Here's our usual round up of links that might interest you:
It seems high oil prices are strangling global economy recovery. According to the FT: "Four months after the OECD warned that soaring oil prices could damage the economic recovery...that IEA has noticed that global oil demand has begun to flatten." Financial Times. This is a point we've been making as part of our Energise Ireland campaign — it's one reason we urgently need to wean Ireland off imported oil. If you agree, please sign the petition at the Energise Ireland website.
Renewable energy can power the world, says the UN Guardian
Launching its Better Energy building upgrade programme earlier this week, the Department of Communications, Energy & Natural Resources said it had committed "an additional €30m towards the programme" for 2011. It added that "capital funding of €60m was allocated for energy efficiency initiatives in Budget 2011". So reading the press pack, you get the impression the previous government allocated €60m, and the current one is now adding €30m to that.
But is this really the case?
As part of his last budget, former finance minister Brian Lenihan introduced a tax credit scheme — under this, homeowners could claim a tax credit on home energy efficiency works. Lenihan set aside €30m for the scheme for 2011.
But there was no mention of the tax credits as part of the launch of Better Energy, and the scheme does not appear to be open or imminent. Has it been dropped, and if so can the government claim the €30m of additional funding it announced on Wednesday is extra?
What's more, while the Better Energy press pack says "capital funding of €60m was allocated for energy efficiency initiatives in Budget 2011", the figure in the budget actually appears to be €69m. The €60m figure may be a typo, but if not it means that a total of €99m originally set aside for this year has now become €90m.
We hope to have a reply from the department to clarify things shortly.
Hey everyone, we've just launched our Energise Ireland campaign for a green energy and economic revolution in Ireland. We need all the support we can get for what we believe is a vital campaign — you can read the manifesto and sign the petition at the campaign website, and follow us on Twitter too.
Energise Ireland has five key aims, all of which we believe are crucial to developing a sustainable, thriving economy in Ireland.
1. Become oil free & no longer a net energy importer by 2025. If we don't do this, the rising cost of importing oil will stifle our economic recovery.
2. Develop green bonds to offer Irish citizens a safe, patriotic investment in sustainable energy projects.
3. Upgrade the entire building stock to net zero carbon by 2020, by retrofitting buildings and switching to renewable heat and electricity.
4. End fuel poverty by 2015 to protect the health of the most vulnerable in society while reducing cost to the taxpayer.
5. Implement world leading green public procurement requirements, giving Irish suppliers an innovation edge for export.
For anyone uncertain, here's a reminder of why it's crucial for us to wean off oil as soon as possible.
Let us know what you think about the campaign — email us at info [at] energiseireland.ie, or comment below. And if you like it, please sign the petition.
Here's a few interesting links for your perusal. Apologies for the lack of updates recently, producing the new issue of the mag was a bit of a marathon, but we hope it was worth it. Normal service on the website should resume now.
International Energy Agency chief economist Fatih Birol has warned that the price of oil could stifle global economic recovery over the next few years — a point we at Construct Ireland have made repeatedly in an Irish context, just as we're about to launch our Energise Ireland campaign to make Ireland oil free by 2025. In this radio programme, Birol warns that, "higher oil prices means putting pressure on the trade balance and through that economic recovery efforts can be well strangled." ABC Radio
A new way to duct HRVs: should they be pulling stale air from bedrooms rather than 'wet' rooms? Green Building Advisor
Easca and Green Works will host a green building forum on 6 May in Dublin. The theme of the event will be the question of how to create a fully sustainable built environment by 2030 in Ireland.
Leading national and international speakers will be presenting, including Pooran Desai, co-founder of green entrepreneurial charity Bioregional and Noel Morrin of multinational construction firm Skanska. Kelly Grainger of Interface will talk about "closed loop production", and architect Tom Wooley will discuss opportunities for Ireland to develop natural construction materials. Mike Haslam from leading green architects Solearth and sustainable design consultant Jay Stuart of DWEcoCo will also speak.
