Irish cellulose insulation manufacturer Ecocel is currently on site completing the installation of its cellulose insulation to a new social housing development in County Cork.

Cork-based insulation manufacturer Ecocel has published an environmental product declaration (EPD) for its cellulose insulation which reveals the product has a remarkably low carbon footprint.

We all know the value of good insulation in improving the energy performance of a building, so why then are attics often an afterthought?

Irish cellulose insulation manufacturer Ecocel has warned that attic insulation, one of the most straightforward ways of improving thermal performance in typical dwellings, is frequently being neglected in favour of more complex energy efficiency solutions.

Award winning Cork-based insulation manufacturer Ecocel will shortly open its doors for a series of factory tours, with the aim of increasing awareness of the importance of eco-friendly, healthy insulation.

Cork based cellulose insulation manufacturer Ecocel has won a bronze Green Apple award, the prestigious international award for the built environment and architectural heritage. The award was presented to Ecocel’s managing director John Egan at a ceremony on 8 August in London.  

In October 2015, PYC Systems carried out the first of several air tests at the Hilltop project in Richard’s Castle on the Hertfordshire— Shropshire border, Architype’s first small scale residential passive house project. The first blower door test result was 0.59 air changes per hour (ACH), prior to insulating the envelope, which everyone was keen to improve on as it only marginally passed the passive house standard and was prior to fitting services, which are known to increase the risk of air leaks. 

Cork City Council has added cellulose to its list of approved insulation products for its social housing attic upgrades. 

This summer, work was completed on the Enterprise Centre at the University of East Anglia, which might just be the most sustainable large building ever constructed in Britain.

Building this stylish south Dublin passive house, which recently picked up a Made in Germany energy efficiency award, demanded a steep learning curve, not least when it came to airtightness — but despite the struggles, it ultimately gave its owners their dream low energy home.
Words: Des Crabbe, architectural technologist, OA Studios

This upgrade and extension to a rural home in County Cork cut its energy use by almost 90%, bringing it to the cusp of an A1 Building Energy Rating.

Leading green architect Miles Sampson and contractor Niall Dolan of GreenTec Homes have joined forces to launch Quality Eco Homes, a new company that will offer complete sustainable design and build service.

Any building, no matter how cold and draughty, no matter how remote, can be improved to world-class energy performance, as an upgraded and extended Donegal cottage dating back to the 1800s proves.

Foxrock passive development built with externally insulated poroton & aircrete blocks along with timber frame

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.

The previous edition of Construct Ireland featured an article by leading green architect Joseph Little analysing the insulated dry-lined blockwork walls typical of many homes in Irish housing estates, looking particularly at moisture movement within the external walls. Continuing on from that article, Little looks at the implications of several ways of insulating houses of hollow block construction.

A new development in County Westmeath answers a nagging question about district heating: how to make it financially viable when it services energy efficient buildings. Lenny Antonelli visited a housing estate that combines low energy design with an innovative district heating system and ecological timber frame construction

Located in Oldtown, a hard to find country town in County Dublin, is a stunning new one-off house that not only manages to bring open-plan living to rural life, but also meets the onerous passive house standards using low impact materials. Jason Walsh visited the site as the house neared completion to find out more, an opportunity that Construct Ireland couldn’t pass up

Germany has a reputation for high quality craftsmanship, an attention to detail and a positive attitude to sustainable and healthy housing. Jason Walsh visited a new German-built house in County Dublin to see if the expertise can be exported.

Just outside the quiet rural town of Templepatrick, County Antrim, located ten miles north of Belfast, is a timber frame house that sets new standards for comfort and, the owners hope, sustainability. Jason Walsh visited the house and found a traditional aesthetic that belies its ultra modern sustainability features

If the issue of sustainability is to truly be on the agenda in terms of construction and development, it is nowhere more evident than in how we approach insulation. Recognition of the economic and environmental benefits of properly insulating our buildings is being called for by experts on environmentally conscious construction, such as RTE TV presenter Duncan Stewart

Many of the opportunities that trees offer for sustainable building are harnessed by a housing development in Ballymahon, Co. Longford which combines timber frame construction with recycled newspaper insulation and wood pellet heating. Adding in solar panels and attention to detail for airtightness, these low energy, low carbon homes reveal a developer who sees a bright future in going green. John Hearne visited the site to find out more.