This issue’s selection features ultra low energy buildings from Mexico, Germany, New Zealand and Italy, and illustrates how widely the energy efficiency specification can vary in different climate zones.

A building’s airtightness test result isn’t just an indicator of its energy efficiency – it’s an unambiguous indicator of build quality. With a little care in design and on site, airtightness targets that may seem impossibly tough are anything but, argues leading architect and certified passive house designer Simon McGuinness.

Tina Holt had experience advising homeowners on energy efficiency, so when she wanted a low energy home, buying a run-down 1950s dwelling and aiming to turn it passive was an obvious step. She tells her own story below.

Tipperary Energy Agency has announced the launch of its Superhomes pilot project, which is seeking 20 suitable homes anywhere in Ireland to undertake an energy retrofit. The works will be financed by the Better Energy Scheme and run in conjunction with AIB and Electric Ireland.

There is a great urgency, as Europe moves closer to the 2020 energy efficiency targets, to develop a skilled workforce that can work together to deliver low-energy projects. One EU initiative, Build Up Skills, has been designed to “stimulate the training of craftspeople and other on-site workers in the building sector on the topics of energy efficiency and renewable energy.”

The winners of the Passivhaus Trust's 2015 UK Passivhaus Awards were announced at a ceremony in London on Wednesday night. The awards aim to celebrate the design and performance of passive house buildings in the UK. 

On Monday the Irish Times reported that both Nama and the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) had objected to plans by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to make the passive house house standard mandatory for all new buildings under the local authority’s latest development plan, which is due to come into force next year.

At this year's International Passive House Conference in Germany, the Pioneer Award will recognise early Canadian landmarks in energy effiicent building, and in particular the groundbreaking Saskatchewan Conservation House. 

The first delivery of the QualiBuild Foundation Energy Skills training will start later this month, and the course is open to all building construction workers to apply.

The Passive House Institute has announcd the launch of its two new certification categories, Passive House Plus and Passive House Premium, which recognise on-site renewable energy generation. 

Irish minister for energy Alex White has announced a boost in the level of grants available to householders who want to undertake energy efficiency improvements. The cash value of every grant available to householders under the Better Energy Homes Scheme has been increased by between 25 to 50%. In addition, a bonus payment has been introduced which will see householders receive bonus payments if they complete three or more energy efficiency improvements.

Passive House Plus analyses Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council's plan to make the passive house standard mandatory for all new buildings in the district. 

The combined floor area of certified passive buildings worldwide has reached the one million metre mark with the certification of a retrofit project in Santa Cruz, California. 

Hastoe Housing Association has released the findings of a two year study on its first passive house housing development, Wimbish in Essex. The study found that the development performs as designed and delivers very low heating bills for residents.

Dublin’s old city wall in Woodquay provided the backdrop on Wednesday 15 October to a conference, titled 'Better Than Best Practice', on the urgent need to upskill the Irish construction industry. 

Nearly a third of construction professionals did not know about the nearly-zero energy requirement for all new buildings by the year 2020, according to a survey of Passive House Plus readers.

The majority of homes in Dublin city have a Building Energy Rating (BER) of D1 or lower, according to figures released by Dublin’s energy agency Codema.

Leading Irish property portal Daft.ie’s latest quarterly rental report was published this week, and included an assertion on the link between construction and planning requirements and the profitability of development – an assertion our editor felt Jeff Colley compelled to debunk.

In this blog post, Paul Doran recalls the challenges and lessons of building a low energy home on a tight budget for his family. 

Sustainable building pioneers The Green Register will run a new half-day seminar in London on 27 June 2014 entitled ‘Achieving energy efficiency and preserving historic buildings - surely too good to be true?’

The number of certified passive house designers and consultants has passed the 4,000 mark globally, after the latest round of exams were held in more than 30 countries across Europe, North America and Asia. 

Building with an eye to energy efficiency is not only cost-effective, it can also augment architectural design. This has been proven by the winners of the 2014 Passive House Award. Six buildings and one region were recognised today at the opening of the International Passive House Conference in Aachen: an apartment block in Berlin; a New York retrofit; a seminar building in Goesan, South Korea; an art museum in Ravensburg, Germany; a building complex in Espoo, Finland; a terraced house in Philadelphia; and an entire passive house district in Heidelberg.

The Passive House Institute has announced the finalists for this year’s Passive House Award. The winners, across six categories, will be announced on 25 April at the International Passive House Conference in Aachen, Germany.

The UK’s Passivhaus Trust will hold a conference on large scale passive house developments on 30 April in Glasgow.

Kensa Heat Pumps has announced Lord Taylor of Goss Moor as its new chairman. According to Kensa the peer's appointment will be instrumental in the Cornish company’s growth as the UK’s leading supplier of ground source heat pumps.

Check out this video below of Passive House Institute founder Prof Wolfgang Feist speaking at last year's See The Light conference in Dublin, which was organised by the Passive House Association of Ireland.

The Passive House Institute has announced the launch of a new award for window systems. 

A virtual, online green building trade fair will take place across Europe on 18 and 19 February 2014. 

SEAI last week announced that Better Energy Homes, its home energy upgrade grant programme, would continue through 2014.

The International Passive House Days, during which passive buildings around the world open their doors to the public, took place this year from November 8-10. This year marked the 10th anniversary of the event.