Melbourne Energy Institute

The built environment includes a diverse range of human-made infrastructure systems, including buildings, transport networks (roads, bridges, railways) and utilities (water, power, telecommunications). Without these systems, large cities would cease to function and human health and survival would be significantly jeopardised.

The built environment is responsible for a large proportion of global energy demand and consumption, which results in considerable impacts on the natural environment. It is estimated that the operation of buildings alone (including our houses, hospitals, schools and offices) accounts for up to 40% of total energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

In Australia, the majority of energy consumption associated with the built environment is from fossil-fuel-based sources, such as coal, oil and natural gas. Energy is used for a wide range of purposes including the production of materials, construction, and heating, cooling, lighting and appliance operation. This consumption results in significant impacts on the natural environment and human health, through the depletion of natural resources, the release of greenhouse gas and other emissions and the production of waste.

Because of this, there exists significant potential to use new, cleaner forms of energy in the built environment that will provide a considerable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions on a global scale. Further improvements in the efficiency of energy use in the built environment are also possible, potentially reducing demand, resource depletion and environmental consequences from the built environment.

Despite recent progress, there remains considerable scope for improvements to the way in which energy is both distributed and consumed within the built environment. Researchers are providing a more comprehensive understanding of where and how this energy is being consumed and adapting strategies to address the increasing demands for energy in the built environment in a cleaner, more efficient manner. Current research at the Melbourne Energy Institute into energy consumption in the built environment covers the monitoring of energy consumption in buildings, modelling of embodied and operational energy and improvements to energy efficiency through improved building, infrastructure and system design.

For more information, please contact Dr Robert Crawford