Built on a particularly exposed site near Chichester where winter temperatures plummet all too frequently – down as low as minus sixteen – the award-winning Curly House had to overcome several challenges.
Three year old passive house, Dunmore East, Co. Waterford
Written by John Cradden
Featured in a case study in Passive House Plus not long after it was completed in 2015, quantity surveyor John Carney’s passive house on the windswept but sunny Waterford coast has now been occupied for almost three years.
The PH+ guide to insulating concrete formwork
Written by John Cradden
As demand for super-insulated and airtight building structures grows, insulating concrete formwork (ICF) is rapidly gaining popularity as a method of construction. But what exactly is ICF, what are its key advantages, and why is it so well suited to passive house and low energy construction?
Current Irish housing policy is to not build housing
Written by Mel Reynolds
Even the most cursory examination of the figures shows how little housing the state is building, writes architect Mel Reynolds.
UK Passivhaus Awards to be presented at London Build
Written by News Desk
The annual UK Passivhaus Awards take place this year on 24 October at the London Build trade fair.
Charlie Luxton launches Ecological’s UK seminar tour
Written by News Desk
Charlie Luxton will speak at the first event in Ecological’s Perfect Airtight Seal on 16 October at the National Self Build and Renovation Centre, Swindon, while the London event on 18 October will take place in the Building Centre.
SOLA Energy Solutions, the pioneering Tipperary based deep retrofit contractor, is currently seeking to hire two mechanical/building service engineers to join its growing team.
Future proof: designing buildings that withstand climate change
Written by Kate de Selincourt
Over the past year cold snaps, heat waves and severe storms have all brought the reality of the climate crisis home to the UK and Ireland. But with the climate changing in fast and uncertain ways, how can we construct buildings that will remain resilient — and keep their occupants healthy and comfortable — long into the future?
BER data: sick buildings risk while new build surges
Written by Jeff Colley
Over a third of new homes may be sick buildings which fail to comply with minimum ventilation requirements under Part F of the building regulations, new analysis by Passive House Plus has indicated.
Daikin launches new Altherma monobloc heat pump
Written by News Desk
Daikin have launched a new air-to-water monobloc heat pump that the company says is the ideal system for users with limited installation space inside. “The system delivers cutting-edge performance within the market’s most compact monobloc outdoor unit,” said Daikin Ireland heating manager John O’Shaughnessy. It delivers space heating with an optional connection to provide domestic hot water.
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When architect Tony Godwin wandered into a seminar on the passive house standard at Ecobuild ten years ago, it was the start of a journey that would eventually see him design and build his own passive home on a sloping site — and learn some hard lessons along the way to achieving a comfortable, ultra-low energy family home with tiny energy bills.
In the classic story of the three little pigs, the big bad wolf may have blown down the first little piggy’s house of straw with consummate ease — but he wasn’t reckoning with this pioneering, energy bill-shredding Suffolk project, the UK’s first load-bearing straw bale passive house
Michael McCarthy, a certified trainer with the Passive House Academy and an international authority on the passive house standard as lead passive house certifier on the MosArt team, has joined Versatile as the new ventilation specialist within its heating, cooling & ventilation division.
The imperative to engage in evidence-based deep retrofit grows by the day. With the UK government dragging its heels, Peter Rickaby finds signs of hope in local initiatives, and in burgeoning Irish efforts.