Energy Design Area 3.3 Cooling and comfort without high energy cost

[Ronan LeishmanParticipant]

Hello,

My group and I are perusing Area 3.3 “Design passive cooling, shading, ventilation, and low energy cooling options that improve liveability.”

within our assessment, we need to come up with 3 solution options. Since this design area talks about designing a cooling, shading and ventilation solution would we need to create a separate solution for cooling, shading and ventilation?

furthermore I tried theorising one solution for all 3, its possible but its difficult to implement given the transport constraints. Is it possible to just heavily shift our focus onto one area such as cooling?

[Oliver HarperParticipant]

Hi,
My group is exploring Design Area 3.3 Cooling and comfort without high energy cost. We are focusing on applying this to the Silver Plains Homestead and had some questions we were hoping could be answered here as we have been struggling to find specific information.
We understand if not everything is known, but would greatly appreciate any information that can be provided.

What is the floor plan of the homestead like?

What existing cooling systems are in the homestead? (i.e fans/air conditioning)

What could a budget look like for the implementation of a solution?

The EWB website mentions “a solar array with partially failed batteries and “a backup diesel generator”, what power output could we expect from this?

What is the composition of the soil like? We are looking at re-vegetation as one of our solutions. Has the soil been compacted unnaturally by the presence of the farm animals, which might make this difficult?

Thank you in advance 🙂

[Evelyn TodioKeymaster]

Hi Ronan,

Thank you for your question. The design areas are not strict and are open to your interpretation. It’s great to hear that you have tried to theorise a solution that incapsulates all but have identified that it would be difficult to implement. You can talk about this in your report and how it has influenced your decision to create a solution solely focused on one of those three areas. You just need to make sure that your reasoning is there and justified.

In short, yes you can focus on one area such as cooling.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Evelyn

[Evelyn TodioKeymaster]

Hi Oliver,

Thank you for your questions. I do not have the answers to all of these but nonetheless:
– Unfortunately, I don’t have a floor plan for the homestead.

– Fans and open ventilation are the existing cooling systems. No air-conditioner.

– For the budget question refer to: EWB Challenge FAQs

– The soil composition: Port Stewart, located on the eastern coast of the Cape York Peninsula near the Stewart River, is characterised predominantly by marine and coastal sands. Soil–plant datasets for coordinates around 143.68°E, -14.08°S indicate sandy profiles with low cohesion, low nutrient content, and limited bearing capacity. Across Cape York, soils are generally lateritic, highly weathered, and nutrient-poor, with sandy deposits influenced by coastal and tropical processes. Given the proximity to the Stewart River, localised soil conditions are relatively soft, with potential for seasonal saturation during the wet season. These geotechnical characteristics have direct implications for structural stability and foundation design.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Evelyn

[Evelyn TodioKeymaster]

Hi Oliver,

Thank you for your questions. I do not have the answers to all of these but nonetheless:
– Unfortunately, I don’t have a floor plan for the homestead.

– Fans and open ventilation are the existing cooling systems. No air-conditioner.

– For the budget question refer to: EWB Challenge FAQs

– The soil composition: Port Stewart, located on the eastern coast of the Cape York Peninsula near the Stewart River, is characterised predominantly by marine and coastal sands. Soil–plant datasets for coordinates around 143.68°E, -14.08°S indicate sandy profiles with low cohesion, low nutrient content, and limited bearing capacity. Across Cape York, soils are generally lateritic, highly weathered, and nutrient-poor, with sandy deposits influenced by coastal and tropical processes. Given the proximity to the Stewart River, localised soil conditions are relatively soft, with potential for seasonal saturation during the wet season. These geotechnical characteristics have direct implications for structural stability and foundation design.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Evelyn

[Daniel WilsonParticipant]

Hello,

My team is focusing on the material aspect of the housing units in the Lama Lama Country. I am writing concerning the current materials used in the housing, i.e. if the houses’ windows are double glazed, if there is reflective coating on the roof, ect.

Thank you

[Evelyn TodioKeymaster]

Hi Daniel,

Existing housing in the area typically comprises lightweight timber-framed structures. Double glazed windows are unlikely in this context. Roofs are usually corrugated metal. To get an idea of what the housing looks like you can check out the Interactives : 360° Site Walkthroughs

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Evelyn

[Daniel WilsonParticipant]

Hello, I can’t access the map.

https://www.arup.com.au/pano/portstewart/

Error: 404 Not Found nginx/1.28.0

[Evelyn TodioKeymaster]

Hi Daniel,

Apologies for that. As we investigate the error, please view this Google map in the meantime: https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1A9ks0bYSSBvMxyTUHSqRRWAClMHZqCRo?usp=sharing

Kind regards,
Evelyn

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