The forum will also include seminars on various building rating methods, such as Leed, Breeam, Spear and the Living Building Challenge. A discussion on which of these tools Ireland should adopt will follow. There will also be a workshop on how Ireland can "create sustainable communities from the detritus of the boom". This will examine the role of unemployed architects and urban designers in rejuvenating the city of Barcelona, and it will also look at opportunities for Nama to help create the sustainable communities.
This forum is free for jobseekers who register with Green Works, otherwise the price is €50. There is a concession rate of €30 for members of Easca, the RIAI, Engineers Ireland, the Society of Chartered Surveyors, the Irish Property and Facility Management Association, the Irish Planning Institute, and attendees of Easca's Green Building Users Group.
British government accused of giving in to construction lobby and abandoning plan for zero carbon homes Guardian
Excellent blog post from Rob Kitchin from NUI Maynooth on Fine Gael-Labour's plans to review the planning act and potentially remove ministerial oversight of council planning decisions that were introduced by John Gormley. Kitchin writes: "A cynic would suggest that the new Ministerial powers were unpopular at the local level because they were used to stop councillors undertaking excessive zoning and giving inappropriate permissions (the result of which led to way too much zoned land and an excess of housing, offices, hotels and retail space). Local councillors and local TDs want such powers removed so they can get back to business as usual..."Ireland After Nama
Sustainable development vs historic preservation — a false dichotomy Treehugger
A look at public infrastructure bonds in the US — would something similar work here to help fund retrofit on a massive scale? Infrastructurist
A Glow in the Desert: profile of an off-grid desert house New York Times
Two stories about urban spaces in Ireland that you may have missed: Dublin City Council kicks green space to touch (Irish Times), and can Dublin follow New York's pedestrianisation lead? (Dublin Observer)
Commercial buildings must disclose their energy ratings (Guardian)
Most of the national media's focus on the new programme for government has naturally centred around Fine Gael and Labour's economic plans. But what does the document say about the government's policies on buildings, energy and the environment? I went through it this morning to pick out the highlights. There appear to be good intentions, but much of the language remains vague. That's par for the course with a document that has to be drawn up as quickly as this. We should start to hear more about specific policies in the coming months as new ministers are appointed and settle into their roles.
The new government says it will:
Energy efficiency in buildings
double funding of home energy efficiency and renewable energy programmes (presumably the Home Energy Saving and Greener Homes schemes), but end them by 2014.
introduce a 'pay as you save' scheme in 2014 to replace grants, allowing homeowners to pay for energy upgrades over time on their utility bills (Construct Ireland lobbied extensively for a scheme like this in 2009 and 2010)
tender for a 'pay as you save' contract to insulate all public buildings
move towards zero carbon homes "in the longer term" - what is meant by "zero carbon" and "longer term" is unclear. Will the new government keep the previous one's commitment to "zero carbon" new homes by 2013?
Energy
establish Ireland as a "renewable manufacturing hub" and a "centre of excellence in the management of carbon" - exactly what these terms mean (particularly the latter) or how they will be achieved is not specified
Merge Bora Na Mona with Coilte to create a new company called BioEnergy Ireland that will become a "global leader" in "next generation bioenergy technologies", and will plant 14,700 hectares of forestry annually
publish a climate change bill to provide a "clear pathway for emissions reductions" in line with the EU's 2020 targets - this suggests the last government's climate change bill might be scrapped, as it was incorrectly perceived by the opposition to be tougher than the EU 2020 targets
"legislate to support the geothermal energy sector"
cluster new wind farms in areas with the best "wind regime" to reduce cost of connection to the grid - the idea here is for the government to plan the growth of wind farms rather than developers. But will this slow down the growth of the sector?
aim to "maximise return to the Irish people" from offshore oil and gas reserves
ensure that only the most "cost effective" projects are supported by the renewable energy feed in tariff, and set the tariff at a level "not significantly above" the all Ireland market price for electricity
Infrastructure
accelerate capital works that are "shovel ready" and "labour intensive" - it's not clear what projects the government sees as meeting these criteria
invest heavily, through semi state companies, in "next generation" infrastructure in energy, broadband, forestry and water over the next four years
establish Irish Water, a new state company that will take over water investment and maintenance from local authorities
create a new "smart grid" company with full ownership of Ireland's electricity and gas networks, following a handover of the ESB's "transmission assets" to Eirgird - is the removal of the network from ESB's remit a hint that the government is planning to privatise the company?
