person_outline
News
Passive house turns 30
The passive house standard is celebrating its 30th birthday this year. The world’s first passive houses were built in Darmstadt, Germany in 1991.
Thermal breaks webinar - watch online
On June 8, 2021 Passive House Plus, in association with Farrat, chaired a hugely informative roundtable on thermal breaks. If you missed it, the video can now be viewed online.
Free thermal breaks webinar: architectural expression vs building physics
Passive House Plus is excited to announce that we are hosting our first ever online event, 'Thermal breaks: freedom of architectural expression vs building physics', next Tuesday 8 June at 11am (UK/Ireland time). The webinar is free to attend, and boasts an amazing lineup of speakers.
Munster Joinery publishes first Irish window EPD
Munster Joinery has published the first environmental product declaration (EPD) for a window under the Irish EPD system.
Ecocem gets €22m investment from Bill Gates's climate fund
Irish low carbon cement company Ecocem has announced €22.5 million in equity investment from Breakthrough Energy Ventures (BEV) and Breakthrough Energy Ventures-Europe (BEV-E), venture capital funds that are part Bill Gates’s Breakthrough Energy coalition, which seeks to accelerate the global drive towards net zero carbon emissions.
Women in engineering group launched
Engineers Ireland has announced the launch of a new Women in Engineering group.
#BuildingLife: Addressing the environmental impacts of buildings across their life cycle
In the first of our new #BuildingLife ambassador spotlight series, Passive House Plus is profiling leaders who have endorsed the Irish Green Building Council’s call to address the environmental impacts of buildings across their life cycle, starting with Francis-Noel Duffy TD for Dublin South West and Green Party’s spokesperson on housing.
Green loan rate for new HPI-certified housing
Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) has launched a new green loan product offering a discount of up to 0.5 per cent on loans to home builders for developments certified with the Irish Green Building Council's Home Performance Index.
Government announces €45m for social housing retrofit
The government has announced a new €45 million programme of investment in the retrofifit of local authority housing. This includes an initial investment of €35m for the retrofitting of 1,293 homes, plus an additional €10m to be allocated to local authorities who demonstrate an ability to complete additional works this year.
TU Dublin launches timber technology degree
Technological University Dublin has announced the launch of a new four-year degree programme in sustainable timber technology.
Poorly ventilated retrofits can double radon retrofit risk, study finds
Residential retrofits must ensure ventilation is carefully considered in order to avoid an increase in radon gas levels, researchers at NUI Galway in Ireland have found.
Marketplace news
Forbo joins World Green Building Council corporate advisory board
Forbo Flooring Systems has joined the World Green Building Council’s (WorldGBC) corporate advisory board.
13-07-2021 Marketplace
Partel launches new Euroclass A2 fire-rated vapour control system
Partel’s newly launched Euroclass A2 Izoperm Plus vapour control system, designed for internal applications in energy efficient buildings, has become the first fire-rated solution in this class developed in Ireland.
13-07-2021 Marketplace
Cem-Rock offers best-in-class fire & eco credentials - Greenspan
Leading Limerick and Birmingham-based sustainable building product supplier Greenspan has added a floor substructure board to its Cem-Rock range of magnesium oxide (MgO) sheathing boards.
13-07-2021 Marketplace
Munster Joinery publishes first Irish window EPD
Munster Joinery has published the first environmental product declaration (EPD) for a window under the Irish EPD system.
13-07-2021 Marketplace
Xtratherm announce agreement in principle to acquire Ballytherm’s operations in Ireland and the UK
Leading insulation manufacturer Xtratherm has announced the signing of an agreement in principle to purchase Ballytherm’s operations in Ireland and the UK.
Prestige Aluclad supplying passive Viking windows nationwide
Prestige Aluclad is the new brand name in Ireland for Viking Windows, the supplier of passive house and low energy timber and aluminium-clad windows from Estonian manufacturer Viking.
Daikin streamer technology inactivates 99.9% of SARS-CoV-2
New research has confirmed the effectiveness of Daikin’s patented streamer technology, which successfully inactivated more than 99.9 per cent of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19, after irradiating the virus…
WWETB's popular NZEB courses move online
The Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB), one the country’s leading providers of practical construction training for nearly zero energy building (NZEB), has moved most of its NZEB…
Be aware of your retrofit obligations – BERcerts.ie
Leading energy consultancy BERcerts.ie has advised homeowners considering renovation projects to be aware of their potential obligations under Part L of the building regulations. The regulations set mandatory energy performance…
Waterford Stanley aiming to be big force in heat pump market
Establishing Waterford Stanley as one of the most recognised and popular heat pump brands on the Irish market is the goal of the company’s new business development manager, Donal Reilly.
