Irish news - passivehouseplus.ie

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.

Dún Laoghaire passive house scheme will be one of world’s largest

ABK Architects has received planning permission for 597 homes at Shanganagh, Co Dublin, the overwhelming majority of which will be passive houses. The project has been developed in partnership with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the Land Development Agency.

Quinn Building Products rebrands as Mannok

'Mannok' has been unveiled as the new identity for Quinn Industrial Holdings, a name which the company’s familiar brands Quinn Building Products and Quinn Packaging will transition to in the coming weeks.

Experts call for CO2 sensors as tool in Covid fight

CO2 levels in rooms and other enclosed spaces should be used as a proxy for Covid transmission risk, a number of leading experts have said, as the evidence increasingly points towards airborne transmission being a major factor in the spread of the virus.

Time to move to life cycle assessment of our buildings

New regulations over the last decade have substantially cut operational energy use in buildings, and with more building product manufacturers now publishing environmental data on their products, now is the time to move towards in-depth life cycle assessment to reveal the full environmental footprint of our buildings, Pat Barry of the Irish Green Building Council tells Passive House Plus.

Supporting green building’s upskilling

Over the past couple of months, the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) has been focusing on helping those in the industry to upskill during the lockdown.

Covid may delay Part F competency & validation rules

The Department of Housing is considering short-term changes to ventilation requirements under building regulations due to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the construction sector, Passive House Plus has learned.

SuperHomes to ramp up retrofit with new EU funding

Tipperary Energy Agency has secured significant new EU funding to further the development of its domestic retrofit programme, SuperHomes Ireland. The latest version of the scheme, dubbed ‘SuperHomes 2030’, is supported by the EU Horizon 2020 programme. The new programme will run for three years.

2020 feels pivotal for passive house - Barry McCarron, PHAI

Passive house veteran Barry McCarron has just taken over as chairperson of the Passive House Association of Ireland for a three-year term. But he believes the unique convergence of national and international events makes 2020 particularly critical for delivering a sustainable built environment.

Circular economy plans come into focus

The European Commission has adopted the EU’s new circular economy action plan, a major part of the European Green deal. The action plan aims to make the EU economy produce more durable, longerlasting, repairable consumer products, and maximise the use of recycled material.

Programme for government aims for 500,000 retrofits

The proposed programme for government agreed by Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party contains a commitment to upgrade at least 500,000 homes to a B2 energy rating by 2030, among a series of commitments on the built environment.

Daikin Ireland launches new CPD webinars

Daikin Ireland is running a new regular series of online CPD webinars to enable remote learning during the Covid-19 pandemic. The latest dates for June webinars have just been announced.

Saint Gobain launches online technical academy

Saint-Gobain Technical Academy has announced the launch of its new online academy, which the company says will “continue its commitment to equipping building professionals with key knowledge about the sustainable building agenda as well as the vital skills needed to deliver it”.

SEAI Energy Awards 2020 open for entries

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has launched its annual SEAI Energy Awards and is calling on climate action champions to showcase their achievements. Now in their 17th year, the SEAI Energy Awards recognise and reward excellence in sustainable energy in business, community, research, buildings, renewables and public sector.

Evidence of COVID-19 infections in poorly ventilated spaces

The airborne transmission of COVID-19 may be a risk in enclosed spaces with air recirculation or poor fresh air ventilation, with one study concluding that airborne transmission may have occurred in 48.3% of people in a poorly ventilated office and 34.3% of passengers on an air conditioned bus.

An Post to enter retrofit market

An Post has announced the launch of a new "green hub" providing end-to-end project management and money-saving advice for all levels of home retrofitting, along with a low-cost loan rate. The state-owned company said that this one-stop-shop approach will cover loan-only or full retrofit services, from initial home assessments to completed works, along with SEAI grant application and payment process.

Passive House Plus free to read due to Covid-19 crisis

To ensure anyone who wants to read Passive House Plus can do so easily during this challenging and disrupted time, we’re making the new issue of the magazine completely free to read, both digitally and in print. This edition is essential reading for anyone interested in how to design and spec out low energy, sustainable buildings.

RIBA launches enerphit guide

RIBA has published a new in-depth guide to the Enerphit Standard, the Passive House Institute’s benchmark for retrofit projects.

Towards a better national renovation strategy

Irish Green Building Council business development manager Marion Jammet reports on work by the IGBC to help make rollout of deep retrofit a reality.

Sola open new NZEB showroom

Leading Tipperary-based low energy retrofit contract Sola Energy Solutions have opened a new NZEB showroom designed to showcase the full suite of low energy retrofit & new build options offered by the company.

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