Low Carbon

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Over the past seven years more than 100 research projects at the <a href="http://www.lowcarbonlivingcrc.com.au" target="_blank">Co-operative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living</a>, in collaboration with industry across Australia, have pondered a very big question: How do we build future cities that are sustainable, liveable and affordable?
This is exactly what Australians want, as the recent Greater Sydney Commission report, <a href="https://www.greater.sydney/pulse-of-greater-sydney" target="_blank">The Pulse of Greater Sydney</a>, revealed. People want cities in which they live close to jobs and have reasonable commuting times. They want access to parks and green space, and relief from ever-increasing urban heat.
The good news is we already know what it will take to deliver on much of this wish list. Since 2012, I have headed the A$100 million Low Carbon Living CRC, which has brought together Australian businesses, industries, communities and many of our brightest researchers to work out how to steer change.
Our <a href="http://www.lowcarbonlivingcrc.com.au/resources/crc-publications/crclcl-project-reports/sp0012u3-cooling-sydney-strategy" target="_blank">Cooling Sydney Strategy</a>, for instance, is the result of years of research into how to combat urban heatwaves. The burden of this heat is unevenly spread across our cities.
For example, residents of Sydney’s western suburbs are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/value-jobs-a-quick-commute-and-relief-from-urban-heat-avoid-these-parts-of-sydney-20190714-p5273e" target="_blank">exposed to many more days hotter than 35 degrees</a> than Sydneysiders living in the CBD and the city’s north. Last summer that meant over a month’s worth of intense heat in the suburb of Penrith, including <a href="http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/current/season/nsw/archive/201902.sydney.shtml" target="_blank">nine days in a row above 35°C</a>.
While the recent winter sun might feel welcome, the negative impacts of increasingly hot cities on our health, lifestyle and energy use greatly outweigh any winter comfort.
So what are the solutions?
Our researchers have already found how we can offset increasing heat. The <a href="http://www.lowcarbonlivingcrc.com.au/resources/crc-publications/crclcl-project-reports/cooling-western-sydney-0" target="_blank">strategies</a> includes cool and permeable pavements, water features and evaporative cooling, shade structures, vertical gardens, street trees and other plants – even special heat refuge stations.
Keeping cool inside, without huge power bills, is possible too. During last summer’s heatwave, our <a href="https://joshshouse.com.au/about-the-project/joshs-house-research/" target="_blank">pilot 10-star energy-efficient house in Perth</a> remained a comfortable 24°C inside, without air conditioning, when it was over 40°C outside. The exceptional thermal performance of the house was down to its evidence-based design.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RqDezVOe9kw?wmode=transparent&amp;start=0" frameborder="0" width="440" height="260"></iframe>
Josh Byrne explains how his house keeps temperatures comfortable year-round with low energy use and no net emissions.
This work is just one part of our wider remit. Our UNSW-based centre is on track to deliver independently verified cuts of <a href="http://www.lowcarbonlivingcrc.com.au/news/news-archive/2018/11/crc-low-carbon-living-track-reduce-carbon-emissions-10mgts-2020" target="_blank">10 megatonnes of carbon emissions generated by Australia’s built environment by 2020</a>. By integrating renewable energy systems, smart technologies, low-carbon materials and people-centred design into buildings and urban precincts, we have developed a sustainable, liveable and affordable urban blueprint for Australia. A PwC study (yet to be released) estimated cumulative economic benefits totalling A$684 million by 2027.
To put this another way, we have identified and verified evidence-based pathways to cut emissions equivalent to taking some 2.1 million cars off the road.
Some of the progress to date is not immediately obvious to the casual observer. Take an otherwise unremarkable stretch of road along the back way to Sydney Airport. Recently, a <a href="http://www.lowcarbonlivingcrc.com.au/news/news-archive/2019/06/crclcl-drives-world-first-green-concrete-trial-sydney-road" target="_blank">30-metre section of concrete was installed</a>, which looks more like an ad hoc road repair than an important scientific pilot study.
Bu 15 metres is paved with a new geopolymer concrete that slashes greenhouse gas emissions by 50%. The other 15 metres is conventional concrete, the <a href="https://www.rsc.org/images/Construction_tcm18-114530.pdf" target="_blank">most widely used man-made material on the planet</a>. Concrete production, using cement as its binder, accounts for about <a href="https://reader.chathamhouse.org/making-concrete-change-innovation-low-carbon-cement-and-concrete">8% of all global emissions</a>.
The geopolymer concrete developed through our research centre is a similarly high-performance product but its binder safely incorporates otherwise noxious industrial waste streams, such as fly ash from coal-fired power stations and slag from blast furnaces. Australia has stockpiled about <a href="http://media.bze.org.au/ZCIndustry/bze-report-rethinking-cement-short.pdf" target="_blank">400 million tonnes of waste</a> from coal-fired power generation and steelmaking.
In Alexandria, in collaboration with the City of Sydney, we are testing this <a href="http://media.bze.org.au/ZCIndustry/bze-report-rethinking-cement-short.pdf" target="_blank">low-carbon concrete</a> as a road surface that could help clean up industrial waste while slashing emissions. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF5UzGtlav8&amp;t=12s" target="_blank">Working with NSW Ports</a>, we’ve also shaped it into low-carbon bollards to form a breakwater to protect the coastline at Port Kembla from extreme weather.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pF5UzGtlav8?wmode=transparent&amp;start=12" frameborder="0" width="440" height="260"></iframe>
Waste from coal-fired power stations has been used to make low-carbon bollards to protect the coastline at Port Kembla.
We now have the know-how to do better
There are many such success stories, but with 150 CRC Low Carbon Living projects the list is too long to detail. What’s more important, as our funding period comes to an end and Australia loses its only innovation hub committed to lowering carbon in the built environment, is to note how we got to where we are today.
The federal government’s Co-operative Research Centre program fosters co-operation and collaboration on a grand scale. Industries, businesses, government organisations and communities with a stake in solving big, complex challenges partner with researchers from a wide range of academic fields. This structure brings together sectors and people whose paths might otherwise rarely cross.
The cross-fertilisation of ideas, expertise and skills delivers innovative solutions. <a href="https://www.industry.gov.au/sites/default/files/competition_or_collaboration_-_from_which_well_does_innovation_spring_-_speech_may_2018.pdf" target="_blank">Research worldwide</a> has consistently shown that collaboration drives innovation, and that innovation drives economic growth. Our experience confirms that as we partnered with organisations such as Multiplex, AECOM, BlueScope Steel, Sydney Water, ISCA, CSIRO and the United Nations Environment Program.
Cities are complex, exciting beasts, but we have the knowledge and expertise to live better, more comfortable urban lives in Australia while reducing demand for energy, water and materials. That is, we have the blueprint for low-carbon urban living. We must now choose to use it.
Deo Prasad, Scientia Professor and CEO, Co-operative Research Centre for Low Carbon Living, UNSW.
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-have-the-blueprint-for-liveable-low-carbon-cities-we-just-need-to-use-it-121615" target="_blank">original article</a>.
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We have the blueprint for liveable, low-carbon cities. We just need to use it

