A small amount of snow and ice in Australia can sound funny to "Northernors" used to much more, but I have actually found our houses and buildings are generally colder than friends places when visiting for example Norway and Sweden.

At ErikD's hunting lodge in the forest, I have many times have had to go outside to cool down because it was too hot inside. Wearing fine wool underwear plus fleece of course means one is quite well dressed for warmth inside, but more than a few times, I went outside by myself to cool down. Found other friends houses very cosy too.

The houses and lodges there have tripled glazed glass windows, and frames that fit without breezes. Wall, ceilings and even floors might be insulated. Even sheds are insulated. Central heating, or for the lodge a fire going all the time.

I shared a house with friends from Finland and Sweden in London years ago, and they said the English houses were colder than their's back home, where it might be 0 to -40 deg C and not 4 or 5 deg like in England on a cold day.

Now my house has one wood fire for the whole house, and some electrical heaters for some rooms. No insulation. The bloody windows and doors are drafty and badly fitted when the house was made or worsened since. I should fix some of these things of course. But my house is colder than a Norwegian or Swedish one in winter here to Autumn there. And my corrugated iron sheds are freezing cold in Winter. But I don't have air-conditioning for Summer heat which can go over 40 degrees C either. Every Summer think I should do something about that, but then ... it is Autumn again and not so hot!

So when we get frosts and the very rare snow here, it is felt.