The homes of 200 low-income, elderly volunteers will be retrofitted with energy-saving materials as part of a $2.3 million project aimed at activating the Illawarra's green economy.
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University of Wollongong researchers will study the homes for airtightness and other qualities and - once retrofitted - will scrutinise the behaviour of occupants for further research.
Professor Paul Cooper, director of UOW's Sustainable Buildings Research Centre, said older people had a lot to contribute to the project, called Energy Efficiency in the 3rd Age.
MORE: Illawarra's $2.3m green jobs project revealed
"We feel older people often don't have the disposable income other people have to make these changes and they're not necessarily as aware as others of what technologies are available to help reduce their energy bills," Prof Cooper said.
"But older people are actually very expert in saving energy, so we feel that through our research and especially the ethnographic studies [involving in-depth interviews], older people will actually be able tell the rest of our community quite a lot about how to save energy."
A consortium led by Regional Development Australia and Green Jobs Illawarra with groups from the business, industry and community sectors this week secured funding for the project from the federal government's Low Income Energy Efficiency Program.
Manufacturers and suppliers from the region will be engaged to trial new green approaches.
University researchers will enlist 500 volunteers for a "behaviour-changing" education program - and retrofit 200 homes in the project's second stage.
Prof Cooper's team will use an airtightness measuring tool and thermographic cameras to show where insulation in homes is poor and guide the retrofitting work.
"Our buildings in Australia are often very poor when it comes to airtightness. You get lots of cold air in winter coming in through cracks around doors and windows, particularly in older buildings, for example," Prof Cooper said.
The project's third leg will focus on how people use their homes, including their day-to-day techniques for saving energy and staying warm or cool.
Mary and Ray Watkins, of Lake Illawarra Warrigal Care, said they had noticed a dramatic reduction in their power bills since solar panels were installed on the complex several years ago.
The pair have simple, effective methods for staying warm.
"We'll close up the unit at about 4pm," Mr Watkins said.
"By the time Mary cooks the meal the unit's quite warm. If it's really cold we might have the heater on for an hour and that's enough to warm the unit."
The university will open the call for project participants in the next two to three months.
