During a speech last year Theresa May challenged the construction industry to halve the energy use of new buildings, and to halve the cost of retrofit. But we already know how to meet these challenges, writes Peter Rickaby, and much more difficult tasks lie ahead.

With obsessive attention to preserving and restoring the original fabric of these two Victorian townhouses, and a commitment to shunning petrochemicals and using only natural materials, could this be the most wildly ambitious and sustainable passive retrofit ever undertaken in the UK?

The UK’s official climate change advisor has called on the government to tighten energy efficiency standards for new housing to bring them down, or close to, passive house standard.

Airtightness membrane specialists Passive Purple are putting their money where their mouth is – by guaranteeing passive house levels of airtightness.

A state-of-the-art archive building in Cambridgeshire, which has been built to house Imperial War Museums’ (IWM) rich paper collection, has registered the best airtightness test result ever recorded in the UK – and perhaps, the world.

Keystone Lintels has received certification from the British Board of Agrément (BBA) for its Hi-therm+ Lintel. According to the company, this makes it the only BBA approved one-piece lintel solution which achieves the appendix R value for steel lintels in Part L 2013 (depending on wall construction).

Viessmann has introduced two new air source heat pumps, the Vitocal 200-A and Vitocal 222-A, which boast innovative noise-reduction technology. Both operate so quietly that they are suitable for densely built-up areas such as terraced housing estates, and both deliver high energy efficiency with low operating costs, according to Viessmann.

Foam glass gravel provides a sustainable alternative to traditional aggregates and hardcores, according to Mike Wye Ltd & Associates, the leading supplier of traditional and sustainable building materials.

Leading ventilation supplier CVC Direct has advised anyone specifying an MVHR (mechanical ventilation with heat recovery) system to understand the basics of relative humidity and consider their own local climate before choosing a system with an enthalpy heat exchanger.

The Welsh assembly has voted through new legally-binding carbon emissions targets for the country. The targets bind the country to reduce emissions by 80%, relative to 1990 levels, by 2050.

The revelations in Passive House Plus issue 24 about failed external insulation retrofits in the Fishwick area of Preston have been followed up by UK national media, putting pressure on Ofgem, the electricity and gas regulator, to make more effort to help those affected.

A series of nationwide forums designed to help housing and construction professionals improve home energy efficiency across the UK has secured support from regional low carbon champions.

ISH, the world’s leading trade fair focused on building services, energy, and water, returns to Messe Frankfurt from 11 to 15 March 2019.

Energy efficient properties less likely to default, research finds

VRM Tech, the developer of innovative mobile software apps for the construction industry, has launched Virtual Construction Management Platform (VCMP), a cloud-based app that aims to radically streamline the management of construction projects.

Woodfibre insulation specialist, NBT, is on target for a 50 per cent growth in sales volumes for 2018, indicating that specifiers are increasingly selecting woodfibre for its thermal performance, year-round comfort and moisture dispersion properties.

It is being suggested that the creation of a Joint Competent Authority – as called for by Dame Judith Hackitt in her review of the building regulatory system, after the Grenfell tragedy – is due to be announced by the UK Ministry of Housing very soon. And a new industry initiative is calling for Dame Judith’s recommendations to be implemented in full.

Old Holloway Cottage, the 100 square metre timber-and-straw cottage in rural Herefordshire that was designed by its homeowner, architect Juraj Micurcik, picked up the small project award at this year’s UK Passivhaus Awards, which were presented at the end of October.

London has joined 18 other cities around the world, including Paris, New York and Tokyo, in a landmark commitment to make all new buildings “zero carbon” by 2030. Regulations and planning policy will also target existing buildings to make them net-zero carbon by 2050.

A £2m passive house residential scheme has now been handed over to residents in Shropshire. The mix of one, two and three-bedroom homes in Callaughtons Ash, Much Wenlock, comprises ten homes for social rental and two in shared ownership.

PAS 2035 follows high profile retrofit failures under government schemes

The annual UK Passivhaus Awards take place this year on 24 October at the London Build trade fair.

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.

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.

This skilfully designed new passive house in Blackrock manages to be lightfilled and strikingly contemporary while taking its design inspiration from the very ordinary Dublin street on which it sits.

Leading low energy timber frame manufacturer MBC Timber Frame Ltd has completed work on another project aiming for the passive house standard.

Keystone Lintels has won the ‘best building fabric product’ award at the 2018 Housebuilder Product Awards for the company’s Hi-therm+ lintel.

Industry-leading mechanical ventilation company Beam Vacuum & Ventilation has announced their Axco HERU 100T mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) unit is now a certified passive house component.