When Vic learnt about healthy, comfortable and energy-efficient homes - Comic_small size

This comic book ‘When Vic learnt about healthy, comfortable and energy-efficient homes’ aims to raise awareness about energy vulnerability and the ways it can be tackled in a gentle way. It has been written by Nicola Willand (RMIT University), Lucie Middlemiss (University of Leeds) and illustrated by the RMIT University PhD student Suxuan Tian. The development of the comic has been funded by the British Academy and RMIT University and supported by the European WELLBASED study.The comic tells the story of Vic who lives with their grandmother in a home that is too cold in winter and too hot in summer. When Vic’s grandmother tells Vic that they cannot go on holiday because of their latest energy bill, Poppy the pet cockatoo suggests that he will take Vic to visit his friends around the world to find out how about their ways of living in a healthy, comfortable and affordable home. Vic and Poppy visit feathery and human friends in six cities where they find out about insulation, ventilation, efficient appliances and more. When Poppy gets into trouble, e.g. for stealing food, they move on. In the end, Vic and Poppy return to Naarm/Melbourne and retrofit their house to be comfortable, energy efficient and healthy.In Australia we do not have a shared understanding what energy vulnerability looks like, its signs and symptoms, that the causes are more varied than financial stress and what needs to be done to help. The comic aims to help communicate the importance of housing quality and thermal performance on health and wellbeing.This comic also aims to empower children and their parents to better understand energy stress and how it may be reduced. For children in energy stress, reading about other kids in similar situations can be affirming. For children who have adequate access to energy, learning about less fortunate children can build empathy and understanding. For parents, this book offers objective information on the situational causes of energy stress and may help start discussions with their children about how households can be lifted out of energy stress through comprehensive and collective actions.