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Dr John Shiel will be a guest speaker at an event hosted by the Hunter Regional Branch of Renew, called ‘Staying Cool and Healthy in an El Nino Summer’ on Sunday, October 22.
Dr Shiels is principal of EnviroSustain, a consultancy for low carbon buildings and precincts while living at the Zero Carbon Narara Ecovillage on the Central Coast.
His research areas are in adapting buildings for climate change and extreme weather events, improving building comfort and constructing zero carbon homes.
John also researches sustainable worker cooperatives that can thrive in a steady state economy. He is a Director of Bluetongue Co-op which helps to create worker co-ops, a retired member of Engineers Australia, and a long-standing member of Renew.
Renew is a member-based non-profit organisation providing expert, independent advice and sustainable solutions to households, government, and industry across Australia.
Previously known as the Alternative Technology Association, they were established in 1980 – over four decades ago, living in a sustainable manner and using resources wisely was considered ‘alternative.’
In many cases and places, it unfortunately still is!
According to Dr Shiel, “Most homes in Australia are not built for extreme heat, averaging 2 NatHERS stars out of 10.
“However, you will learn from this talk that simple retrofits, appliance changes and behaviour adaptations can make your home more comfortable and safe under prolonged heatwave conditions – for both owners and renters.
“It will cover aspects of a free booklet available online as well as the latest findings from research into cooling down hot council areas, and there will be time for Q&A,” Dr Shiel said.
The talk will offer practical information on: installing cost-effective retrofits; updating appliances and using them more strategically; creating an efficient one-room Cool Retreat; along with simple behavioural adaptions to stay cool and survive heatwaves especially on hot nights.”
