Housing for Health – the guide
  • Safety
    Electrical Safety

    Electrical Safety

    • A1.1 Functioning Safety switches
    • A1.2 Electrical earth connection
    • A1.3 Cabling and wiring
    • A1.4 Power points, lights and other fittings
    Gas Safety

    Gas Safety

    • A2.1 Gas Safety
    Fire Safety

    Fire Safety

    • A3.1 Fire prevention
    • A3.2 Fire and smoke detection
    • A3.3 Escape in the event of fire
    Structural Safety

    Structural Safety

    • A4.1 Structural safety
  • Health & Housing
    Washing People

    Washing People

    • B1.1 Wet area design
    • B1.2 Hot water
    • B1.3 Water outlets, valves & taps
    • B1.4 Washing young children ― hand basins, bathtubs, and laundry tubs
    • B1.5 Showers
    • B1.6 Wet area floor drainage (bathroom, shower, toilet and laundry)
    • B1.7 Turning the water off to allow plumbing maintenance
    Washing clothes and bedding

    Washing clothes and bedding

    • B2.1 Laundry design
    • B2.2 Drying clothes and bedding
    Removing waste water safely

    Removing waste water safely

    • B3.1 Flush toilets
    • B3.2 House drains
    • B3.3 Septic tanks, common effluent drains and on-site effluent disposal systems
    • B3.4 Aerated waste water treatment systems

    • B3.5 Dry toilets
    Improving nutrition – the ability to store, prepare and cook food

    Improving nutrition – the ability to store, prepare and cook food

    • B4.1 Quality of drinking water
    • B4.2 Food storage
    • B4.3 Preparing food – sinks and benches
    • B4.4 Cooking
    • B4.5 General issues for kitchen design
    Reducing the negative impacts of crowding

    Reducing the negative impacts of crowding

    • B5.1 Performance of health hardware in households with more people
    • B5.2 Developing the edges of the house and the yard
    • B5.3 Storage areas in the house
    Reducing the negative effects of animals, insects and vermin

    Reducing the negative effects of animals, insects and vermin

    • B6.1 Animals: Dogs, cats and others
    • B6.2 Animals: rats, mice, snakes and birds
    • B6.3 Insects: ants and cockroaches
    • B6.4 Insects: mosquitoes and flies
    • B6.5 Insects: Dust mites
    • B6.6 Insects: termites
    Reducing the health impacts of dust

    Reducing the health impacts of dust

    • B7.1 Reducing the health impacts of dust
    Controlling the temperature of the living environment

    Controlling the temperature of the living environment

    • B8.1 Human comfort and climate
    • B8.2 Passive design in tropical zones
    • B8.3 Passive design for houses in arid and temperate climates
    • B8.4 Active cooling of houses
    • B8.5 Active heating of houses
    Reducing hazards that cause minor injury (trauma)

    Reducing hazards that cause minor injury (trauma)

    • B9.1 Hazardous materials
    • B9.2 Personal security
    • B9.3 Preventing slips, trips and falls
    • B9.4 Preventing cuts and abrasions
    • B9.5 Preventing burns
  • Healthy Communities
    Water

    Water

    • C1.1 Water quantity and treatment systems
    • C1.2 Water quantity and demand management
    • C1.3 Rainwater, stormwater and recycled water for landscaping
    Energy

    Energy

    • C2.1 Electricity
    • C2.2 Gas
    Waste Water

    Waste Water

    • C3.1 Waste water
    Household rubbish disposal

    Household rubbish disposal

    • C4.1 Household rubbish disposal
    Community planning

    Community planning

    Landscaping

    Landscaping

    • C6.1 Landscaping
    Communications

    Communications

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Home > Health & Housing > Controlling the temperature of the living environment > Active heating of houses

B8.5 Active heating of houses

An active heating system uses energy to heat the house. Some examples of active heating systems include wood heaters, gas heaters, electric fan heaters, radiators and reverse cycle air conditioners.

Active heating systems can consume large amounts of energy and money. Standard plug-in electrical heaters, typical in many communities, can use over 100kW of energy a day to heat an average size house. Wood heaters can consume up to 28 kilograms of wood a day.  A well designed house will reduce the need for active heating and an efficient heating system can also reduce running costs to residents.

To conserve heating energy, houses can be sealed to prevent draughts. With no air exchange, houses can quickly become stuffy and a lack of fresh air entering the house can cause problems for people with asthma and may contribute to the spread of respiratory disease. Gas heaters without a flue can produce harmful gases inside the house. In Australia, government regulations prevent the use of gas heaters in bedrooms.

Survey data show that relatively few houses were subject to cold conditions, with only 413 houses recording an ambient temperature of less than 15ºC at time of survey. There were significant improvements in house performance in cold conditions since 2006.

