By reimagined habitat, based on Simone’s personal experience

The other day it was 17°C outside.

Inside Simone’s home?

28°C.

Sitting in her living room, it felt less like autumn… and more like a sauna.

And this wasn’t a one-off.

It’s the reality of many Australian homes — including the rental Simone is currently living in.

This should not be normal

In Australia, we’ve become used to homes behaving like this:

• Hot during the day

• Cold at night

• Constant adjustments just to stay comfortable

Air-conditioning switches on.
Heaters follow later.

And comfort feels like something we have to chase.

But as Simone has written previously in her blog:

https://reimaginedhabitat.com.au/blog/when-climate-research-becomes-personal-lessons-on-heat-health-and-housing

This isn’t a weather problem. It’s a building problem.

From a healthy home… back to reality

After living for years in a genuinely comfortable Passive House, Simone returned to the rental market.

What she found was confronting.

The current home is:

• Relatively new

• Well presented

• Nicely finished

But from a performance perspective, it highlights many of the common issues seen across Australian housing.

What’s going wrong?

This home is a clear example of how small decisions can have a big impact.

Dark materials everywhere

• Black roof tiles

• Dark brick walls

These materials absorb heat throughout the day — even on mild days.

That heat is then slowly released into the home, long after outdoor temperatures drop.

No external shading

• No eaves

• No shading devices

• No protection from direct sun

Once sunlight hits the glass, heat enters the home.

At that point, blinds and air-conditioning are simply trying to compensate.

Too much glazing

• Full-height glazing in every room

• Large sliding doors throughout

While visually appealing, this creates significant heat gain — particularly without shading or high-performance glazing.

No cross ventilation

There is no effective way to move air through the home.

No natural cooling strategy.
No ability to flush heat out.

A weak building envelope

At the core of all of this:

The building envelope isn’t doing its job.

As outlined in our autumn blog post, homes that overheat during the day and lose heat at night often have:

• Poor or inconsistent insulation

• Air leakage

• Uncontrolled glazing

• Lack of shading

• No clear ventilation strategy

The result

Even on a mild 17°C day:

• Indoor temperatures climbed quickly

• Heat was trapped inside

• Cooling became difficult

• Comfort relied entirely on mechanical systems

Why this matters

This is not just about comfort.

It directly affects:

• Health — overheating, poor air quality, increased mould risk

• Energy costs — constant heating and cooling

• Wellbeing — homes that never feel stable or comfortable

And importantly:

This is happening in new homes.
Homes that meet minimum standards.
Homes that look “good” on the surface.

We already know how to do better

This is what makes it so frustrating.

None of this is new.

We already understand how to design homes that:

• Maintain stable temperatures

• Avoid overheating

• Retain warmth when needed

• Provide fresh, controlled ventilation

• Reduce reliance on heating and cooling

These outcomes are grounded in:

• Passive solar design

• Passive House thinking

• Healthy home principles

What could have been done differently?

Without increasing cost significantly, this home could have performed very differently with:

• Lighter roof and wall colours

• Proper external shading

• More considered glazing design

• Cross ventilation strategies

• Improved insulation and airtightness

These are not complex solutions. They are fundamentals.

The bigger issue

Many homes are still being designed for:

• Outdated climate assumptions

• Minimum compliance

• Short-term cost decisions

Rather than:

• Real-world performance

• Long-term comfort

• Health and resilience

So why are we still accepting this?

Why are homes still being built that:

• Overheat on mild days

• Lose heat quickly at night

• Depend entirely on mechanical systems

When we already know how to do better?

A conversation worth having

Simone’s experience is not unique.

It reflects a much broader issue across the housing market — particularly in rental housing.

And it raises important questions:

• What are we actually delivering as “standard” housing?

• Who carries the cost of poor performance?

• And how do we shift from minimum compliance to meaningful outcomes?

At reimagined habitat, we believe homes should:

• Feel stable and comfortable

• Support health and wellbeing

• Work with the climate — not against it

• Perform consistently over time

Because comfort is not accidental.

It is designed.

If this resonates with your own experience, we’d love to hear from you.

Are you noticing similar temperature swings in your home this autumn?

What has helped — or not helped — improve comfort?

Because better homes don’t start with technology.

They start with better decisions.