Save energy by using Aircrete for the whole inner leaf - Mannok
Mannok’s Aircrete blocks are often specified at the wall-to-floor junction to tackle thermal bridging, but specifying them for the entire inner leaf of a cavity wall can yield significant energy…
Forbo launches new glue-free flooring
Sustainable flooring manufacturer Forbo has launched a new line-up of high traffic acoustic vinyl flooring that includes a new glue free flooring range.
Lidan win National Enterprise Award
Modular timber frame manufacturer Lidan Designs has won the Future Focus Award at the 2021 National Enterprise Awards.
Grant launches online learning academy
Heating technology manufacturer Grant has launched its new eLearning Academy for those working in the plumbing and heating, architectural and construction sectors in Ireland.
Athlone scheme hits NZEB with Firebird heat pumps
Leading Irish heating system manufacturer Firebird has recently completed a full heating installation at a scheme of 16 new build dwellings in Athlone, Co Westmeath, all designed to achieve the NZEB standard and…
Recycled aggregate cuts carbon emissions by 95 per cent, EPD shows
Integrated Materials Solutions (IMS) has published the first environmental product declaration (EPD) in Ireland for an aggregate product, for its Greenstone recycled aggregate, the first construction product of its type…
Partel’s Izoperm Plus achieves passive house ‘A’ cert
Partel’s Izoperm Plus airtightness system has achieved phA certification from the Passive House Institute, the highest level of component certification, following recent testing.
Superb airtightness result for Manchester ICF house
A new passive house in Manchester, built by Passive Building Structures, has achieved an airtightness test result of 0.31 air changes per hour at 50 Pascals on its final blower…
Aereco awarded Agrément cert for demand controlled ventilation
Aereco has become the first company to receive an NSAI Agrément certificate for ventilation, while also achieving a new ISO 9001 quality management standard for its Irish subsidiary.
Calsitherm boards to be rebranded ‘Red Board’
Calsitherm and Redstone, two of the largest providers of calcium silicate based interior insulation and mould prevention products, have joined forces, with the Paderborn-based family business Calsitherm taking a majority stake in Bremen-based Redstone.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Blogs
Shooting the moon
The concept of building back better and greener, popular early in the pandemic, is now in danger of being abandoned in the rush to return to ‘normal’ — but we always have the power to shape what normal is, writes Dr Peter Rickaby.
1970s Arkansas & Illinois prototypes: progress towards passive house
In his latest column, Dr Marc O’Riain looks back at two American prototypes for the passive house standard that embraced heat pump technology as well as principles of superinsulation and airtightness.
Is Enerphit the key to decarbonising existing homes?
With increasing attention turning to cutting carbon emissions from existing homes to meet carbon reduction targets, Duncan Smith, housing asset and energy strategy manager at Renfrewshire County Council in Scotland, argues that approaches which improve comfort and dramatically reduce energy bills must be front and centre.
Planning for passive
It’s time to make the passive house standard a requirement of local development plans across Ireland, says Mel Reynolds.
Do your walls behave like a Jaffa Cake?
Toby Cambray writes on the many lessons that the inimitable biscuit cake can teach us about how building materials deal with moisture.
Is affordable housing a policy blind spot?
Dublin City Council built just 45 social housing units in 2019. In his latest column, Mel Reynolds analyses the state’s surprising reluctance to build its own homes.
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 a 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.
The PH+ guides
Timber frame & mass timber: the Passive House Plus guide to structural timber construction
Fuelled by the need to build quickly and to increasingly tight sustainability standards, the market for timber frame and mass timber construction is growing rapidly. This detailed guide covers many of the main established and emerging techniques, and looks at key issues to address if you’re considering a timber-based build.
05-07-2019 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
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 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
Building or upgrading?
If you’re pricing, designing or constructing a building – whether it's an energy upgrade of a small house or a sustainable new build home, office or multi unit scheme – Passive House Plus can help.
Click here to get in contact with the companies you need, and receive a copy of Passive House Plus for free!
