Climate change has made brick homes more habitable

Climate change is upon us, and our older housing stock is showing the benefits.

Timaru is renowned for its collection of substantial brick houses. Most of the brick houses built before, say 1950, were constructed in double brick. This amounts to two vertical layers of single brickwork separated by a cavity – an air gap. The outer layer of brickwork keeps out the weather, while the air gap prevents moisture from migrating to the inner brick wall.

Altogether these walls provide quite a high level of thermal mass. One distinct advantage of high thermal mass is the consistency of temperature, not subject to sudden changes in the weather be it a cold front or a sudden hot day.

The downside is that should the double brick wall become cold, it requires significant energy to warm it up – be that from sunshine or from internal home heating.

It follows then that a moderate climate is a better environment for these buildings, whereby the exterior walls do not become freezing cold.

Climate change has been easy to read in Timaru. For example, in 1990 Timaru experienced more than 12 significant frosts in April, whereas nowadays April brings no frosts at all. Another indicator of a warming climate was the short winter experienced here in 2014.

The outcome is that the double brick houses so prominent in Timaru have become more comfortable places to inhabit.

– David McBride