The second phase of a new energy-efficient residential development — boasting A3 rated dwellings — has recently launched in Rathnew, Co Wicklow. Kirvin Hill, built by Broomhall Developments, is a new estate of three-bedroom houses, including both semi-detached units and bungalows.

Southern Housing Group, one of the largest housing associations in the south east of England, has delivered its first ever scheme built to the passive house standard. Built on a 1.5 acre site, Cameron Close is a £4.2 million development of 16 semi-detached family houses and 12 sheltered apartments in Freshwater on the Isle of Wight.

Stevens Institute of Technology won top honours overall at the US Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2015 by designing, building, and operating the most  cost-effective, energy efficient, and attractive solar powered house at the competition. Dubbed ‘Sure House’, the building also meets passive house standards for heating demand and airtightness and features heat recovery ventilation.

There are significant savings to be made with a well designed solar thermal installation, using either flat plate or vacuum tube collectors, and Kingspan Solar has taken a major step towards clarifying exactly how much. The company’s new online calculator quickly works out the cost benefits over time based on a few simple pieces of information about the homeowner’s existing heating system.

A Cork-based manufacturer of passive window sills has recently completed the fabrication of all decorative mouldings for a new 70 bed extension at the prestigious K Club resort in Straffan, Co Kildare.

The Passivhaus Trust is calling for entries to the second UK Passivhaus Awards – the only dedicated awards for passive house in the UK, with a focus on as-built performance. The deadline for applications is 15 May 2013.

Ecocem Ireland announced last week that its plans to create 61 jobs as part of a new three year, €19m investment programme coinciding with the official opening of its new facility at Dublin Port. The new plant will be used to bag Ecocem’s low carbon cement. The company said that the carbon footprint of its product is more than 50% lower than traditional cement.

The passive house standard may be growing in popularity, but the UK could struggle to follow Germany’s lead and build large numbers of passive homes because of its different social, political and financial drivers and general attitudes, according to a report published by the NHBC Foundation.

Baumit will showcase an "innovative" new external thermal insulation technology on 5-7 March at EcoBuild 2013 in Excel, London. The Baumit OPEN external wall insulation (EWI) system is a thin coat render system for solid wall construction.

Nu Flow Ireland recently completed a successful sewage pipe retrofit project in Cork which the company said helped to avoid major disruption to five local properties, and yielded various environmental benefits too.