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News
Women in engineering group launched
Engineers Ireland has announced the launch of a new Women in Engineering group.
#BuildingLife: Addressing the environmental impacts of buildings across their life cycle
In the first of our new #BuildingLife ambassador spotlight series, Passive House Plus is profiling leaders who have endorsed the Irish Green Building Council’s call to address the environmental impacts of buildings across their life cycle, starting with Francis-Noel Duffy TD for Dublin South West and Green Party’s spokesperson on housing.
Green loan rate for new HPI-certified housing
Home Building Finance Ireland (HBFI) has launched a new green loan product offering a discount of up to 0.5 per cent on loans to home builders for developments certified with the Irish Green Building Council's Home Performance Index.
Government announces €45m for social housing retrofit
The government has announced a new €45 million programme of investment in the retrofifit of local authority housing. This includes an initial investment of €35m for the retrofitting of 1,293 homes, plus an additional €10m to be allocated to local authorities who demonstrate an ability to complete additional works this year.
TU Dublin launches timber technology degree
Technological University Dublin has announced the launch of a new four-year degree programme in sustainable timber technology.
Poorly ventilated retrofits can double radon retrofit risk, study finds
Residential retrofits must ensure ventilation is carefully considered in order to avoid an increase in radon gas levels, researchers at NUI Galway in Ireland have found.
BEAM launch new app for easy MVHR control
Industry-leading mechanical ventilation company BEAM Vacuum & Ventilation has launched a new mobile phone app for their award-winning, next generation HERU heat recovery ventilation range.
New book aims to demystify passive house design
The second edition of the book Understanding Passivhaus by Emma Walshaw of First In Architecture is out now. The book is designed to provide a brief, clear and complete guide to building a passive home.
Campaign launched to tackle whole-life environmental impact of buildings
On the five-year anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) launched a campaign to decarbonise Ireland’s built environment across its whole life cycle. The campaign is backed by Passive House Plus.
Bringing buildings into the circular economy
Embodied carbon is the next great challenge for the building sector. For the group’s latest update, Marion Jammet of the Irish Green Building Council discusses initiatives underway at both Irish and European level to further cut the carbon footprint of the built environment.
New research gives boost to recycled concrete
Results of a new five-year study of recycled concrete show that it performs as well, and in several cases even better, than conventional concrete.
Marketplace news
Daikin streamer technology inactivates 99.9% of SARS-CoV-2
New research has confirmed the effectiveness of Daikin’s patented streamer technology, which successfully inactivated more than 99.9 per cent of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes Covid-19, after irradiating the virus for three hours.
09-04-2021 Marketplace
WWETB's popular NZEB courses move online
The Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB), one the country’s leading providers of practical construction training for nearly zero energy building (NZEB), has moved most of its NZEB training courses online to facilitate critical upskilling during the Covid-19 pandemic.
09-04-2021 Marketplace
Be aware of your retrofit obligations – BERcerts.ie
Leading energy consultancy BERcerts.ie has advised homeowners considering renovation projects to be aware of their potential obligations under Part L of the building regulations. The regulations set mandatory energy performance targets for dwellings undergoing “major renovation”.
09-04-2021 Marketplace
Waterford Stanley aiming to be big force in heat pump market
Establishing Waterford Stanley as one of the most recognised and popular heat pump brands on the Irish market is the goal of the company’s new business development manager, Donal Reilly.
09-04-2021 Marketplace
Save energy by using Aircrete for the whole inner leaf - Mannok
Mannok’s Aircrete blocks are often specified at the wall-to-floor junction to tackle thermal bridging, but specifying them for the entire inner leaf of a cavity wall can yield significant energy…
Forbo launches new glue-free flooring
Sustainable flooring manufacturer Forbo has launched a new line-up of high traffic acoustic vinyl flooring that includes a new glue free flooring range.
Lidan win National Enterprise Award
Modular timber frame manufacturer Lidan Designs has won the Future Focus Award at the 2021 National Enterprise Awards.
Athlone scheme hits NZEB with Firebird heat pumps
Leading Irish heating system manufacturer Firebird has recently completed a full heating installation at a scheme of 16 new build dwellings in Athlone, Co Westmeath, all designed to achieve the NZEB standard and…
Cassidy Brothers offering concrete blocks with Ecocem GGBS
Cassidy Brothers in County Donegal is one of the latest Irish quarries to offer concrete blocks incorporating a high quantity of GGBS from Ecocem. Cassidy Brothers is now supplying blocks from its Buncrana…
Recycled aggregate cuts carbon emissions by 95 per cent, EPD shows
Integrated Materials Solutions (IMS) has published the first environmental product declaration (EPD) in Ireland for an aggregate product, for its Greenstone recycled aggregate, the first construction product of its type…
Partel’s Izoperm Plus achieves passive house ‘A’ cert
Partel’s Izoperm Plus airtightness system has achieved phA certification from the Passive House Institute, the highest level of component certification, following recent testing.
Manchester passive ICF house gets 0.31 ACH
A new passive house in Manchester, built by Passive Building Structures, has achieved an airtightness test result of 0.31 air changes per hour at 50 Pascals on its final blower door test, easily…
Aereco awarded Agrément cert for demand controlled ventilation
Aereco has become the first company to receive an NSAI Agrément certificate for ventilation, while also achieving a new ISO 9001 quality management standard for its Irish subsidiary.
Calsitherm boards to be rebranded ‘Red Board’
Calsitherm and Redstone, two of the largest providers of calcium silicate based interior insulation and mould prevention products, have joined forces, with the Paderborn-based family business Calsitherm taking a majority stake in Bremen-based Redstone.
New embodied carbon rules for large London projects
Building life cycle assessment (LCA) experts Bionova have advised architects, developers and contractors to be aware of their LCA obligations under the Greater London Authority’s new London Plan, which came into effect on…
Strong demand for GGBS from Irish market
There is strong and growing demand for GGBS on the Irish market, according to leading Irish supplier Ecocem, as the company gears up to respond to a market and regulatory…
Get up to NZEB with Grant heat pumps
High efficiency is a hugely important factor in choosing a heating system and this is a key priority for industry leading manufacturer Grant, whose wide portfolio of heating technologies has…
Passive Sills cut thermal bridging & mould risk — new analysis
A thermal bridging analysis of Passive Sills’s insulated window sills has revealed how they can significantly reduce thermal bridging at this crucial junction.
Earth Cycle expands into PH education & training
Leading passive house expert Robert (Bob) Ryan is now offering certification, consultancy and training once again through his company, Earth Cycle Technologies, after a year-long career break.
Learn about wastewater heat recovery remotely
Leading wastewater heat recovery (WWHR) supplier Showersave has moved its certified CPD presentation, ‘An introduction to wastewater heat recovery’, online due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Blogs
Is affordable housing a policy blind spot?
Dublin City Council built just 45 social housing units in 2019. In his latest column, Mel Reynolds analyses the state’s surprising reluctance to build its own homes.
Will we really build back better?
As governments rush to jump-start their economies, there is a danger that important lessons for how to retrofit homes will be lost in the rush to build. But there is a better way, writes Dr Peter Rickaby.
The world’s first ‘zero energy’ house
Returning to his regular series on the evolution of sustainable building during the 20th century, Dr Marc Ó Riain takes a look at the first serious attempt to build a house with net zero energy use.
The science of filters
How do ventilation filters work, and can they help to protect us against Covid-19? Toby Cambray weighs in on the physics of a subject that is more complex and interesting than you might expect.
Are we the virus?
Taking a temporary detour from his series of columns on the history of sustainable building and renewable energy, Dr Marc Ó Riain takes a look at Covid-19 from the perspective of Gaia theory, and at the relationship between collapsing ecosystems and the emergence of new infectious diseases.
Are lower land values the silver lining of the crisis?
While the Covid-19 crisis has undoubtedly caused a huge amount of human suffering and economic damage, it has brought some upsides too. Mel Reynolds speculates on how much land prices may fall, and what the positive and negative impacts may be.
Environmental activism - tracing the roots of today's climate activism
While the green wave visible at ballot boxes and street marches in 2019 reflects an apparent escalation in public consciousness on the need for urgent, decisive environmental action, the roots of today’s environmental consciousness stretch back over half a century, explains Dr Marc Ó Riain.
How humanity can save itself from itself
We are in the grip of a global emergency. The science is clear, and thousands of lives have already been lost. The public are demanding firm and bold leadership, but a laissez-faire attitude on the part of western governments has delayed and watered down our response, with calamitous consequences.
Are you sexist? Creating a building site culture where we can all thrive
What forms does sexism take in the construction industry, asks builder Em Appleton, and what can we do about it?
Culture shock & knowledge transfer
What are the consequences for the built environment, and the climate, of the lack of communication between research and industry, asks Dr Peter Rickaby – and what can be done about it?
The first oil crisis
In the latest instalment of his series on the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy in the 20th century, Dr Marc Ó Riain reports on the seismic impact caused by the 1973 oil crisis.
Higher costs, less benefits - Why the enhanced social housing leasing model is a bad deal
The outgoing Fine Gael government devised an off balance sheet scheme to deliver social housing, but will it deliver value for money? Mel Reynolds crunches the numbers and finds the scheme may almost double the cost compared to a direct build – with no asset left once the lease ends.
The PH+ guides
The PH+ guide to insulating foundations
While understanding wall and roof insulation is relatively straightforward, insulation under the ground floor can be a bit of a mystery by comparison. Not only is it buried in the ground, but there are notoriously tricky spots like the wall-floor junction that need to be detailed and insulated properly. And the design of your foundation often depends on site conditions and the type of structure you’re going to build, too. In this guide, we explain some different ways of insulating one of the most challenging parts of the building envelope.
10-06-2019 Guides
The PH+ guide to overheating
As awareness of the urgency of the climate crisis grows, efforts to kickstart en masse deep energy efficiency interventions are gathering apace. But poorly conceived low energy building efforts can lead to unintended consequences including overheating – a risk that’s bound to grow as the world warms up. Phi Architecture co-founder Claire Jamieson details the risks and offers some solutions on how to create low energy buildings that are comfortable in summer and winter.
09-04-2021 Guides
Timber frame & mass timber: the Passive House Plus guide to structural timber construction
Fuelled by the need to build quickly and to increasingly tight sustainability standards, the market for timber frame and mass timber construction is growing rapidly. This detailed guide covers many of the main established and emerging techniques, and looks at key issues to address if you’re considering a timber-based build.
05-07-2019 Guides
The PH+ guide to thermal breaks
Building physics take no prisoners. Anyone designing, constructing or upgrading the thermal envelope of a building to modern energy performance levels is duty bound to understand and minimise thermal bridging, or suffer the consequences. One-man thermal bridging encyclopaedia Andrew Lundberg of Passivate, who teaches thermal bridging analysis at Dublin Institute of Technology, gives some practical advice on why and how to tackle thermal bridging head on, and describes some of the leading innovations in thermally broken components.
19-04-2018 Guides
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