Other
target up to €2 billion in sales from "non strategic state assets" - it's believed FG and Labour see Bord Gais and ESB as falling under this category
"bring forward a coherent plan to resolve the problems associated with ghost estates" - no specifics are given
commit to "urban regeneration to revitalise communities in areas such as Limerick" - again, the language remains vague
require that the selling price of all dwellings is recorded on a public national house price database
introduce a "mandatory compliance bond" to ensure construction waste is properly managed and recycled - I take this to mean that developers will have to pay a bond that will only be returned if they can demonstrate waste from a project was properly recycled or disposed of
ratify the Aarhus Convention that gives the public access to information and participation in decision-making on environmental issues - green campaigners have been pushing for this one for a long time, but it was also in the 2007 programme for government and has yet to be fully implemented
allow domestic turf cutting on 75 National Heritage Area sites subject to a "code of environmental practices"
"re-balance transport policy in favour of public transport" - there are no specifics on the government's plans for public transport, however, except to establish a cabinet sub-committee on the issue and to support public bike schemes
exempt farm diesel from further increases in the carbon tax
That's what stood out for me in term of energy and the environment. What's your reaction to the document?
Here's structure — I can't really called it a house — that Derek Diedricksen built to prove "that you can built a semi viable shelter with nothing but crap".
The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI) has published its election manifesto — essentially its wish list for the incoming government. I've had a browse through, and here are some of the ideas that stood out for me:
a reduction of Vat to 5% for of all energy upgrade repairs, maintenance and improvement works to private buildings
speed up the roll out of approved capital projects, and fund these through "innovative" methods such as equity partnerships and build-to-lease schemes
a site value tax to be introduced on "development land"
prioritising investment in construction and infrastructure to restore the building sector to its "optimum" worth of €18bn per annum
a "Plan for Ireland" to 2030 based on the principles of "sustainable communities, quality placemaking and environmental responsibility"
a review of the National Spatial Strategy, and more integrated national, regional and local planning, along with a review of the planning system
provision of public services such as health facilities, schools and transport networks to be based on "evidence based projections" of need rather than "crisis management"
Nama lands to be used to create "sustainable urban neighborhoods" and for public infrastructure and services
design quality, environmental impact and whole life-cycle cost to be considered ahead of price alone for government tenders
a more flexible approach to unemployment benefit so those in the building industry can obtain part-time work and start businesses while still collecting benefit
Many of the manifesto's wishes are quite vague though, such as its call for "improvements to building regulatory procedures", and for unspecified "minimum design standards" for all publicly funded buildings. It also says the "theory and practice of sustainable development" should be at the heart of government policy on the built environment and public procurement.
Still, it's very welcome to see the RIAI offering a list of ideas ahead of the election. You can read a summary and download the document here. When it comes to the built environment, what would you like to see the next government prioritise?
Construct Ireland is now on Facebook — never let it be said we jump on a trend too early. You'll find our page here, so click on the "like" button and we'll keep you up to date with what's going on at the mag.
Linking you up with some green building and energy stories: What could today's passive house designers learn from George Bernard Shaw's rotating hut? Treehugger
Future housing supply in Ireland — for some interesting commentary from the Ireland After Nama blog about the Construction Industry Federation's call for new house building, see here and here.
As the election approaches, where are the parties' policies on housing and planning? Ireland After Nama
The Canadian ancestry of the passive house Treehugger
Profile of a passive house in Wisconsin Metro Hippie
Modern Rwandan education centre made with local materials Inhabitat
A blower door test being conducted at Jer Rynhart's super air-tight Wicklow home — the house has an air changes per hour rate of 0.11
By Gavin O Se, NSAI certified airtightness tester, certified passive house designer and BER assessor with Greenbuild
Recent issues of Construct Ireland have featured houses that have been to the very best international standards of airtightness: eg Jer Rynhart's house in Wicklow and Tim O'Donovan's house in Cork, both of which had just a fraction of an airchange under standardised test conditions.
