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News
New book aims to demystify passive house design
The second edition of the book Understanding Passivhaus by Emma Walshaw of First In Architecture is out now. The book is designed to provide a brief, clear and complete guide to building a passive home.
Campaign launched to tackle whole-life environmental impact of buildings
On the five-year anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) launched a campaign to decarbonise Ireland’s built environment across its whole life cycle. The campaign is backed by Passive House Plus.
Bringing buildings into the circular economy
Embodied carbon is the next great challenge for the building sector. For the group’s latest update, Marion Jammet of the Irish Green Building Council discusses initiatives underway at both Irish and European level to further cut the carbon footprint of the built environment.
New research gives boost to recycled concrete
Results of a new five-year study of recycled concrete show that it performs as well, and in several cases even better, than conventional concrete.
NZEB’s effect on new home specs emerges
Heat pumps dominate & mechanical ventilation grows, but compliance risks emerge
Grenfell inquiry hears of damning test culture
Before it was halted until January 2021, the Grenfell Tower inquiry heard a series of damning testimonies on the culture towards fire safety within leading building material manufacturers and certification bodies in the years leading up to the fire.
Deep retrofit plans: the current state of play
The need for decisive movement on deep retrofit has never been more pronounced, given the twin needs for urgent, radical action to tackle the climate crisis and jobs-intensive stimulus at a time of great uncertainty caused by the pandemic. In the following statement, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment sheds light on its progress in delivering on the government’s deep retrofit pledges.
Why join the PHAI?
Simon Bell of the Passive House Association of Ireland outlines how the organisation can help clients, professionals and suppliers to deliver the passive house standard.
Ballymore to deliver mooted zero carbon Guinness Quarter
Diageo has chosen developer Ballymore as its partner to deliver the transformation of 12.6 acres of its iconic St James’s Gate site into the first “zero carbon” district in Dublin.
Energy Awards finalists include NZEB & retrofit projects
The Cosgrave Group, ESB and SSE Airtricity Energy Services, are among the finalists in the SEAI Energy Awards 2020.
Landmark case may empower tenants on radon
A landmark legal case may give tenants the chance to discover if their building poses a lung cancer risk, Passive House Plus can exclusively reveal.
Marketplace news
Strong demand for GGBS from Irish market
There is strong and growing demand for GGBS on the Irish market, according to leading Irish supplier Ecocem, as the company gears up to respond to a market and regulatory environment that is increasingly demanding low embodied energy construction products.
13-01-2021 Marketplace
Get up to NZEB with Grant heat pumps
High efficiency is a hugely important factor in choosing a heating system and this is a key priority for industry leading manufacturer Grant, whose wide portfolio of heating technologies has advanced over the years and now includes air source heat pumps, underfloor heating, pre-plumbed hot water cylinders, aluminium radiators and fan convector radiators.
13-01-2021 Marketplace
Passive Sills cut thermal bridging & mould risk — new analysis
A thermal bridging analysis of Passive Sills’s insulated window sills has revealed how they can significantly reduce thermal bridging at this crucial junction.
12-01-2021 Marketplace
Earth Cycle expands into PH education & training
Leading passive house expert Robert (Bob) Ryan is now offering certification, consultancy and training once again through his company, Earth Cycle Technologies, after a year-long career break.
12-01-2021 Marketplace
Learn about wastewater heat recovery remotely
Leading wastewater heat recovery (WWHR) supplier Showersave has moved its certified CPD presentation, ‘An introduction to wastewater heat recovery’, online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Ecocel insulation has tiny carbon footprint, EPD reveals
Cork-based insulation manufacturer Ecocel has published an environmental product declaration (EPD) for its cellulose insulation which reveals the product has a remarkably low carbon footprint.
NuWave Sensors launches CO2 monitor for schools
NuWave Sensors, developers of smart air quality sensors designed to continuously monitor airborne contaminants in industrial and commercial environments, has unveiled a new carbon dioxide sensor that allows schools to…
Pro clima launch spray applicator for airtight paints
Pro clima have launched Aerofixx, an innovative handheld spray applicator for the Aerosana Visconn range of airtightness liquid paints.
Tegral slates adopt new brand name Cedral
Tegral, the Irish manufacturer of fibre cement roof slates, will now fall under the new Etex Ireland brand, while its classic roof slates will be marketed under the brand name…
NOVUS Windows announce partnership with Idealcombi
NOVUS Windows have announced a new partnership with Idealcombi A/S, the largest window manufacturer in Denmark with over 100,000 square metres of production facilities.
BERCerts.ie offering ventilation validation
Leading energy assessment experts BERCerts.ie are now offering ventilation validation services under Part F of the building regulations after two of the company’s employees were added to the NSAI list…
New heat pumps and pellet stoves from Waterford Stanley
Waterford Stanley has announced it latest line-up of renewable heating products, comprising air-to-water heat pumps, and room and central heating pellet stoves designed to meet Ecodesign 2022, the new European…
Kilcarrig launches new lower carbon dry mix silo mortar
Kilcarrig Quarries has introduced a new low carbon dry mix mortar to the market that uses ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBS) to replace up to 35% of its cementitious…
Unipipe launch easy underfloor heating for upper floors
Unipipe has announced the launch to the Irish market of underfloor heating and cooling systems from German manufacturer MFH Systems.
