Passive house taking off in the South Pacific, conference hears
Written by Andrew Michler
Passive house indeed works everywhere was the core message at the second annual South Pacific Passive House Conference, writes Andrew Michler. The conference was held in Melbourne on 12-13 February. While just a handful of passive houses have been completed in Australia so far, a sizable contingent from New Zealand came to the conference armed with multiple examples of how even warm climate buildings benefit from the energy savings, comfort and critically the health of a passive house. With a major spike in asthma from damp and mouldy homes, the principles such as airtightness, controlled air exchange, and thermal bridge free design are finally being accepted as the best solution in this part of the world.
Planning granted for new passive house in listed parkland
Written by News Desk
Casa Architects has achieved NPPF 55 statusfor the development of a new passive housein a listed parkland near Frome, Somerset.NPPF 55, recognised as one of the mostdifficult planning applications to achieve, setsstrict planning restrictions to allow only trulyoutstanding or innovative architecture of thevery highest quality and standard to be built in the English countryside.
SmartPly and ProAir Systems get passive house certification in boost for Irish manufacturers
Written by Lenny Antonelli
Two leading Irish manufacturers of passive house components have both received passive house certification for their systems.
Cellulose insulation improves airtightness by 30% — PYC Systems
Written by News Desk
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.
Urban Front integrates passive pet flap in Oxford passive house
Written by News Desk
Buckinghamshire-based passive house door manufacturer Urban Front can now integrate airtight, insulated, thermally broken Petwalk pet flaps into their door systems, as one of the company’s latest door projects shows.
Viessmann installs ice store heating system in Huf Haus
Written by News Desk
Leading international sustainable technology manufacturer Viessmann has collaborated with high end prefabricated house manufacturer Huf Haus, to equip a UK residential property with first-of-its-kind technology.
2016 Passivhaus Awards features best in British passive design
Written by News Desk
The shortlist of projects for this year’s 2016 UK Passivhaus Awards has been announced. There are just two categories this year, urban and rural, with Rehau being the main sponsor.
Architype progress 80 unit passive house project in Hertfordshire
Written by News Desk
Outline planning permission for an extra care residential scheme has been granted in rural Herefordshire, following submission of a highly sustainable passive house design by Architype architects to provide up to 80 highend apartments in Whitestone.
UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings launched at UCL
Written by News Desk
An initiative aiming to increase knowledge and understanding of the issues moisture can cause in buildings old and new, was launched in London on 26 May. The UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings (UKCMB), backed by University College London and other academic institutions plus the BRE, plans an ambitious programme of research, public engagement, policy work and training to improve moisture safety.
Solar Electric Ireland wins ‘Product of the Show’ at Energy Awards
Written by News Desk
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s (SEAI) annual two-day business-to-business event, the Energy Show 2016, was a huge success with visitors up a quarter on last year.
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Government, industry and NGOs meet to develop Irish retrofit strategy
Written by News Desk
A cross sectoral group of organisations from government, local authorities, industry and charities met on 25 May to develop an ambitious strategy to improve the quality of the Irish existing housing stock
The Irish Green Building Council has launched a voluntary quality labelling scheme for new residential development in Dublin. The label, called the Home Performance Index (HPI), goes well beyond the existing building energy rating (BER) system to look at a wider range of issues that impact the quality and sustainability of new residential construction.
Daikin hosts social housing sustainable heating forum
Written by News Desk
On 20 April the Irish arm of the world’s largest heat pump manufacturer, Daikin, hosted a social housing forum at the Mullingar Park Hotel in Westmeath. Attendees primarily included architects, consultants, and representatives of housing bodies and local authority housing departments from all over the country.
Kore, based in Kilnaleck, Co. Cavan, is the first company in Ireland to obtain integrated ISO certification for both the ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 14001:2015 standards from the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI). ISO 9001 is one of the most widely used management tools worldwide, while ISO 14001 is the standard for environmental management. Both standards are internationally recognised.