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New research funded by City of Parramatta Council and CRC for Low Carbon Living (CRCLCL) has revealed ways temperatures in Western Sydney can be reduced by as much as 2°C. 
Undertaken in collaboration with UNSW, the detailed study examined hot spots on Phillip Street, Parramatta and recommended cooling strategies, such as increased greenery, shading and the installation of water features, to mitigate urban heat.
In addition to lowering temperatures, these methods can increase comfort by 50-60%, the research said.
"Given Western Sydney can be 5-10°C hotter in the middle of summer than suburbs in Sydney’s east, it is important for us to consider ways in which we can address and reduce the impact of urban heat," City of Parramatta Lord Mayor Cr Andrew Wilson said.
The study’s findings will inform aspects of Council’s Phillip Street upgrade.
Proposed additions included in the $4.3 million first stage of construction include wider footpaths, tree planting, and trialling of misting units.
In future stages, cool pavements are also expected to be trialled. 
"The upgrade of Phillip Street is a key project for Council as it is a key thoroughfare for many of the City’s residents, workers and visitors," Wilson said.
"As Parramatta evolves and grows, we want to ensure the City continues to be great place to live and visit, so this research and the cooling solutions it offers are significant."
The research, led by CRCLC researcher Professor Mat Santamouris, examined air and footpath temperatures on Phillip Street and found that the eastern end of the street was 1°C cooler than the west end due to its proximity to the Parramatta River, and asphalt surface temperatures reached above 50°C in unshaded areas. Wind speeds and other measurements were also taken.
"By pinpointing the hot spots through our intense monitoring over a period of time and gathering other relevant data we could then deliver the City of Parramatta with heat mitigation scenarios specific to Phillip Street," said Professor Santamouris. 
"Cooling strategies, together with smart monitoring and innovative technologies will enhance the area’s importance and attractiveness."
The data was gathered using drone-captured thermal imaging and UNSW’s energy monitoring bus, which helped direct the hot spot mitigation strategies.
CRCLCL CEO Professor Deo Prasad said the research was one of the Centre’s many research projects focussed on encouraging low to zero-carbon living throughout Australia. 
"The Parramatta study is another example of the evidence the CRCLCL has collected during its seven-year life, which will help guide local governments, individuals, industries and communities on how they can lower their carbon footprint and mitigate climate change," Prasad said.
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Parramatta study reveals ways to reduce city temperatures by 2°C

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New research by RMIT urban experts on low-carbon housing in Horsham has found that households could be better off by $1,000 per year and boost their health and living conditions.
The study led by RMIT’s Centre for Urban Research (CUR) reported that low-carbon houses in comparison with ‘standard’ residences in the north-west Victorian town, provided better financial relief. 
Lead author Dr Trivess Moore from CUR said that although low-carbon housing is considered best international practice, it is still perceived as expensive as most housing standards studies only rely cost-benefit analysis (CBA) to assess their value.
Horsham Catalyst Research and Evaluation, conducted by CUR and funded by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), illustrates how such analysis fails to take into account flow-on financial benefits such as reduced energy bills and lower mobility costs, overlooking the effects on householders' health and quality of life. 
“Our study clearly shows that the housing sector’s over-reliance on CBA may be ignoring some important health benefits of different housing arrangements, particularly for low-income tenants,” he said.
“Households living in the Catalyst houses reported they had extra spending money for Christmas presents, personal debt or holidays, due to low utility bills, with one household reported permanently removing itself from all Centrelink payments due to the amount they saved.
“These savings strongly contributed to reduced stress and better mental health for tenants.”
The project conducted a multi-year evaluation of four new two-bedroom, single-storey, low-carbon designed public housing units with a National House Energy Rating Scheme rating of 8.9 stars (Catalyst houses) in addition to seven one-and two-bedroom Control dwellings.
The Catalyst houses were found to perform substantially better overall compared to the Control DHHS dwellings on key measures such as power and water consumption, environmental performance and thermal comfort in a region known for its climate extremes.
View the <a href="https://cur.org.au/cms/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/horsham-final-11.pdf" target="_blank">full report</a> online.
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