The upgrade of Ireland's retrofit target to A3 marks a critical step forward, bridging the gap between energy modelling and real-world performance, explains Dr. Marc Ó Riain.
As electricity decarbonises, the case for switching from fossil fuel boilers to efficient use of electricity to heat buildings via heat pumps has become overwhelming. But in markets like the UK where electricity is far more expensive than the European average, and people on low incomes may be chronically underheating poorly insulated homes, could a drive to electrify heating exacerbate energy poverty?
Peter Rickaby looks back on an extraordinary career, the challenge of convincing people of the need for a new approach to buildings, and the people who helped him to do just that.
The transformative power of industrialised retrofit
Written by Ele GeorgeTripling EU / UK Energy Efficiency Policy: the NZEB
Written by Marc O'RiainOne of Europe’s key climate breakthroughs came in the form of the EU’s nearly zero energy building target, as Dr. Marc Ó Riain explains in the latest part of his series on the history of low energy building.
In the latest piece in his series on the development of low energy building, Dr Marc Ó Riain describes the evolution and Impact of EPCs in Ireland and the UK.
How to thrive in the new, green EU policy landscape
Written by Lenny AntonelliNew and tightening sustainability requirements are hitting the construction sector at an increasing pace. Irish Green Building Council membership engagement officer Lenny Antonelli goes through the main requirements – and offers clues on how to keep ahead.
The construction industry is moving in great numbers towards the passive house standard. In an adapted version of a speech at the Construction Industry Federation Conference in September, Passive House Association of Ireland chair Caroline Ashe Brady looks at the trek ahead.
Recent analysis has suggested a slowdown in the property sector for 2024, but what impact might a drop in inflation have? Mel Reynolds runs the numbers.
Leveraging the CO2 Performance Ladder for green public procurement
Rachel Loughrey
Bedding sustainability into British buildings: Bioregional’s BedZed
Written by Marc O'Riain
In the face of an affordability crisis, first time buyers of new homes are being offered a cocktail of incentives to help them get on the property ladder, including the government’s Help to Buy and First Home schemes. Mel Reynolds asks: are these the solution to the affordability crisis?
Awaab Ishak’s death shows that building physics are a life and death matter
Written by Toby CambrayAdvances in building physics in recent years are leading to an ever-increasing understanding among experts of the risks that a litany of pollutants can pose to building occupants. But this has not stopped vulnerable people from living – and dying - in substandard buildings that exacerbate these risks. Urgent action is needed, Toby Cambray explains, to better communicate and decisively tackle the risks buildings can pose to their occupants.
Healthy Homes Ireland launches indoor environmental quality report
Kevin O'Rourke