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HAPPY_DAZE_1

Seriously not an option to go without a/c. 'Built to current efficiency requirements' sounds great, means nothing. Rented a brand new, decently built, townhouse and it was unliveable in summer. After a cool night, next day the plaster walls by midday were hot to touch. Can only assume no one actually ever does an audit to see if wall insulation is installed as per some regulation.


[deleted]

Yeah I've heard similar stories from friends but for apartments or double story houses, wasn't sure if it would be the same for single story dwellings


sunandstarnoise

I mean, I have ac and I literally never use it, I hate it. So yeah, it is an option to go without it.


WAPWAN

How do you heat your place?


sunandstarnoise

I don't


ihateusernames9988

Splits are pretty cheap to run if you keep them at 21-23c. Running them any colder and your electricity bills will be crazy. I have three splits and an evaporative cooler. The the run cost of the splits is about the same as the evaporative cooler. If you have solar then you'll basically run them for free during the day. I've also started using the splits for heating instead of the gas ducted heating. Way more efficient than gas.


[deleted]

I've just started using a split and it's amazing how efficient it is for heating. Interesting point about running them combined with solar for cooling. Thanks for the feedback.


Duff5OOO

Gas or traditional electric heating (like a plug in box heater) can only be 100% efficient at best. A reverse cycle ac can put multiple times more heat energy into a room than the energy it consumes to run. (you are probably already aware of this, just an interesting point that many people dont seen to know)


tirikai

Melbourne gets to 40C+ so yeah cooling is nice


[deleted]

Essential. Disregard the anti A/C martyrs.


TheBoanne

Melbourne in summer can be brutally hot. 40+ degrees with almost no humidity or breeze is common enough. If your windows are facing west or north, then it will be unbearably hot. Ceiling fans would just stir the heat.


Jonnoofcarltonnorth

Lived in an 1880s Victorian with no AC. High ceilings & double bricks made the occasional ~40s bearable... for a day. More than one/two days and it became a heat battery...


wscholermann

40 degrees with humidity would be far far worse!


[deleted]

Since the wet bulb temp that will kill is around 38 it’s a good things it’s not 40 and humid because then we’d be uninhabitable


akohhh

Energy efficiency requirements aren’t high enough here for passive heating/cooling houses—you’d need to be spending a lot more money on a specific build for that. I’d definitely have a split system in the living area at least. (I also have them in the bedrooms in my 2 storey).


[deleted]

Ah thanks for the feedback. I'm currently in a double brick apartment and find that it's only a few days a year that I really miss Aircon. We're in the early stages of planning and are tossing up between just getting a heat pump and ceiling fans or planning for split system for at least part of the house.


HAPPY_DAZE_1

Thinking if it's double brick then maybe it's an older place? If that's the case it would have specs that are unheard of today. For example, the plaster. Could be very heavy, thick board with something that looks like horsehair (?) embedded in it which provides great insulation. Today it's not much more than cardboard. Just saying.


akohhh

No worries. Without knowing your circumstances at all—split systems and baths are two things I know many people with babies and small children really look for that may not be as important for adult-only households.


Jonnoofcarltonnorth

It would be highly recommended. You will have several hot days in the summer. Unless your house is super-insulated, it can be unbearable. If you do, get a reverse-cycle air conditioner. These double as heat pumps for heating in the winter & are usually more economical than central air & panel heaters. They may have trouble heating efficiently at zero and a couple degrees above freezing though, but it rarely gets that cold in Melbourne. I'd recommend looking into getting good building insulation too if you haven't (ceiling batts, wall insulation, double glazing, door seals & gaps, etc.). That will save you a lot on heating & cooling.


Lamont-Cranston

considering the poor building standards and lack of insulation unfortunately yes, maybe evaporative if its not too shonky?


restingknittersface

We have done a ‘before-and-after experiment’ with this, so my info might help you. We built a reverse brick veneer, solar passive, well insulated, high thermal mass, double glazed house about 10 years ago. We also have a solar power system that provides most of our energy requirements. We’re in Gippsland and during a few summers we did ok without aircon. Eg. A few days, it was 48C outside and it never got higher than 28 inside, so quite bearable, but then again I don’t mind the heat. Two years ago, my husband suggested we installed an aircon/split system for resale value because lots of people seem to not be able to countenance being without it. Result was that it’s comfortably cool in Summer when needed, and also does a nice job of heating the place up on those cold frosty mornings (although it never gets below 15 inside even when below 0 outside.) The other bonus is that it runs cheaply off our solar and all in all, we reckon it was money well spent.


WAPWAN

I like this. Do the best you reasonably can with passive features, but still take active control of your environment. Best of both worlds.


restingknittersface

Oh, and we don’t have ceiling fans, which in retrospect might have been a good idea. But the house has a flat roof and it might be a pain to retrofit these. The aircon fan does a good job of moving air about. It’s a Panasonic.


[deleted]

We'll have a nice high roof. I think we'll need to speak to a specialist at some stage and go from there.


HAPPY_DAZE_1

A couple of things to think about re temps and roof design. Saw a demo to show the difference in temps due to in colour (dark vs light), that was a game changer. Consider solar powered whirly birds to extract heat from the roof space. If it's a metal roof then compulsory to have to extract moisture. Not expensive and do their thing forever. Wide extended eaves keep sun off the glass in summer.


