This project will assist community and public housing providers to embed and optimise low carbon retrofits and refurbishments into their property maintenance and upgrading processes. It will do this through the development of a rigorous, evidence-based business case framework to drive achievement of low carbon building performance benchmarks. The framework will be implemented practically using a comprehensive set of co-designed decision-support methods and resources.
This work will be carried out in close collaboration with: a range of community housing providers (CHPs), from large to small scale CHPs (Tiers 1 to 3); and government agencies, particularly the NSW Office of Environment and Heritage (OEH) and the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC).
The project will also source, synthesise and promulgate the developing body of evidence on health and other co-benefits of energy efficiency upgrades relevant to CHPs and their tenants, and will make recommendations as to desirable refinements to existing standards governing social/community housing, if appropriate.
Three living laboratories will be established (in Port Kembla, South West Sydney and the NSW Central West) where the performance of existing housing stock and the impact of retrofits/upgrades will be assessed, and the new decision-support resources, tools and processes will be iteratively tested and refined.
