person_outline
Zero carbon standard launched for Irish homes
The Irish Green Building Council launched a zero-carbon standard for new homes at its Better Homes conference in Dublin today, Thursday November 7. The new standard will enable Irish home builders to offer certified zero carbon homes to home buyers.
Site specific - Somerset passive house adapts to tight plot
The best architecture responds skilfully and sensitively to its surroundings, so when a long and narrow plot beside a busy road became available in the Somerset village of Chew Magna, architect David Hayhow set out to design a passive house, inspired by nearby farm buildings, that would be both private yet filled with light — quite the challenge given the site’s tight restraints.
Marketplace news
Barn retrofit achieves 0.18 ACH with bi-fold doors
A deep retrofit project in Lancaster has achieved possibly the best ever airtightness result in the UK for a retrofit project. Designed by leading passive house architect Mark Siddall, Shepherd’s Barn is a super insulated, low energy barn conversion which incorporates high standards of airtightness and an MVHR system.
10-12-2019 Marketplace
New airtight London apartments near completion
A new apartment development in one of South London’s up and coming districts is making use of Magply boards’ fire resistance and other performance characteristics, as the lining to a bespoke timber frame package.
31-10-2019 Marketplace
NBT begins merger with Soprema
NBT, the UK supplier of Pavatex insulation and airtightness products, has completed the first phase of a merger with building products giant, Soprema.
23-10-2019 Marketplace
Blowerproof used to seal Sandycove passive house
A new Dublin passive house is aiming to achieve the required standard of airtightness using using an innovative new application of Blowerproof liquid airtight membrane. Blowerproof liquid airtight membrane is a BBA certified product with Class C fire rating, which has been used widely on passive house projects across Europe for the last 10 years.
23-10-2019 Marketplace
Lidan complete ecological NZEB rapid build for DLR
A highly sustainable rapid-build dwelling built for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council may be one of the first, if not the first ever dwelling, completely finished off-site in Ireland .
23-10-2019 Marketplace
A1 Dublin & Kildare homes move towards zero energy
Towards Zero Energy Ltd has just completed eight months monitoring of five dwellings in the Dublin region that it upgraded to A1 BERs last year under SEAI’s Deep Retrofit Pilot Programme. The dwellings were typical suburban 1950s to 1970s two-storey, semi-detached/terraced houses and all were three or four bedrooms in size.
14-10-2019 Marketplace
UK housing market must start demanding much higher quality - Ecomerchant
The entire UK housing market — from self-builders and house buyers through to large-scale developers, housing associations and local authorities — must start demanding a much higher level of quality from new homes in order to ensure the market delivers buildings that are genuinely healthy, sustainable and low energy. That is according to Will Kirkman, managing director of leading sustainable building product supplier Ecomerchant.
01-10-2019 Marketplace
Green Building Store launches new energy model service
Green Building Store has announced the launch of a new service that is now included at no extra charge in its product packages.
01-10-2019 Marketplace
News and blogs
Software errors create false NZEB compliance picture
Teething problems with the software used to generate Building Energy Ratings and determine compliance with Part L of the building regulations may be rendering it unfit for purpose, Passive House Plus can reveal.
‘Bottom up’ approach can kick-start retrofit, report finds
A new report has advocated a 'bottom-up' approach as an effective way to deliver the deep retrofit of the UK's building stock at scale.
Alliance for Sustainable Building Products opens awards for entries
The Alliance for Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) has announced that the ASBP Awards 2020 are now open for entries.
Managing moisture: why we must learn the four Cs
Moisture problems are the Achilles heel of many new builds and retrofits, explains Dr Peter Rickaby – problems that can be exacerbated with poorly-conceived energy efficiency efforts, and which may become more prevalent due to climate breakdown.
New building regs “tragic” for external insulation market
There is growing concern in the retrofit industry that incoming changes to Part L of the building regulations, set to come into force this November, could decimate the market for external insulation.
Greenbuild Europe 2020 to take place in Dublin
The third annual Greenbuild Europe conference will be held in Dublin on 24-25 March 2020, at the Croke Park conference centre.
Dun Laoghaire to host World NZEB Forum in November
Minister for finance Pascal Donohoe TD announced the World Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) Forum at government buildings recently, to be held in Dún Laoghaire on 13-14 November.
Norwich passive house scheme wins Stirling Prize
The Goldsmith Street development in Norwich has become both the first social housing scheme and the first passive house certified project to win the Stirling Prize, British architecture’s most prestigious award.