Engage ventilation validators at design stage — Evolved Energy Solutions
NZEB consultancy Evolved Energy Solutions is now offering ventilation validation services for domestic building projects after company director Brian Sweeney was added to the NSAI list of registered ventilation validators.
Passive Building Structures aims to cut carbon both on & off site
Building envelope specialist Passive Building Structures is aiming to substantially cut the carbon footprint of its projects in 2021 both by increasing the thermal performance of its builds and cutting…
Mannok announces new product names after rebrand
The rebrand from Quinn to Mannok was announced in September, with the official name change completed on 16 November, marking a major milestone for the company on a rebrand journey…
Cellulose insulation can boost airtightness — Ecocel
We all know the value of good insulation in improving the energy performance of a building, so why then are attics often an afterthought?
Amvic Ireland launches passive standard ICF system
Amvic Ireland, long-known for its dual-insulated concrete formwork (ICF), has announced the launch of its new ultra-energy efficient wall system for passive-standard buildings.
Aereco launches new extract grill with performance indicator
Ventilation specialist Aereco has launched a new extract grill with integrated control indicator to meet building regulations that came into force during November 2020.
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Blogs
The condensation myth
Condensation within the structure of buildings is a lot more complex than condensation in a sweaty pub on a Friday night, writes building physics expert Toby Cambray.
Will we really build back better?
As governments rush to jump-start their economies, there is a danger that important lessons for how to retrofit homes will be lost in the rush to build. But there is a better way, writes Dr Peter Rickaby.
The world’s first ‘zero energy’ house
Returning to his regular series on the evolution of sustainable building during the 20th century, Dr Marc Ó Riain takes look at the first serious attempt to build a house with net zero energy use.
The science of filters
How do ventilation filters work, and can they help to protect us against Covid-19? Toby Cambray weighs in on the physics of a subject that is more complex and interesting than you might expect.
Are we the virus?
Taking a temporary detour from his series of columns on the history of sustainable building and renewable energy, Dr Marc Ó Riain takes a look at Covid-19 from the perspective of Gaia theory, and at the relationship between collapsing ecosystems and the emergence of new infectious diseases.
Are lower land values the silver lining of the crisis?
While the Covid-19 crisis has undoubtedly caused a huge amount of human suffering and economic damage, it has brought some upsides too. Mel Reynolds speculates on how much land prices may fall, and what the positive and negative impacts may be.
Environmental activism - tracing the roots of today's climate activism
While the green wave visible at ballot boxes and street marches in 2019 reflects an apparent escalation in public consciousness on the need for urgent, decisive environmental action, the roots of today’s environmental consciousness stretch back over half a century, explains Dr Marc Ó Riain.
How humanity can save itself from itself
We are in the grip of a global emergency. The science is clear, and thousands of lives have already been lost. The public are demanding firm and bold leadership, but a laissez-faire attitude on the part of western governments has delayed and watered down our response, with calamitous consequences.
Are you sexist? Creating a building site culture where we can all thrive
What forms does sexism take in the construction industry, asks builder Em Appleton, and what can we do about it?
Culture shock & knowledge transfer
What are the consequences for the built environment, and the climate, of the lack of communication between research and industry, asks Dr Peter Rickaby – and what can be done about it?
The first oil crisis
In the latest instalment of his series on the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy in the 20th century, Dr Marc Ó Riain reports on the seismic impact caused by the 1973 oil crisis.
Higher costs, less benefits - Why the enhanced social housing leasing model is a bad deal
The outgoing Fine Gael government devised an off balance sheet scheme to deliver social housing, but will it deliver value for money? Mel Reynolds crunches the numbers and finds the scheme may almost double the cost compared to a direct build – with no asset left once the lease ends.
The PH+ guides
The PH+ guide to greener concrete - reducing the climate impact of cement and concrete in buildings
Cement is responsible for up to 8% of global carbon emissions, and in this guide, sustainable design expert Jay Stuart looks at ways to minimise its environmental impact through good design, and at some of the alternative, lower carbon cement and concrete products on the market.
30-07-2020 Guides
The PH+ guide to external insulation
In the first in a new series of technical articles on some of the key technologies in sustainable building, John Hearne makes the case for wrapping buildings in an external insulation layer, and describes some of the main issues to watch out for.
07-02-2018 Guides
The PH+ guide to insulating foundations
While understanding wall and roof insulation is relatively straightforward, insulation under the ground floor can be a bit of a mystery by comparison. Not only is it buried in the ground, but there are notoriously tricky spots like the wall-floor junction that need to be detailed and insulated properly. And the design of your foundation often depends on site conditions and the type of structure you’re going to build, too. In this guide, we explain some different ways of insulating one of the most challenging parts of the building envelope.
10-06-2019 Guides
The PH+ guide to thermal breaks
Building physics take no prisoners. Anyone designing, constructing or upgrading the thermal envelope of a building to modern energy performance levels is duty bound to understand and minimise thermal bridging, or suffer the consequences. One-man thermal bridging encyclopaedia Andrew Lundberg of Passivate, who teaches thermal bridging analysis at Dublin Institute of Technology, gives some practical advice on why and how to tackle thermal bridging head on, and describes some of the leading innovations in thermally broken components.
19-04-2018 Guides
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