Surveys occur during daylight/work hours and the coldest temperatures would generally be recorded at night or very early in the morning.

Real world examples of problems

  • B8.5 002 Many aspects of wood heater installation must be to relavany codes

Design and Specification

Ensure

  • B8.5.1.

    the house has been designed and built or upgraded for cold conditions

  • B8.5.2.

    the rooms to be heated can be sealed against cold draughts.

Consider

  • installing efficient slow combustion wood heaters where fire wood is available and constructing a small covered area for the storage of firewood
  • venting the fire place to improve the efficiency of the fire
  • providing built-in gas heaters with a flue where gas is readily available and affordable
  • if using electric heaters, providing built-in ceramic heaters or electric panel heaters or energy efficient heating systems in the living areas and bedrooms
  • in very cold climates, using in-slab heating systems
  • locating the heater near surfaces with high thermal mass such as concrete slab floors and stone or masonry walls to store excess heat and re-radiate it when the heater has been turned off
  • installing convection ducting or mechanical systems such as heat shifting fans to distribute heat from the heated area to other rooms in the house
  • installing low volume air-exchange fans to draw some fresh air into the room.

Real world examples of Solutions

  • B8.5 001 Wood heater flues need regular sweeping
  • B8.5 003 Many aspects of wood heater installation must be to relavany codes
  • B8.5 004 Steel plate for heater hearth allow kindling to by chopped without damage
  • B8.5 005 Steel plate used for stove hearth

Quality control

  • heaters are supplied and installed according to the manufacturers requirements and according to building regulations (gas heaters will require a certificate from a licensed gas fitter)
    info-icon
    COMPLETED DESIGN & SPECIFICATION
    DURING CONSTRUCTION
    AT HANDOVER
    FINAL COMPLETION
    TRADE TEST
  • wood heaters are located the minimum required distance from walls and flammable materials and are placed on a non-flammable hearth
    info-icon
    DURING CONSTRUCTION
    AT HANDOVER
    FINAL COMPLETION
  • vents through the floor, wall and roof for wood and gas heaters are sealed against vermin and flashed to prevent water penetration.
    info-icon
    DURING CONSTRUCTION
    AT HANDOVER
    FINAL COMPLETION

Maintenance

As part of cyclical maintenance, check that:

  • heaters (electric, gas, wood) are working efficiently and safely
    info-icon
    Plumber, Housing Management, Gas Plumber, Wood Heater Specialist
    12 Months
  • the doors on wood heaters close and seal properly
    info-icon
    Local Maintenance Team, Wood Heater Specialist
    12 Months
  • there are no cracks in the glass face of gas or wood heaters
    info-icon
    Local Maintenance Team, Wood Heater Specialist
    12 Months
  • non-flammable materials around a wood heater are intact
    info-icon
    Carpenter, Local Maintenance Team, Wood Heater Specialist
    12 Months
  • flues or chimneys are cleaned regularly.
    info-icon
    Housing Management, Wood Heater Specialist
    12 Months
  • consider developing timber wood lots using waste water and use the harvested timber for fire places
    info-icon
    Housing Management
    24 Months
  • monitor the temperature in houses and the cost of heating to identify more energy efficient housing designs and heating systems.
    info-icon
    Housing Management
    24 Months

Standard And References

AS1691 – 1985 Domestic oil fired appliances – Installation – Amdt 1 Sept 1985

AS/NZS2918 – 2001 Domestic solid fuel burning appliances – Installation

AS/NZS1200 – 2000 Pressure equipment

Australian Council of Building Design Professionals, BDP Environment Design Guide, Royal Australian Institute of Architects.

Building Code of Australia, Part 2.3.3 Heating appliances; Part 3.7.3 Heating appliances; Part 3.12.3.1 Chimneys and flues; Part 3.12.5 Services

Lane, A. House warming, Bush Tech #16, Centre for Appropriate Technology, Alice Springs

Pholeros, P. & South Australian Aboriginal Housing Unit 1998, Temperature Control and Health, pp. 1-4.

Hollo, N 1997, Warm house cool house: inspirational designs for low-energy housing, Choice Books, Marrickville, New South Wales.

Pholeros, P 1997, Energy and Water Use Required for Health in Housing on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Lands North West of South Australia, for UPK Nganampa Health Council Inc., Alice Springs, pp. 9-10.

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  • Controlling the temperature of the living environment
    • B8.1 Human comfort and climate
    • B8.2 Passive design in tropical zones
    • B8.3 Passive design for houses in arid and temperate climates
    • B8.4 Active cooling of houses
    • B8.5 Active heating of houses
of houses that provided no improvement on the outside air temperature in cold conditions
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