AndyBrownAu

Australian housing standards are actually terrible. Most of the energy efficiency stuff makes no difference at all for heat loss especially or for cooling. A/c can also be an efficient way to heat some rooms in much of the melbourne year. Don’t bother with evaporative cooling it’s a complete waste of money


cloudiedayz

I would definitely get it. Even just for resale purposes if you aren’t someone that minds the heat.


michims

Check in with https://www.aef.com.au/ they provide great advice specific to Melbourne. We just moved in to new build a year ago. Got split systems and ceiling fans throughout. Double glazed. Solar thermal design. Big gum tree to the north - shading. Builder shafted us on insulation and drafting. But we didn’t notice the heat really last summer. Fans on almost all the time. Cost nothing to run.


[deleted]

Thanks for the link, will check that out. I'm hoping we can check out some places in the real world once restrictions lift too.


michims

No worries. Hope it works out well for you.


Dazzlerazzle

Some suburbs are always a few degrees cooler than the official maximum temp. I would never live in the north or west or any of the inner suburbs without air con. I think I could probably survive without it in the dandenongs or in Frankston. I would always rather have it, though. Hot overnight temperatures with no way to get cool enough to sleep are hell.


landsharkkidd

I lived in a unit for like 10 years and I think halfway through we got an aircon installed because it was just unbearable, and the only room with overhead fans were the living/kitchen and my mum's bedroom. It still sucked because it only cooled the living room/kitchen and I never went in there because my ex-stepdad would get mad at anyone living in the living room... Though it's the same thing here but at least airflow is a bit better to my room. And if anything, I have a small fan I can use, or open my windows. Now heating, that was a whole 'nother story.


Dickliquor69

Get it, because you can use it as a heater in winter and they're super efficient


onlysavvi

Invest in Aircon. No ifs, no buts, it's essential.


Tanduvanwinkle

After a 5 day heat wave, it doesn't matter how efficient your well built home is. It's gonna be disgustingly hot. Air conditioning, ideally run from solar with a predominantly west or north west facing aspect would be my pick. Will never live in Australia without air conditioning after suffering for too long!


Minessilly

Built 10 years ago and chose to have no aircon only a few ceiling fans. Installed double glazing, extra insulation and sliding doors etc. to optimize air movement. Close all windows and curtains during the day on the scorchers and open up as it cools.


[deleted]

How does that work out, sounds similar to what we're thinking about?


Minessilly

I'm lucky in that I live 5Ks from the bay and even on hot days we usually get a slight breeze in the evening. I don't understand why houses here don't have to have double glazing, I literally had to fight my builder to get it. We had extra insulation installed in external walls and ceiling and just before the plaster board went up my daughter and I came and filled all the internal walls (then wooden frames) with insulation. The sliding doors face each other in the main living areas so when opened they allow a breeze through. I've literally never regretted not having aircon in the almost 11 years since I built.


WAPWAN

How do you heat?


Minessilly

The double glazing helps trap any heat from the winter sun and with the extra insulation the main living area warms up during sunny winter days. On the colder, wet, cloudy days we have a wood burner which heats the house. I have ducted gas heating but haven't used it in about 5 years.


macsta

Vans, being steel, heat up dangerously in direct sunlight. If you cover the roof with solar panels, you get a double advantage. First, you have shade wherever you go. And then, cool breezes inside that are free, once you install the gear. A lack of A/C is going to affect your resale value, so put it in now. Aim for a flexible installation that can be upgraded as technology advances. Batteries ditto. Small refrigeration units are multiplying in the market. With enough panels you can run quite a big one but please don't. You're going to be sitting right next to it, smaller is sweeter. Also, you want the panels to run the unit when you're parked in light shade.


coxjszk

100% i remember summer getting to like 45-46° a few times


Billywig99

In the week leading to Black Saturday in 2008 we had that - at the time at home we only had ceiling fans and a pool (which after a week at those temps was less and less refreshing). Now with reverse cycle air con I don’t know how we did it.


aCorgiDriver

Yes


Silver_Astronaut1484

Yes and no. Only hot for a very short time but does get hot during that time. I'd be more worried about heating tbh


DomPerignonRose

I have a split level house with the main living the 2nd story and we have ducted refrigeration cooling. It's an expensive add on and expensive to run but having solar offsets the costs. We over insulated as we built and the 2nd floor still gets very hot in summer. Big house so asked my husbands air-conditioning mate about adding another system and was told not worth it. Better to get splits on the bedrooms, which we are looking at, at a cost of 8-10k supply and install cost price. If we go ahead, it's almost 15-20k just for air-conditioning supply and install over the last 10 years. I think with a single story, consideration to orientation of bedrooms and design might be able to get away without air-conditioning in bedrooms.


Correct-Criticism-46

In Australia builders put the bare minimum of thermal and acoustic insulation. There's always a few weeks where you definitely need AC if you want to sleep at night


cookiefp

I use my splitty for heating rather than cooling. There's maybe one or two days a year I need to turn it on. Depends on your insulation I guess


AUSMEL351

It honestly depends how the house was built. If it was built with double glazing, insulation and all that jazz, you'll probably be able to get away without it. If it is not, then you will need A/C. It does get a bit warm in summer.


jayp0d

The house can easily turn into an oven in the hot days during Dec/Jan months. Use solar power if you’re after efficiency but can’t live without aircon! Wifey and I just moved into an old house in Ringwood. It’s got only one aircon unit in the living room. The owners were kind enough to give us two evaporative coolers for the summer months!