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Moisture-related issues in buildings can accelerate the decay of building materials and increase occurrence of mould, resulting in significant economic and health implications. Transient hygrothermal risks assessment proved to be the most reliable approach, yet its application at early design stages is impeded by the high number of assumptions, input and skills required to be robustly applied. Climate-based indicators can assist in determining effective prevention design strategies based on the magnitude of the potential hygrothermal risks. However, in Australia, the National Construction Code relies on a climate zoning originally developed for thermal and energy efficiency provisions, clustering locations that present different moisture profiles. This paper investigates the suitability of the existing climate zones for hygrothermal risk indications by calculating the moisture index for several representative cites across Australia. Results reveal the current climate mapping to be unsuitable and too coarse to reliably provide robust indications for moisture management. Further, a new characterization of Australian climates for hygrothermal assessment purposes is proposed as a first step towards a better representation of moisture risks within the building code. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A two-storey rammed earth building was built on the Thurgoona Campus of Charles Sturt University in Albury-Wodonga, Australia, in 1999. The building is novel both in the use of materials and equipment for heating and cooling. The climate at Wodonga can be characterised as hot and dry, so the challenge of providing comfortable working conditions with minimal energy consumption is considerable. This paper describes an evaluation of the building in terms of measured thermal comfort and energy use. Measurements, confirmed by a staff questionnaire, found the building was too hot in summer and too cold in winter. Comparison with another office building in the same location found that the rammed earth building used more energy for heating. The thermal performance of three offices in the rammed earth building was investigated further using simulation to predict office temperatures. Comparisons were made with measurements made over typical weeks in summer and winter. The validated model has been used to investigate key building parameters and strategies to improve the thermal comfort and reduce energy consumption in the building. Simulations showed that improvements could be made by design and control strategy changes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The impacts of COVID lockdown on six aged care communities' energy and peak demand are studied. • The lockdown period was compared with the same period of similar temperature in previous years. • The impacts of COVID lockdown varied enormously in different climate regions. • Effectiveness and limitations of existing energy KPIs are discussed. In late March to April 2020 residential aged care facilities (RAC) in Australia were under COVID-19 lockdown. This paper explores whether the resultant restrictions on entry and exit and elimination of site group activities within RACs impacted on the total electricity use, peak demand and electrical load profiles. Six RACs in four different climate zones are analysed, comparing historical electricity load and demand profiles with the lockdown period. The facilities in warm regions showed largest reductions in energy use and peak demands. There was a peak demand timing shift in temperate regions and hot regions' changes were negligible for energy use or peak demands. This study revealed the limitations of using aggregate data as the key performance indicator (KPI) – energy use per bed. Also, KPIs in relation to cooling degree days (or total cooling and heating degree days) have been examined and are not recommended for temperate regions or temperate seasons. The potential CO 2 emission reduction from onsite renewable generation is quantified. Further research is to investigate energy use changes at circuit levels under lockdowns, and develop more nuanced KPIs that include the rate of energy use and the timing of that use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]