Lenny Antonelli is deputy editor of Passive House Plus. He also writes regularly for the Irish Times, and has contributed to a variety of other publications including the Sunday Times, the CS Monitor, Village, the Sunday Tribune amd the Dubliner. He is currently working on a radio documentary on Ireland's oceans.
Power to the people
The ESB's Home Insulation Scheme aimed to upgrade the homes of 1,000 pensioners on fuel allowance last year - it ended up reaching almost three times that number, reducing carbon emissions and improving the lives of many. Lenny Antonelli found out more.
Pushing the envelope
It’s not surprising that a 1970s bungalow on an exposed north-facing site might be draughty and burdened with high energy bills - but external insulation, a new heating system and a brand new roof can make all the difference. Lenny Antonelli reports.
Solid as a rock
With over twenty years of design behind him, architect Martin Meyer has tackled plenty of big projects in his time, but his first home renovation challenge – to turn a dank 19th century red-brick house into a bright energy efficient home – was still eye-opening. Lenny Antonelli reports.
Green building & energy links, April 8
For your perusal:
A journalist re-designs his neighbourhood: Grist
Is the Passivhaus standard too inflexible for America? Treehugger
Solar plane takes first successful flight: Inhabitat
A few interesting green buildings: Wildlife Conservation Society HQ, Harpoon House, Maine low enegy house, Dairy barn converted into eco home, Guelph City Hall
Frank Gehry not a fan of green architecture, says the cost of green building is "enormous": Infrastructurist
Applying Passivhaus to a "centuries old" building: Green Building Advisor
How to sell green products to builders: Green Building Advisor
Sustainable 'superbus' under development: Energy Saving Trust (more here)
Best of green design & architecture, 2010: Jetson Green
Village green
Plans for the first Irish eco-village have been in the works since 1999, but – finally – work is well underway at The Village in Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary. Following a site visit in December, Lenny Antonelli gives an overview of the innovative project’s renewable energy district heating system and sustainable planning and community design approach, before profiling four of the first houses to be built.
Solar Decathlon
Lenny Antonelli takes a look at some of the entrants of the 2009 Solar Decathlon, a competition that challenges university teams from around the world to design and build homes that capture the sun’s energy.
SEAI launches 2010 Energy Awards
As it says on the tin. Full details here.
Does Ireland need a green bank?
Sorry for the prolonged absence - after the madness of the last CI deadline I took a week off, but normal service will resume now.
The following letter appeared in the Guardian a couple of weeks ago. Does Ireland need a green bank too, or are the big banks' 'green funds' enough?
We agree that the chancellor should next week announce an investment bank to help build green business and infrastructure (Editorial, 17 March). Up to £750bn needs to be invested in low-carbon infrastructure, low-carbon energy and energy efficiency over the next two decades. This will only be achieved if a green infrastructure bank is set up in the public interest to help leverage and deploy private capital at the scale and speed required. This bank must have a clearcut mission to accelerate investment in the low-carbon economy. A general infrastructure bank without this primary mandate risks locking the UK into a high-carbon future. That would cause immense damage to our economic, energy and climate security.
Adrian Wilkes Environmental Industries Commission, Paul King Green Building Council, Gaynor Hartnell Renewable Energy Association, James Cameron Climate Change Capital, Peter Young The Aldersgate Group, Andy Atkins Friends of the Earth, John Sauven Greenpeace, Nick Mabey E3G, Stephen Hale Green Alliance, Andrew Simms New Economics Foundation, Sean Kidney Network for Sustainable Financial Markets, Jonathan Johns Climate Change Matters
Green building & energy links, Feb 19
A bumper bunch of links today:
Video of Bill Gates talking about 'zero carbon' at the TED conference: TED
World's tallest building closed indefintely: Archinect
50 "must read" green engineering blogs: Top Online Engineering Degree
Passivhaus renovation of a Victorian terrace house: TreeHugger
Are the days of the cul de sac over? Treehugger
Looking at lights from space - a sign of progress or failure? Treehugger
Norway to build world's largest wind turbine: Inhabitat
The coming renaissance of electrical contractors: softwareadvice.com
Would you live in a shipping container? Inhabitat
Is the Living Building Challenge the toughest green building standard in the world? Jetson Green
UK boiler scrappage scheme a "success": Energy Savings Trust
Barack Obama's $5bn green home gets off to a slow start: Guardian
Loft insulation - Australia's burning issue: Guardian
...and lastly, officials in Tysons Corner, Virigina are thinking of letting developers build at higher densities if their buildings are greener - a concept known as 'planning gain', and something I wrote about in my first ever article for Construct Ireland. See Green Building Law Update for more.
BER assessors association to host AGM in Dublin
The BER Assessors Association of Ireland will hold its AGM and a series of workshops tomorrow, Friday February 19, in the Red Cow Moran Hotel, Dublin.
The workshops are open to members and non-members of the association. Information stands will be hosted by FÁS, Flo Gas, Kingspan Insulation, Kingspan Solar, OWL, Ecological Building Systems, and Construct Ireland.