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Efficiency Leader with Professor Mattheos Santamouris 06 April 2021

In this month’s Efficiency Leader we are profiling Professor Mattheos Santamouris, or Professor Mat as we like to call him at the Energy Efficiency Council.

Professor Mat is the Anita Lawrence Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales and the Australian representative on the Air Infiltration and ventilation Centre (AIVC – Annex 5) Board of Directors. He is also a long-standing representative to the International Energy Agency’s Energy in Building and Communities Programme.

Who do you work for and what is your role?

I am currently the Anita Lawrence Scientia Professor of High-Performance Architecture at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) School of Business Environment, working on high quality and innovative research related to the energy and environmental quality of the built environment.

Through High-Performance Architecture, I create innovative methods, techniques and technologies that improve indoor and outdoor environments while reducing energy consumption. I have been involved in designing and implementing mitigation technologies in more than 60 cities, and energy conservation and renewable technologies in hundreds of buildings and settlements of zero energy consumption.

Where do you see Australia’s energy and energy management markets in 2030?

There are fantastic new developments in the energy sector. The tremendous success of renewable energy creates a new energy reality while the revolution in the field of energy related materials offers tremendous prospects and priorities for the future.

The Australian energy sector can be the engine of future development. The development, implementation and commercialization of innovative and efficient energy technologies for electricity generation, building retrofitting and transport sector can drive the future of the country provided that the promoted energy policies will increase the added value in the country, protect the environment, generate jobs and enhance industrial developments.

What is the value of the International Energy Agency’s Energy in Buildings and Communities Program (IEA EBC)?

The IEA EBC coordinates and promotes active energy research and contributes highly to the advancement of energy technologies, whilst also bringing together some of the world’s best researchers to encourage knowledge exchange. It is among the most important coordinating bodies in the field of energy and has contributed enormously to the important progress achieved in recent years.

I am Australia’s representative on the Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre (AIVC), which is Annex 5 at the IEA EBC. I was motivated to join the AIVC based on my research interests in ventilation and indoor air quality.

How does Australia benefit from engaging in this international research effort?

AIVC is a fantastic open source of information on ventilation of buildings which Australians can benefit from. This includes full and free access to a plethora of documents, tools, books, conferences, workshops, webinars and more on issues related to ventilation, infiltration, and indoor air quality of buildings.

All Australians can have access to these free resources by visiting the AIVC website at www.aivc.org

 

Professor Mattheos Santamouris is the Anita Lawrence Scientia Professor at the University of New South Wales.

Connect with Mat on LinkedIn.

This article was originally published in the April edition of Efficiency Insight.