Tackling global climate change with indoor climate change

University of Sydney researchers will be looking for ways to slash one of the world's biggest single sources of energy consumption - the heating and cooling of buildings - at a state-of-the-art new laboratory. Australia's first comfort laboratory, a research facility that will also improve homes and workplaces in Australia and internationally, will be opened today Friday 31 August by Greg Combet, Minister for Climate Change and Energy Efficiency and Minister for Industry and Innovation. Professor Richard de Dear , director of the laboratory, said: "We now spend an average 90 percent of our time indoors. By helping us understand how humans react to temperature, light and sound in an office or at home, this laboratory will let us improve the quality and comfort of that time." "While there is a widespread belief that the 'optimal temperature' for human productivity is 21.5 degrees, a figure that has been enshrined in many tenancy contracts, there is no scientific basis to this belief." He added: "By understanding the most efficient way to provide comfort, we can also lower energy and other resource costs. This has significant impacts on the sustainability of Australian businesses, drives productivity and increases our competitiveness in the low carbon future." The laboratory consists of two rooms fitted with a multitude of sensors and controls, allowing researchers to control indoor conditions such as temperature, ventilation, air-flow and direction, acoustics and lighting level, direction and intensity.