'I wrapped myself in a damp towel': Sydneysiders risk health inside hot homes

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Some residents are living in homes with room temperatures nudging 40 degrees, as climate change raises temperatures and fear of big energy bills stops people from cooling down | smh_andrew

Some Sydney residents are living in homes with room temperatures nudging 40 degrees, as climate change raises temperatures and fear of big energy bills stops people from cooling down.in Sydney homes found 51 per cent of residents surveyed in the summer of 2018-19 felt “uncomfortably hot”.

The maximum indoor air temperature recorded was 39.8°C, while the average indoor maximum temperature was about 32°C, according to Emma Bacon, founder of community group Sweltering Cities, said homes in Sydney had not been built to deal with the rising temperatures caused by climate change. “I wrapped myself in a damp towel with ice cubes,” she said. “This helped for a little bit, but I was melting and felt really uncomfortable.”

A Planning Department spokeswoman said the NSW government was working to make social housing more comfortable in summer with measures such as efficient reverse cycle air conditioning, ceiling insulation and draft proofing.“We understand the issue of hot homes, which is why we’re investing in upgrades to social housing, greening urban environments and encouraging better housing standards,” she said.

Other people resorted to visiting cooler public spaces such as cinemas, shopping centres or supermarkets to escape the heat, Ms Bacon said. “It’s not a good choice for them - either feel uncomfortably hot at home or find somewhere with aircon.”

 

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_andrew Land & Housing does not understand or cares to the issue of hot home environment.They installed restrictors on all windows at Greenway(open 12.5cm only)and we are now struggling to cope with poor ventilation and sweltering heat in our homes.

_andrew Well why is energy so expensive? Because Green Kean and co keep subsidising these limit lifespan schemes, no?

_andrew Go. To. A. Library. They are free, air-conditioned & if you can't afford AC at home you aren't working & don't have anywhere else to be.

_andrew Children are in classrooms trying to learn in temperatures nudging 40.

_andrew But ScottMorrisonMP has his own photographer

_andrew Need to encourage people to go to shopping complexes and libraries and what not during heat events, where possible

_andrew Bullshit

_andrew I remember my mum spending alternating ten minute cold showers in Adelaide when the hot northerlies blew in the days before aircon.

_andrew Sydney like the rest of Australia always has 40 degrees at sometime during summer, hello.

_andrew And relying on renewables....

_andrew You know what we called that when I was a kid? Summer!

_andrew I suggest we boycott the sun and insist it tone it right down. Don’t move. Don’t get a decent job. Don’t plan. Don’t rent something with air con in an area u can afford. Relax. We’ll get Cancel Culture all over that smug, hot, patriarchal gassy orb!!!

_andrew These days no one is allowed to experience any discomfort, including heat. Time to cancel summer or free electricity for everyone.

_andrew ffs.... it was the same back in the day pre-aircon and ceiling fans.

_andrew

_andrew Oh for heavens sake ! My ancestors stood over hot stoves cooking for their families of 10 & more wearing layers of modest clothing in houses with tin roofs & few opening windows when the temp outside was 45 degrees. No fans & definitely no air-con. They survived.

_andrew Harden the fuck up.

_andrew And because building standards require windows in apartment buildings to be sealed or only openable a few centimetres at the bottom, no one can have cross ventilation or fresh air.

_andrew SMH had been campaigning for higher energy prices for at least a decade.

_andrew Nothing to do with Climate Change™ and everything to do with worlds most expensive electricity prices.

_andrew This is not new. We used to sit on the front veranda with towels wrapped around ice cubes back in the 1960s.

_andrew they will survive

_andrew Go to the pools

_andrew I remember 40 degree nights 30 years ago. As many have already pointed out, it’s summer.

_andrew It’s called summer. It’s why I have air conditioners and fans.

_andrew Another teenage intern?

_andrew Time for cheap Nuclear energy ⏳

_andrew When will so mneone engineer movable or rotable solar panels that will create shade acting as aenings while generating power ?

_andrew Make developers plant a mixture of SHADE and native trees All estates and streets even in built up areas of units need community gardens or parks Make this compulsory Developers n landlords should also be made to install retractable awnings or balcony blinds in ALL buildings

_andrew Plant de idous trees to block summer sun that shed in autumn Close curtains or blinds and windows that face the sun Leave windows in SHADE open to vent hot air Buy oldfashioned paper fans Refill water bottles and freeze Sip slowly Freeze fruit juice

_andrew That’s not true .

_andrew Sydney homes aren’t built for the rising temperatures in our city. Sleepless nights, people seeking refuge in shopping centres, dreading electricity bills - this is summer.

_andrew 🎣

_andrew Wrapping yourself in a damp towel is a good energy efficient way of keeping cool. Thousands of people have done it for decades.

_andrew If only we had cheap, reliable power?

_andrew Echoing this story is the fact that the opposite applies in winter. By and large Aussie homes are very cold in winter if there is no heating turned on. Contrast this to Northern European home construction and the difference is significant.

_andrew Yeah, I’m not getting much shut-eye, but the cockroaches in my unit are thriving. Never seen them so happy ScuttlersLovinClimateChange

_andrew It's called summer.

_andrew This has been happening for many years on North Queensland. The government tells people to shop around. So it’s Ergon Ergon or Ergon.

_andrew Guess what increases energy bills...? “Climate policies” and “renewable energy” You have some cheek

_andrew It is Summer ! 30 years ago hardly anyone had air conditioning.

_andrew We live in a 1930s block of flats. There is no insulation, and in summer it becomes a hotbox 🌡️ Asked real estate if owners would take advantage of the government insulation scheme, and they said no. We run up big electricity bills using fans to keep cool. Another cost of renting

_andrew I hate to tell you kids but these are normal summer days and we have not had a summer yet. The good news with your push for intermittent energy the poor won't be able to afford cooling or warming.

_andrew Never understood how Bogans leave their parents and dump them in some dodgy place🤮

_andrew I thought green energy would solve this issue. Running an air con costs a fortune these days.

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