At the same time as these super-airtight houses are being built, the latest draft Part L of the Building Regulations is proposing to lower the air permeability rate for new dwellings from its present level of 10 m3/(hr.m2) to 7 m3/(hr.m2).
I was quite disappointed ― though unsurprised ― to learn of the new maximum airtightness level. It set in process a train of thoughts, the result of which is this article, in which I will look at:
• Where are we in terms of airtightness and airtightness testing?
• Where are we going?
• Where do we stand internationally?
Builder Dan Phillips tells a TED conference conference in Houston about the unique houses he's built with salvaged and reclaimed materials. This is funny and fascinating.
Managing and Resolving Unfinished Housing Estates is a consultation manual published by the Department of Environment late last year. It identifies unfinished housing estates and outlines the health and safety issues surrounding these unfinished developments.
The report says that the over-supply in key metropolitan areas is not extensive and should improve in the short to medium-term. However, part completed or part occupied developments in areas with a weaker housing market may prove problematic.
The main proposals outlined are to complete unfinished housing estates identified by the National Housing Development Survey, ensure compliance with health and safety legislation and identify the roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders.
The report proposes that a team from each local authority maintain an up to date register of housing developments. This is a positive step, but the key responsibilities of the team should be widened to include the environmental assessment of housing developments.
While it is a positive step by the department to ensure the health and safety of unfinished housing developments, it is important to consider the long-term sustainability and environmental impact of finishing these estates. The report’s main aim is the “delivery of sustainable communities...and sustainable development...”, however there is no definition of sustainability. The three pillars of sustainability — the environment, the society and the economy — should be outlined and used as a basis to evaluate unfinished housing estates. The environmental impact of unfinished housing developments should be considered in terms of promoting sustainable living. A review of demand for housing, the existence of adequate local public transport and the availability of jobs and amenities within a locality are key to sustainable living. No alternative solutions are proposed for sites in areas with a weaker housing market.
The site resolution plan for problematic developments in areas with a weaker housing market should be extended to include the wider environmental impact of completing these developments. For problematic sites the focus should be promoting sustainable solutions. Although the environmental cost of demolishing a development may prove high in the short-term, the long-term environmental cost of completing developments in areas with low housing demand, poor local employment and poor public transport outweighs the short-term cost. This analysis should be included in the forward planning section of the report to promote sustainable low energy communities.
The report’s proposals are based on the National Housing Development Survey (2010). This survey was crucial to identifying unfinished housing estates. However, the report should extend this survey to include technical surveys of all unfinished estates. These surveys should include a review of services, access, safety, structural defects and a review of the quality of the housing stock with a focus on energy and carbon. This survey should focus on developments in areas with a weaker housing market to determine the value and viability of completing them.
Based on the extended survey a cost-benefit analysis should be carried out. This analysis should be used to evaluate the cost of completion — including upgrading the dwellings to a low energy standard — versus demolition of these developments. The analysis should include provision of adequate local public transport, the provision of amenities and the existence of a local job industry. Demolition of sites should be carried out where sites do not satisfy this analysis.
The report is a positive step to ensuring the health and safety compliance of occupied and part occupied unfinished housing developments. However, it would be enhanced if it examined the environmental impact of these developments. The report would also benefit from a detailed cost-benefit analysis which should include the economic, social and environmental costs of completing developments with particular focus on areas with weak housing demand.
Sadhbh Ni Hogain is a structural engineer working at EOS Future Design. She recently completed a MSc in advanced environmental and energy studies from the Centre For Alternative Technology, Wales.
William McDonough is arguably the world's most famous green architect and is the father of cradle to cradle design. Here he is describing one of his planned eco-cities in China. Keep watching until the end, it gets good. This is taken from McDonough's Ted talk. There's a longer version of it here.
Happy new year to all Construct Ireland readers. We're getting right back into the swing of things here with a new issue due out before the end of the month. Here's a few interesting stories you might have missed over the holidays.
Six green building trends to watch for 2011 Jetson Green
Ten more (slightly US-centric) trends for 2011, also from Jetson Green
This is the last in a series of blog posts by the architect Mark Stephens on going off grid. The full series can be found here.
