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Construct Ireland meets former TD and MEP Brendan Halligan in his Baggot Street office to discuss the “appalling” state of the country’s building stock, and how Ireland can become a world leader in wind energy.

In the hands of the right architect, meeting the passive house standard needn’t involve compromising on design. Construct Ireland visited a recently certified passive house which shows that a seamless low energy architecture is possible

Construct Ireland this week wrote to every local authority in the country to ask whether they follow Department of Environment advice to request building energy rating calculations at an early stage in the construction of every dwelling. The advice is designed to help ensure homes comply with Part L of the building regulations, which deal with energy efficiency.

Last year, the department told Construct Ireland that only eleven of the country's local authorities follow this "best practice", which was suggested in a circular letter sent out by department officials in 2009. The letter read:

"There is a possibility that some completed dwellings with be found by Building Control Officers (BCOs) to be non-compliant with Part L. This presents a practical difficulty in that remedial action may be difficult and expensive to achieve. In order to avoid such a situation, it is considered that best practice from an enforcement point of view would be for BCOs to ask for the Deap calculations at an early stage in the construction process. It will be readily apparent from the Deap calculations as to whether the design of the proposed building is fully compliant with Part L."

An ambitious new community initiative aims to run Clonakilty on 100% renewable energy — and with similar projects sprouting up across Ireland and Europe, it offers one local example of how our Energise Ireland campaign can achieve its primary goal: weaning Ireland off fossil fuels and on to green energy.

A striking new house in County Cork proves that meeting the passive house standard needn’t mean sacrificing good design

Innovative low energy construction is rarely recognised on a European scale. The Isover Energy Efficiency Awards are one exception — here are nominations from across the continent that were celebrated at the European awards ceremony in Barcelona on 2 June

Hi all, it's been a ridiculously long time since I've updated the  blog for various reasons, sorry about that. More normal service should resume now. Here's a few interesting links to get things kick-started again. 

What lies beneath — Ireland's septic tanks Ireland After Nama

Activity map of Ireland's unfinished estates, 2011 Ireland After Nama

Fibreglass company threatens to sue blogger (interesting story) Green Building Advisor

Top ten air leaks in existing homes Green Building Advisor

A net zero energy campus in New York city Green Building Advisor

Bigger houses, smaller energy bills: can it be done? Reuters

In the US, the energy efficiency of a house could soon be factored into a home's value Los Angeles Times

Plans to combat global warming by painting roofs white could backfire Guardian

Here's our semi-regular round up of links that might be of interest. Have a good weekend everyone. 

The 2011 Solar Decathlon — which challenges US university teams to build solar-powered homes over a week — is under way. Follow their blog and Twitter updates. Here's a video tour of just one of the projects.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7GPeEY9dYM 500x400] 

Building a school from plastic bottles for $10,000 good.is

Is green building really for everyone? Green Building Advisor

Do hybrid solar thermal-PV panels increase efficiency? Jetson Green

The cost of solar PV technology continues to drop Jetson Green

Seven green building blogs you should be reading Centre for Alternative Technology

Timber frame self build: an empowering journey in sustainable building skills Centre for Alternative Technology

Thoughts on a sustainable human ecosystem The Oil Drum

Peak oil — now or later? Energy Bulletin

Is this "zero net energy home" a model for mainstream housing in the future? Treehugger

Here's a round up of some green building and energy links that might be of interest. Busy at work here on the new issue of the mag — a passive house special edition, which goes to print early next week.

Straw houses baling out council building plans in the UK Guardian (with images here)

Demolishing Ireland's unfinished estates Ireland After Nama

Controversy brewing: the German Passivhaus Institut disowns its US satellite Green Building Advisor (more here)

Profile of the "ultra green" Zero Cottage in  California Jetson Green

Insulating old brick buildings Green Building Advisor

A green roof evolves at the Museum of London Treehugger

Why the US Energy Information Administration's analysis of peak oil is flawed Energy Bulletin

Leading green architect Michelle Kaufmann remembers sustainability pioneer and entrepreneur Ray Anderson, who died on 8 August MichelleKaufmann.com