Dublin district to lead the world on energy efficiency
Written by Lenny Antonelli
Passive House Plus analyses Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council's plan to make the passive house standard mandatory for all new buildings in the district.
SEAI: Deap targets aren’t only way to meet Part L
Written by Jeff Colley
Specifications for new homes which fall short of energy performance targets in the Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure software may nonetheless comply with Part L of the Irish Building Regulations, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has said. This is potentially a significant development for passive house, a proven ultra low energy building strategy which is often undermined by the relatively crude assumptions in the Irish regulatory guidance and Deap software.
Saint-Gobain gives €100k for Peter McVerry Trust to refurb six homes
Written by Lenny Antonelli
Saint Gobain, the global building materials supplier, has announced that it will donate €100,000 to the Peter McVerry Trust. The money will be used to refurbish six apartments in a disused building on Pim Street in Dublin 8. The project will be complete by February 2015.
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.
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.
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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.
New passive house design challenge for students
Written by Lenny Antonelli
The Passive House Association of Ireland has announced its inaugural all-Ireland design charrette, in UCD on 5 and 6 November, in advance of its annual conference which takes place on 7 November in UCD.
Majority of Dublin homes have D energy rating or lower
Written by Lenny Antonelli
The majority of homes in Dublin city have a Building Energy Rating (BER) of D1 or lower, according to figures released by Dublin’s energy agency Codema.