Leading sustainable building product supplier Ecomerchant is now supplying Herschel Infrared heating panels, and Ecomerchant’s Will Kirkman says they are an ideal heating solution for passive house projects.

A big part of a comfortable household is having good indoor air quality and a comfortable air temperature. Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) is an efficient way of providing the necessary ventilation with little heat loss.

A thermal imaging report carried out by thermography experts EcoScan has revealed crucial differences in energy performance between a new light-gauge steel-frame house in Sligo, and a neighbouring house of cavity wall construction.

A building doesn’t have to be designed as a cube to meet the passive house standard, but it helps. This as yet uncertified passive house in Carlow shows that, climate permitting, less compact designs can be made passive – by pushing the envelope.

Heat recovery ventilation, a technology that has become a standard building application in Scandinavian countries, is rapidly gaining recognition in Ireland as a solution to both problems.