Blowerproof airtight liquid membrane gets BBA certified
Written by News Desk
Blowerproof liquid air-tight membrane has been certified by the British Board of Agrément. Blowerproof has been used widely across Europe for many years as a proven and effective method of achieving high levels of airtightness in many different buildings, and on a wide range of substrates.
Europe’s first purpose-built ‘3D textbook’ building has opened at the Rediscovery Centre in the old boiler house at Ballymun, which recently won the Green Building Award at the 2017 Green Awards.
Change habits to tackle climate change, passive house conference hears
Written by News Desk
13 affordable passive homes completed in Crawley, West Sussex
Written by News Desk
Angela Merkel opens €50m Viessmann innovation centre
Written by News Desk
German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the Viessmann Group’s new technological research and development centre in Allendorf, Germany on 12 April. The €50 million investment by Viessmann, one of the leading international manufacturers of heating, industrial and refrigeration systems, sets a milestone in interdisciplinary development and innovation, the company said.
An avoidable tragedy: questions for the public inquiry on Grenfell Tower
Written by Peter Rickaby
On 13 June, in an address about retrofit policy to the joint conference of the Sustainable Traditional Buildings Alliance and the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, I suggested that the UK retrofit industry is dangerously incompetent, and that is why we need to implement the Each Home Counts industry review. Little did I know that in less than twenty-four hours those words would come back to haunt me in the most horrific way, writes Dr Peter Rickaby.
Passive house district uses one-third the heat of typical apartments — report
Written by News Desk
A major research project by the Passive House Institute has found that heat energy consumption of the passive house district of Bahnstadt, in the city of Heidelberg, Germany, is roughly one-third that of conventional housing developments.
Dublin to host first deep retrofit conference on 21 June
Written by News Desk
SEAI will host Ireland’s first ever deep retrofit conference at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on 21 June.
How to prepare to deliver nearly zero energy buildings
Written by Simon McGuinness
In the second instalment of this column, architect and DIT lecturer Simon McGuinness outlines the key priorities for the industry to learn in order to deliver successful ultra low energy buildings in 2017 and beyond.
The gradual decarbonisation of our electricity grids — as renewable energy is phased in, while coal and peat are phased out — coupled with the proliferation of new buildings with very limited heat demand, has some experts asking if heating our homes and offices directly with electricity is starting to make sense again. So is it time to bring back the dreaded storage heater?
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Brecon Beacons stone cottage gets Enerphit treatment
Written by John Cradden
When it came to upgrading an old stone-walled building to the Enerphit standard — with all the inherent challenges such an upgrade poses for energy, airtightness and moisture — who better to have as your client and defacto site manager than a professor of physics?
18th century ruin becomes stylish low-energy home
Written by John Cradden
Homeowners Anne and Patrick Jordan’s ambitious upgrade and extension project in County Kildare took the shell of an 18th century farmhouse and transformed it into an elegant family home with a striking-yet-sensitive modern extension — all while embracing a healthy and fabric-first approach to retrofit combined with clever heating system design that has brought them from a G to an A3 rating.
The SuperHomes Ireland retrofit scheme is open for applications for 2017. The scheme is designed to help homeowners retrofit their properties to an A3 BER standard.
Swegon launches new WISE demand controlled ventilation system
Written by News Desk
Swegon has launched its new generation WISE demand controlled ventilation system, which “represents over 15 years’ experience and the latest pioneering technology in demand controlled ventilation”.