West Midlands school achieves 90 percent energy saving
Written by Lenny Antonelli
Building a passive house school is a big achievement, but the team behind Oakmeadow Primary School in Wolverhampton have done something even more formidable — they built one when they weren't even asked to, and they did it for a conventional budget.
Built on a tricky site in the seaside town of Salthill, Co Galway, Ireland’s first semi-detached passive house development is designed to meet the needs of three generations from the same family.
Extraordinary performance, ordinary cost
Written by Lenny Antonelli
A new timber frame house in Co Cork doesn't just meet the passive house standard, it does so for an impressive price.
International selection - From Austria to Frank Lloyd Wright
Written by Lenny Antonelli
Picking from some of the best current sustainable design the world has to offer, we profile a floating passive house currently moored in the Netherlands, a ground-breaking timber hybrid tower in Austria, a multi unit passive scheme in Malmö, and an Enerphit upgrade to a brutalist Connecticut home originally designed by one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s colleagues.
Certified passive buildings now cover 1 million square metres
Written by Lenny Antonelli
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.
The passive house standard may be acceptable as an alternative method of compliance with Ireland’s stringent energy efficiency regulations, according to a leading expert in energy and construction law, leaving the door open to a similar approach in the UK.
Showcase presents low energy German-Irish projects
Written by Lenny Antonelli
Last week, the German-Irish Chamber of Commerce showcased five Irish low energy building projects that incorporated German energy effiiciency technology. The projects include a certified passive house, a radiant heating ceiling system, and two CHP units.
Ecological Building Systems launches build fabric training programme
Written by Dudley Colley
Following a successful World Green Building Week series of seminars and demonstrations in September, Ecological Building Systems has announced a series of new training courses and seminars.
Genvex units bring heat, fresh air & hot water to award-winning scheme
Written by Lenny Antonelli
The Burnham Overy Staithe development in North Norfolk picked up a prestigious UK Passivhaus Award in October, and is profiled in depth on page 28 of the new issue of Passive House Plus.
Mitsubishi launches air-source heat pumps with up to 440% SPF
Written by Lenny Antonelli
The line-up for the self-contained outdoor units now boasts 5kW, 8.5kW, 11.2kW and 14kW units, to make Ecodan suitable for almost any situation.
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2014 UK Passivhaus Conference: in-depth report
Written by Kate de Selincourt
The 2014 UK Passivhaus conference, held this year in Stevenage, was, like the previous such events, completely packed. Discussion centred around fine tuning of financing, delivery and performance — and on how to bring the wider construction sector on board the passive house agenda.
Passive house can help alleviate fuel poverty — report
Written by Lenny Antonelli
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.
Conference hears of urgent need to upskill Irish construction workers
Written by Lenny Antonelli
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.
Irish construction industry not ready for new EU energy standards
Written by Lenny Antonelli
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.