Analysis of Cool Roof Coatings for Residential Demand Side Management in Tropical Australia

Wendy Miller, Glenn Crompton and John Bell
Additional contact information
Wendy Miller: School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane 4000, Australia
Glenn Crompton: School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane 4000, Australia
John Bell: School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Science and Engineering Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, 2 George Street, Brisbane 4000, Australia

Energies, 2015, vol. 8, issue 6, 1-16

Abstract: Cool roof coatings have a beneficial impact on reducing the heat load of a range of building types, resulting in reduced cooling energy loads. This study seeks to understand the extent to which cool roof coatings could be used as a residential demand side management (DSM) strategy for retrofitting existing housing in a constrained network area in tropical Australia where peak electrical demand is heavily influenced by residential cooling loads. In particular this study seeks to determine whether simulation software used for building regulation purposes can provide networks with the ‘impact certainty’ required by their DSM principles. The building simulation method is supported by a field experiment. Both numerical and experimental data confirm reductions in total consumption (kWh) and energy demand (kW). The nature of the regulated simulation software, combined with the diverse nature of residential buildings and their patterns of occupancy, however, mean that simulated results cannot be extrapolated to quantify benefits to a broader distribution network. The study suggests that building data gained from regulatory simulations could be a useful guide for potential impacts of widespread application of cool roof coatings in this region. The practical realization of these positive impacts, however, would require changes to the current business model for the evaluation of DSM strategies. The study provides seven key recommendations that encourage distribution networks to think beyond their infrastructure boundaries, recognising that the broader energy system also includes buildings, appliances and people.

Keywords: residential demand side management (DSM); cool roofs; electricity distribution networks; energy system; residential; retrofit; peak demand; tropical climate (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/8/6/5303/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/8/6/5303/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:8:y:2015:i:6:p:5303-5318:d:50608

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().