University of Sydney researchers will be looking for ways to slash energy consumption for the heating and cooling of buildings  at Australia's first comfort laboratory, a research facility that will also improve homes and workplaces in Australia and internationally.

 

Professor Richard de Dear, director of the laboratory, said that people now spend an average 90 percent of their time indoors.

 

“By helping us understand how humans react to temperature, light and sound in an office or at home, this laboratory will let us improve the quality and comfort of that time."

 

"While there is a widespread belief that the 'optimal temperature' for human productivity is 21.5 degrees, a figure that has been enshrined in many tenancy contracts, there is no scientific basis to this belief."

 

"By understanding the most efficient way to provide comfort, we can also lower energy and other resource costs. This has significant impacts on the sustainability of Australian businesses, drives productivity and increases our competitiveness in the low carbon future."

 

The laboratory consists of two rooms fitted with a multitude of sensors and controls, allowing researchers to control indoor conditions such as temperature, ventilation, air-flow and direction, acoustics and lighting level, direction and intensity. As these conditions change researchers will monitor occupants' impressions of comfort.

 

The comfort laboratory is the cornerstone of the University of Sydney's research into Indoor Environmental Quality, a field of architecture and design science that combines psychology, physiology, sustainability and architecture to investigate how sustainability and human experiences influence productivity at work and comfort at home.

 

The laboratory is located at the University of Sydney's Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning.

 

Professor de Dear is an internationally recognised expert in Indoor Environmental Quality and the world's most cited researcher on thermal comfort. His work forms the backbone of national and international energy efficiency and building standards.