl Acoustics, Lighting, Structure and Ecologically Sustainable Design)
Socio Economic Objective 970112 Expanding Knowledge in Built Environment and Design
HERDC Research category E1 Full written paper - refereed
Copyright notice ©2011, The Authors
Persistent URL http://hdl.handle.net/10536/DRO/DU:30042189

Document type: Conference Paper
Collection: School of Architecture and Built Environment
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