A flooded percolation area is a serious health hazard
Welcome to this final blog post on living off gird, which focuses on the safe disposal of any wastewater from a house not connected to a public sewer.
This topic is probably the one that Ireland has the most experience with (both good and bad), due to the lack of sewerage infrastructure once you leave the main towns and cities. There are currently around 500,000 on-site wastewater treatment systems in Ireland, and many are believed to be contributing to groundwater pollution due to poor design, maintenance and lack of regulation over the years. The EU recently ruled against Ireland for this, and the mandatory inspection of such systems is expected to start within the next year.
This is also the one topic that will cause the most problems if you are looking for planning permission on a new house or more particularly the renovation of a ruin or abandoned house.
So let’s have a little look at the history of effluent disposal in modern times.
Septic tanks
The traditional septic tank would have been a concrete single chamber system — the outlet would have simply been piped out into a ditch that drained into the next field.
One problem arising with these systems is that frequently the farmer working the field would fill in the ditch, causing the effluent to start backing up. Then you could find yourself standing in a field slowly submerging in crap (this has happened to me on numerous occasions). A system like this also provides little treatment of effluent.
An article by Lenny Antonelli in issue twelve, volume four of Construct Ireland discusses precisely this problem and the bacterial hazards that are created.
The next stage on from a single-chamber septic tank was the dual chamber (again constructed in concrete). This system allows the solids to settle, with the second chamber taking the overflow which then exits the tank in a similar way. The same problem described above will also occur if the overflow effluent isn’t treated correctly. It’s therefore essential that a proper percolation or polishing filter system is designed and constructed within the curtilage of your own site.
Proprietary effluent treatment systems
A proprietary effluent treatment system utilises some form of aeration or mechanical purification/digestion before the wastewater exits the system. If properly designed for your site conditions, these systems can treat the effluent to a high standard, but consideration must still be given to what happens to wastewater when it enters the field. Most of these systems will require an electricity supply, which will add to your energy usage (and some may say goes against the off-grid ethos). One advantage of such systems is that it is possible to test and verify the quality of the effluent as most of the treatment is done in the unit itself, whereas with septic tanks more of the treatment takes places in the soil itself, making testing of final effluent difficult for these systems.
Composting toilets, reed bed systems etc
The principle of the composting toilet is straightforward — the solid waste goes into a separate section to the liquids, and the solids then dry and become first-class manure for the land. To create this compost requires a bit of time away from human contact which thereby breaks the cycle of the pathogens. Another option is rapid hot composting where usually sawdust or straw is added in order to kill all the known pathogens to humans in hours. But it will typically take about six months for compost to be available in dry conditions, longer if it is outdoors in a damp location.
Another popular way of percolating any waste in the ground is via a reed bed system, which is a natural solution that works ideally on a site with a fall where any effluent trickling through the reed bed is cleaned by micro-organisms living on the root system. Micro-organisms here break down the sewage in the presence of oxygen (ie aerobically). Your site will need to be physically suitable for a reed bed, and you may have difficulty convincing the planners that your system will work.
Planning
Any new effluent treatment system, either for a new house or a renovation will require planning permission. It is often thought that because a house was previously on the site (say for example, a wreck with no septic tank) you will have a better chance of obtaining planning permission. But I have seen many a dream quashed when planning is refused because the ground on site wasn’t suitable. The rules may be relaxed a little if the house already has a septic tank - a proposed upgrade may be acceptable if it improves treatment even if it doesn’t exactly meet the Environmental Protection Agency's Code of Practice. But you will find it harder to convince planners about any new system that falls outside the remit of the EPA Code of Practice.
If you're looking to install a new effluent treatment system for your new build or renovation project, start by contacting an experienced engineer or similar professional who can advise on the most appropriate system design for your site.
So that’s it, my take and discussion for living off-grid. With the country currently in economic turmoil, maybe living a simpler life not connected to electricity, water, sewerage etc doesn’t seem too mad cap after all.
Special thanks again to Nick Rosen's book How to Live Off-Grid. Mark Stephens ARB RIBA MRIAI is a UK and Ireland registered and chartered architect specialising in sustainable, unique designs.