Passive House conference comes to China
The 23rd annual International Passive House Conference takes place outside of Europe for the first time ever this year, with the Chinese city of Gaobeidian hosting the event on 9 to 11 October. This year’s conference was rescheduled after originally being set for 21 and 22 September.
Energy Action to host 8th fuel poverty conference
Energy Action is hosting its eighth annual Fuel Poverty Conference in Dublin on 21 October 2019, at the Croke Park Conference Centre. The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton TD will open the conference.
More UK councils adopt passive house standard
Local authorities across the UK are starting to embrace the passive house standard by formally encouraging its use in their planning policies and local area plans. This follows confirmation from the government last year that councils were entitled to set higher building energy efficiency standards locally than is mandated by Part L of the building regulations.
Durkan to break ground on 47 Killiney passive houses
Durkan Residential are set to break ground this month on one of Ireland’s largest passive house schemes to date, Rockfield. Situated on Church Road, Killiney, the scheme will comprise 47 units, including 15 generously proportioned 171 m2 houses, 16 duplexes averaging 115 m2, and 16 ground floor units averaging 80 m2 each.
Bank of Ireland unveils new green loans
Bank of Ireland has unveiled a suite of green loans and interest rates to encourage home owners and businesses to be more energy efficient. The new initiatives include a green interest rate discount for borrowers buying or building energy efficient homes, and a green home improvement loan for energy efficiency retrofits. Businesses, including farmers, will also be able to access reduced interest rates for investment in energy saving improvements.
Diverging trends at the Frankfurt Motor Show
Imagine you are a business owner in a changing, Willy Wonka-esque world wherein you have to entertain two extreme ends of your market to satisfy clients.
Office-to-flat conversions “deeply worrying”
Rights allowing the conversion of commercial buildings into dwellings, without planning permission, are potentially creating unhealthy living conditions.
BER data indicates national house building growth – except for Dublin
Significantly more new homes (16.5%) were built in Ireland in the first eight months of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018 – with double digit declines in Dublin cancelled out by strong growth in the rest of the country, new analysis by Passive House Plus indicates.
How will today’s buildings perform tomorrow?
Richard Tibenham of Greenlite Energy Assessors says a case of two highly energy-inefficient and ‘hard-to-treat’ buildings, built in 2013, should serve as a warning to the whole construction sector.
Secured by Design: crime prevention with CO2 co-benefits
More than one million homes have been built around the UK to security standards required by Secured by Design (SBD), the UK’s national police crime prevention initiative, with significant reductions in crime and with considerable benefits to the environment. SBD senior development officer, Kenny McHugh, explains what SBD could offer to Ireland.
Reflections on sustainable Nordic architecture
It’s no coincidence that Nordic countries are some of the most advanced in the world when it comes to low energy design. In this article, three assistant professors of architecture based in Denmark and Finland discuss areas where we can learn from our Nordic neighbours — and where we might return the favour.
Rebuilding Ireland mishap significantly inflating HAP figures
Mark Twain popularised the saying “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics”. Mel Reynolds explains why Department of Housing statistics on HAP may be grossly inflating the state’s impact on tackling the housing crisis.
Editor's letter: Issue 30
Our editor Jeff Colley's editor's letter from issue 30 received some particularly lovely praise, with architect Steve Mardall reaching out to say: "Was moved to write to commend you on your editor’s letter in this issue 30. You’ve perfectly captured the essence of the totality of where we are as a planet and a race. And captured well that subtle consensus of denial and ‘othering’ it, that is a compelling force to fall in line with if one is not to be labelled as a righteous crank. Your words articulate some of my own not formally articulated thoughts, and offer me clarity...
Mapping the efficiency of Europe’s buildings
A new free-to-use online tool aims to map the energy performance of Europe’s buildings, with the goal of helping to stimulate large-scale deep retrofit, writes project manager Michael Hanratty.
100 Irish households sought for indoor air quality study
Researchers from the School of Physics at NUI Galway are seeking to recruit 100 households to measure indoor environmental air quality within Irish homes that have been built to be highly energy efficient, by deploying remote sensors within the homes.
Marc O'Riain: The golden age of solar water heating
Renewable energy technologies are often regarded as new and innovative, but in some instances their roots predate the oil age and go back to the start of the industrial revolution. Dr Marc Ó’Riain finds important insights in past failures of early solar thermal systems.
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!
