Thermal Comfort, Climate Change and Housing
Partners: Tangentyere Council, CSIRO Energy (Building Energy Efficiency Team), CSIRO Manufacturing
Trial installation of the sensors in a vacant house in Alice Springs – (L-R): Vanessa Davis – Senior Aboriginal Researcher Tangentyere Council; Dr Ray Mahoney; Michael Klerck – Social Policy Manager Tangentyere Council; Vanessa Smallbon – Engineer, Australian eHealth Research Centre, CSIRO. Credit: Ray Mahoney, Australian E-Health Research Centre.
This project is contributing toward a broader climate change adaption and heat mitigation project in partnership with the Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation, Tangentyere Council in Alice Springs.
In the Alice Springs region, poor housing suitability, energy insecurity and climate change exacerbating poor health outcomes were identified by the Town Camps community as key issues for investigation. Access to empirical evidence (environmental, housing, and social factors) will facilitate Tangentyere Council to advocate for policy changes and decision making to improve housing suitability and other underlying determinants whilst also providing evidence to address Target 9b of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap.
This project has been split into two phases. In Phase 1 a feasibility study determined the acceptability of collecting real-time sensor data on temperature and humidity. Data for this phase has been collected with analysis showing that temperatures and relative humidity in Town Camp residences were rarely within the nationally recognised comfort ranges.
Phase 2 extends this quantitative data collection using mixed methods to also explore the effects of thermal comfort on residents’ physical, cultural, social, and emotional wellbeing. This Phase aims to provide evidence to support Tangentyere’s advocacy work regarding the social and cultural determinants of health that disproportionately impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
In May 2024, environmental monitoring devices and Sigfox Access Station Micro Gateways were procured for the establishment of an Internet of Things network in the Alice Springs region. This enabled the installation of the first group of devices into six Town Camp community centres to understand the network and device capabilities. Devices have been deployed into Town Camp and non-Town Camp residences across Alice Springs between September and November 2024. Data collection from all devices commenced December 2024 and is planned to continue for 12 months to capture periods of extreme heat and cold.
A report for Phase One of the trial is now available for download.
For more information about this project, please contact:
