Ireland joins whole life carbon data initiative
Ireland is to participate in a pioneering European initiative aiming to boost the availability of quality building whole life carbon data, a critical step towards full decarbonisation.
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Show Me the Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen
Simon Jones reviews new book exploring the Grenfell tragedy.
Scotland to mandate passive house for new homes
Scotland’s minister for zero carbon
buildings is proposing to make the passive
house standard, or a new Scottish equivalent,
the minimum energy efficiency standard for
new build homes from the end of 2024.
Must listen: Zero Ambitions Podcast
Over the past two years Passive
House Plus editor Jeff Colley has
been moonlighting as co-host of Zero
Ambitions, a weekly podcast that wrestles
with the challenge of how to deliver the
scale and ambition of decarbonisation
and sustainability in buildings required
to avoid a hellish future.
WorldGBC launches green building policy principles for governments
The World Green Building Council
(WorldGBC) has launched a set
of principles aimed at guiding national
governments to develop effective building
policies and programmes to accelerate a
decarbonised future.
Government supported almost 27,200 home energy upgrades through SEAI in 2022
In the first of planned quarterly
updates on the government funded
SEAI grant schemes, Environment
minister Eamonn Ryan and the
Sustainable Energy Authority of
Ireland (SEAI) have announced
that almost 27,200 energy upgrades
were completed in 2022, up 80 per
cent on 2021, while applications are
up 140 per cent.
Passive house isn’t just about efficiency – it’s about social justice
The potential of the passive house standard to change the world isn’t restricted to tackling climate change – it’s about social justice too.
Solar panels to receive VAT drop in aim to boost uptake
In a bid to increase the uptake of solar technology in Ireland as families and businesses continue to negotiate the energy and cost of living challenges, the Irish government has announced they intend to drop the VAT rate on the supply and installation of solar panels to zero.
EU votes through EPBD recast
Changes include embodied carbon, zero emission buildings and minimum energy standards
Mass timber consultation: have your say by 21 April to change the rules
Mass timber comes into its own in terms of decarbonising tall buildings, which tend to rely on high embodied carbon materials such as steel and reinforced concrete. But regulatory change is needed to enable mass timber to fulfil its potential, as IGBC head of policy and advocacy Marion Jammet explains.
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Hollywood star on 50 years of eco activism
Actor Ed Begley Junior is one of America’s best-known and longest-standing environmental activists. Fresh from lighting up our screens in the final season of Better Call Saul, Begley spoke to Passive House Plus about the roots of his activism, and what drives him on in the face of such adversity.
Breath of life
The skilful deep retrofit of a red-brick semi on the south side of Dublin has brought an old property into the 21st century in terms of energy performance and living space, while carefully upgrading its century-old façade with breathable materials.
From Nero to zero
The historic Roman city of York is embarking on an ambitious programme to redefine council housing for the 21st century, building 450 mixed-tenure passive houses across eight sites in the city, and unashamedly prioritising walking and cycling, and shared outdoor green spaces, over cars. It may seem too good to be true, but a cityscape whose architecture still so manifestly displays its extraordinary history is now pointing to the future of urban design.
Block buster
With emphasis in sustainable building shifting towards reducing embodied carbon, an obvious question comes into focus: is this an existential threat to the concrete industry? One passive house in Claregalway shows that – with a little help from Passive House Plus – concrete product manufacturers can make meaningful moves in the right direction.