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.

Dublin-based Aru Joinery has picked up the award for best window and doors installation company at Build magazine’s 2018 Sustainable Building Awards.

Dampness reduction via better ventilation seen to be key

Ancon was honoured at a royal reception on 28 June to celebrate its success in the 2018 Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, the company’s third such award.

At SEAI's 2018 deep retrofit conference, there are signs that action to overhaul Ireland's outdated, inefficient building stock is gradually moving forward 

A new one-day conference set to be held in Dublin next month will look at the twin challenges of solving Ireland's housing crisis with rapid-build construction, while at the same time meeting new standards for nearly zero energy buildings (nZEBs).

Architect Tom Duffy has long had an interest in green design, and working on a self-build project for himself and his wife he was able to prove a point: making a modest family home to the highest standards need not cost the earth.

MBC Project has warned that poor quality installation risks undermining confidence in the growing external wall insulation (EWI) industry — seen as crucial for bringing Ireland’s housing stock up to modern standards of energy efficiency. Dublinbased MBC Project supplies KABE Therm external insulation systems, which include EPS and mineral wool boards.

It is simply not possible for developers to build housing in cities like Dublin and sell it for a reasonable price without making a loss, writes architect Mel Reynolds — instead, we need meaningful affordable housing schemes.

Designing a dwelling to take advantage of the sun’s free heat is a big part of what makes a passive house passive. So how do you meet the low energy standard when your narrow site faces away from the sun and is overshadowed by neighbouring houses and trees, while simultaneously hitting an A1 building energy rating – and with a stunning, architecturally expressive design?

Northern Ireland’s South West College has announced that its new Erne Campus in Enniskillen will include the first educational building in the world built to the new passive house premium standard. The campus will be constructed on the site of the former Erne Hospital.

Brady Energy Consultants, the leading Mayo-based providers of energy consulting services, have announced that senior energy consultant Cathal Brady has become a certified passive house consultant, and that the company will add thermal modelling to its range of services in 2018.

The extra cost of building to certified passive house levels – while also scoring an A1 BER – is as low as 0.1%, research at Ulster University has shown.

The Environmental and Sustainable Construction Association (Éasca) is merging with the Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB), the two organisations have announced.

ECON Polyurethanes have recently launched the new BASF Elastospray LWP (low warming potential) spray-foam insulation system to the UK and Irish markets. According to BASF, Elastospray LWP “combines maximum insulation performance with the best possible environmental protection”.

Leading Cork-based sustainable building product supplier Passive House Systems has just been awarded the first ever NSAI Agrément certificate for a solar PV system.

In excess of 12,000 homes may have been built in Ireland last year, new analysis by Passive House Plus has revealed – with a marginal decline in energy performance evident as housing activity increases.

SMET Building Products, which supplies a wide range of products for low energy and fabric-first construction, picked up the award for best small business at the Greater Newry Business Awards,  organised by Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade, on 28 September at the town’s Canal Hotel.

The private speculative sector can’t build affordable housing, but there are other ways of achieving this, writes architect Mel Reynolds.

Leading renewable energy experts Energywise Ireland have opened their brand new showroom in Blackpool, Cork City.

The German-Irish Chamber of Commerce hosted a study group to Germany last month to examine the energy efficiency of buildings there.

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.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) is inviting businesses to come to the Energy Show 2017, the premier business energy event taking place at the RDS, Dublin on Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 April.

Questions have been raised about ventilation standards under the government’s new Warmth & Wellbeing scheme, which provides free energy efficiency upgrades to people over the age of 55 living in Dublin 12 and 24, who experience energy poverty and are also suffering from respiratory conditions.

Report author Prof Diana Ürge-Vorsatz praises “fantastic” Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown passive house policy

Leading timber frame manufacturer Cygnum picked up five awards during one week in October, in recognition of some of the high profile passive-certified projects it has completed in recent years.

ISH, the world’s “leading trade fair for the bathroom experience, building services, energy, air-conditioning technology and renewable energies” takes place from 14 to 18 March 2017 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

At the time of going to press, the Department of Housing, Planning, Community & Local Government was set to imminently launch a public consultation on a major revision to Part L of the building regulations for buildings other than dwellings.