Ireland - passivehouseplus.ie

Energy efficient properties less likely to default, research finds

Heat pumps were likely the dominant heating system in new Irish homes in 2017, and mechanical ventilation was on course to overtake natural ventilation in new homes in 2018, an analysis by Passive House Plus has revealed.

Fifty-four percent of Irish organisations participating in the World Green Building Trends 2018 SmartMarket Report expect their projects to be green by 2021 — well above the global average of 47%. “The number of green buildings has increased significantly in Ireland over the last five years,” said Pat Barry, CEO of the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC).

VRM Tech, the developer of innovative mobile software apps for the construction industry, has launched Virtual Construction Management Platform (VCMP), a cloud-based app that aims to radically streamline the management of construction projects.

A must-attend free event on ventilation in low energy buildings will run alongside this year’s Energy Show – with a chance to gain rare insights from a world class panel of expert speakers on a subject that is increasingly taking centre stage as new build and retrofit ambitions increase.

Property Bridges, a new “peer to peer” property investment company that aims to connect small-scale investors and local developers, has announced the launch of its first investment opportunity — a passive house project in Dublin. 

Industry-leading mechanical ventilation company BEAM Vacuum & Ventilation has introduced a new user-friendly, high specification digital control panel for their popular Axco C130 Counterflow MVHR system. The aura-t wall mounted panel offers an advanced yet simple-to-use touchscreen controller for programming, commissioning and occupancy control.

Heat Merchants Group, the largest suppliers of heating, plumbing and home improvement materials to the professional and retail markets in Ireland, recently announced the creation of up to 75 new jobs in a €4 million investment programme that will see the opening of nine new Heat Merchants branches, and four additional Tubs & Tiles showrooms, over the next three years.

Daikin have launched a new air-to-water monobloc heat pump that the company says is the ideal system for users with limited installation space inside. “The system delivers cutting-edge performance within the market’s most compact monobloc outdoor unit,” said Daikin Ireland heating manager John O’Shaughnessy. It delivers space heating with an optional connection to provide domestic hot water.

Michael McCarthy, a certified trainer with the Passive House Academy and an international authority on the passive house standard as lead passive house certifier on the MosArt team, has joined Versatile as the new ventilation specialist within its heating, cooling & ventilation division.

This skilfully designed new passive house in Blackrock manages to be lightfilled and strikingly contemporary while taking its design inspiration from the very ordinary Dublin street on which it sits.

Keystone’s Hi-therm+ lintel has won construction product of the year at the 2018 Irish Construction Industry Awards.

nZEB Ireland, an independent not-for-profit organization established to fill the knowledge gap on the EU’s nearly zero energy building (nZEB) standard in Ireland, has been launched.

A new housing development in Naas, Co. Kildare is showing the way forward for Irish residential development, with its combination of fabric-first construction and the latest heat pump technology from Daikin.

Irish Green Building Council has awarded the exacting Home Performance Index silver certification to a multi-unit social housing development in Dún Laoghaire.

Industry-leading mechanical ventilation company Beam Vacuum & Ventilation has announced their Axco HERU 100T mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) unit is now a certified passive house component.

Dublin-based Aru Joinery has picked up the award for best window and doors installation company at Build magazine’s 2018 Sustainable Building Awards.

Dampness reduction via better ventilation seen to be key

Ancon was honoured at a royal reception on 28 June to celebrate its success in the 2018 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, the company’s third such award.

At SEAI's 2018 deep retrofit conference, there are signs that action to overhaul Ireland's outdated, inefficient building stock is gradually moving forward 

A new one-day conference set to be held in Dublin next month will look at the twin challenges of solving Ireland's housing crisis with rapid-build construction, while at the same time meeting new standards for nearly zero energy buildings (nZEBs).

Architect Tom Duffy has long had an interest in green design, and working on a self-build project for himself and his wife he was able to prove a point: making a modest family home to the highest standards need not cost the earth.

MBC Project has warned that poor quality installation risks undermining confidence in the growing external wall insulation (EWI) industry — seen as crucial for bringing Ireland’s housing stock up to modern standards of energy efficiency. Dublinbased MBC Project supplies KABE Therm external insulation systems, which include EPS and mineral wool boards.

It is simply not possible for developers to build housing in cities like Dublin and sell it for a reasonable price without making a loss, writes architect Mel Reynolds — instead, we need meaningful affordable housing schemes.

Designing a dwelling to take advantage of the sun’s free heat is a big part of what makes a passive house passive. So how do you meet the low energy standard when your narrow site faces away from the sun and is overshadowed by neighbouring houses and trees, while simultaneously hitting an A1 building energy rating – and with a stunning, architecturally expressive design?

Northern Ireland’s South West College has announced that its new Erne Campus in Enniskillen will include the first educational building in the world built to the new passive house premium standard. The campus will be constructed on the site of the former Erne Hospital.

Brady Energy Consultants, the leading Mayo-based providers of energy consulting services, have announced that senior energy consultant Cathal Brady has become a certified passive house consultant, and that the company will add thermal modelling to its range of services in 2018.

Building on the success of its award-winning Passive EcoWall concept and range of low energy training courses, Ecological Building Systems has announced the launch of its new ‘Ecobuild 2 nZEB’ one day course. This workshop will provide step-by-step instructions on building a new home with ecological materials, and using passive house principles, to meet nearly zero energy building (nZEB) standards and ensure a healthy home for life.

The extra cost of building to certified passive house levels – while also scoring an A1 BER – is as low as 0.1%, research at Ulster University has shown.

Move comes as failure to tackle carbon emissions sharply criticised