Dublin hillside rebuild tackles low energy in stages
Written by Lenny Antonelli
Some buildings are beyond saving, such as a south Dublin cottage which had to be knocked to deliver the first phase of a sleek new low energy home.
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.
This certified passive house on the west coast of Scotland might look like a traditional hayshed, but it’s certainly more energy efficient than one.
Sussex social scheme pits passive against the code
Written by John Hearne
In the absence of strong energy requirements under building regulations, much of the UK’s new build innovation has been driven by the Code for Sustainable Homes. Amid growing concern that the code’s attention to energy efficiency falls some way short of passive house, monitoring results from one social housing scheme offer a rare opportunity for direct comparison.
Laois self-builder goes hands-on to hit passive
Written by John Hearne
In spite of having no construction experience Steve O’Rourke decided to make his self-build home a passive house, a feat achieved by a well-considered and collaborative approach.
Exploding the myth that passive house means unfamiliar construction methods and considerable expense, one Cork-based builder has gone passive using wide cavity wall construction – for a competitive cost of €100 per sq ft.
This issue’s selection of international buildings include Spain’s first passive houses built from straw bales, an architecturally striking energy-plus office building in Denmark, and an Austrian family home that marries ecology, comfort and delightful design.
DVS to showcase passive roof lights at Passivhaus Conference
Written by Lenny Antonelli
DVS (Daylight & Ventilation Solutions), rooflight supplier to Point6Projects’ outstanding Oyster Falls House in Devon, which is featured in the new issue of Passive House Plus, will be exhibiting at the 2015 UK Passivhaus Conference at the London Design Centre on Tuesday, October 20th.
Dún Laoghaire votes emphatically for passive house standard
Written by Jeff Colley
Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown County Council has voted emphatically to make the passive house standard mandatory for new buildings. At a meeting on Tuesday night, councillors voted by 26 votes to 13 in support of putting the clause in the local authority’s development plan for 2016 to 2022.
Business leaders support Dún Laoghaire Rathdown passive house plan
Written by Lenny Antonelli
Leading businesses in the building materials sector — including semi-state timber company Coillte and insulation manufacturer Kingspan — have declared their support for plans by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to make the passive house standard mandatory for new buildings.
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Learn to build passive with Saint-Gobain this autumn
Written by Lenny Antonelli
The Passive House Academy, in association with Saint-Gobain, will run a Passive House Tradesperson course on 21 and 22 October at the Saint-Gobain Technical Academy in Erith, Kent. The course will cover passive house design principles, U-value calculations, thermal bridging and airtightness, insulation materials, passive house glazing, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery systems, and much more.
Passive house is no longer just the preserve of the self-builder. With over 300 passive houses built to date in multi unit-schemes and a thousand more on the way – along with major non-domestic builds – increasing numbers of British & Irish developers are going passive. But how will the sector cope with upscaling, and will the most cost-conscious developers be attracted to the standard?
Hitting the Enerphit standard can be challenging for even the most seasoned passive house specialist, so what chances did Kate and Geoff Ball’s semi-d have when the architect and builder had no passive experience? With a well-planned approach and no end of enthusiasm, they passed with flying colours, as Kate Ball explains.
