Longer and hotter summers in Australia are making households more vulnerable to the impact of heat on occupants’ health and wellbeing, a new research reveals.

Led by RMIT University’s Dr Sarah Robertson, an expert on sustainable housing transitions, the study highlighted the need for improved construction standards and retrofits to withstand extreme weather, even as Aussie summer heatwaves become more frequent and severe.

The study covered households across Victoria and examined how these homes coped with summer heat events.

“Our homes are underprepared for hotter, longer summers and that’s putting our health and quality of life at risk,” Dr Robertson said.

“We need to approach summer the same we do winter; the impacts of extreme heat can be longer term and not only confined to short heatwaves.

“We’re putting air conditioners into draughty and poorly insulated homes, leading to big energy bills and environmental impacts,” she noted.

A national rating system for homes’ energy efficiency, similar to energy rating labels for electrical appliances, is needed, the researchers said.

“Giving homes a rating for energy efficiency will make it easier for households to see where they stand and what they can do to improve their homes’ resilience to extreme temperatures,” Dr Robertson said.

“Ratings would depend on how well a property is designed to withstand extreme temperatures while still being energy efficient.

“It needs to be comprehensive and independently verified, yet easily understood by households,” she said.

“Along with the disclosure system, elements like cool roofs, green roofs and cooler streets through trees, plants and lighter surfaces can help to reduce heat experienced at home.

“In a climate changed world, short-term practices of keeping cool at home without broader and more holistic governance responses risk more households stuck in unhealthy, unsustainable and maladaptive situations of heat at home.”

The study, Tracing the ruptures and rhythms of summer heat, energy vulnerability and home by Sarah Robertson, Gordon Walker and Ralph Horne is published in Geoforum. DOI: 10.1016/j.geoforum.2024.104095

Image: UNSW