Timber house in Scottish Borders built without nails or glue
Written by Lenny Antonelli
The new issue of Passive House Plus includes our first ever Brettstapel building, a type of massive timber construction that uses no glues or nails, and that makes use of low grade timber otherwise unsuitable for construction.
Comment - Why the path to recovery will be passive
Written by Tomás O'Leary
MosArt & Passive House Academy co-founder Tomás O’Leary sees great prospects for Ireland’s beleaguered construction sector – if we embrace the passive house approach
Circulation & readership: our approach explained
Written by Jeff Colley
Circulation and readership aren’t the same thing, though some people conflate them.
Circulation’s easy to measure – if you’re willing to subject your magazine to the scrutiny of independent auditing – but readership’s another matter. So let’s deal with circulation first.
China plans world's tallest building, but do green claims stack up?
Written by Lenny Antonelli
Perhaps not surprisingly, Dubai's 828 metre Burj Khalifa might soon be overtaken as the world's tallest building. What's more, construction firm Broad Sustainable Building plans to build the 838 metre Sky City tower in Changsha, China in just 90 days.
Who wouldn't love a treehouse to escape to, whatever your age? Seen as a way to combine modern living with design that fits neatly in its landscape, architect-designed treehouses seem to be all the rage right now - whether as secluded escapes or permanent residences.
HPA: it's official, heat pumps offer the lowest running costs
Written by Jeff Colley
The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has introduced estimated running costs for heat pumps into its monthly domestic fuel costs report.
The figures for July released by SEAI now include a section on electricity used by heat pumps, highlighting the difference in operating costs for heat pump technology over other fuels for the first time.
Why Construct Ireland is becoming Passive House Plus
Written by Jeff Colley
We’ve just published the final issue of Construct Ireland. I say those words not with despondency but with excitement. Mercifully, we haven’t fallen victim to the decline of the construction industry, like so many other construction magazines. Nor are we suffering the fate anticipated for so many magazine titles, with collapses in sales, subscriptions and advertising revenue from print versions not being countered by sufficient income from websites or apps.
Construct Ireland to rebrand as Passive House Plus
Written by News Desk
Construct Ireland is to be renamed Passive House Plus, with separate editions published for the Irish and UK markets.
The first issue of Passive House Plus will be published as an Ireland only edition in October, with separate Irish and UK editions set to be published early in 2013.
Meeting Part L compliance with solar electricity in apartments and large houses
Written by Quentin Gargan
Using solar thermal systems to meet the Part L renewable energy requirement in apartment blocks can be problematic. Long pipe runs in apartment blocks drastically reduce the efficiency and increase the cost of installation. Unoccupied dwellings have overheating problems, and the entire system requires regular maintenance. Photovoltaic systems suffer none of these disadvantages, and are simple and quick to install.
Over three out of four domestic new build enquiries to Construct Ireland are from people aiming for certified passive or near passive standards, the latest data from our reader enquiry service reveals.
The enquiry system connects readers looking to build or upgrade with the sustainable product and service providers who advertise in the latest issue of Construct Ireland.
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Bord Gáis calls it quits on home insulation business
Written by News Desk
Bord Gáis has ceased offering home insulation products and boiler installations through its Home Team division due to a drop off in demand. The company will continue to offer boiler servicing and repair.
The move reflects the recent nationwide decline in home energy upgrades, a trend that is investigated in the new issue of Construct Ireland.
Hey everyone, check out this trailer for Tiny, a documentary about "one man’s attempt to build a tiny house from scratch in the mountains of Colorado". According to its website, the film is a "a meditation on the relationship of home to environment". It's set to be released later this summer. I blogged about the small house movement before here.
SEAI opens up with Building Energy Rating database
Written by Jeff Colley
In an act of laudable transparency, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has put every the details of every Building Energy Rating yet published for dwelling in the country online. The SEAI National BER Research Tool includes information from almost 290,000 BERs for new and existing homes that have been published to date, along with provisional BERs.