House Design Online welcome the proposals from the European Parliament that all houses be ‘zero energy’ by 2019.
How practical is it and will full implementation ultimately cause any significant reduction in C02 emissions.
Leonardo Energy, the premier web site delivering a range of virtual libraries relating to electrical energy raises a few questions about the proposal. (more…)
An important starting point in designing and building your own home is a visit to self-build exhibitions which are happening in most towns.
The Self-Build -Entend & Renovate show is happening at the Galway Racecourse, Ballybrit.
There will alsobe a full programme of seminars delivered by professionals from the construction industry covering topics such as Building Energy Rating, Planning Permission and Passive Housing.
If you are thinking of building or renovating, the Seld Build shows which are held at different venues throughout Ireland over the year. You get the chance to talk to a number of suppliers in the one place. It’s also a good place to haggle.
If you have a sketch or a plan bring a few copies along.
For more information click … SELF BUILD – RENOVATE & EXTEND 2009
So what exactly is a “Passive House” or “Passivhaus”. How do we achieve “passive House Standard”. The concept is relatively new but, what was just a concept a few short years ago is quickly becoming a standard.
Passive house construction should be the only option for new houses being built in any region where houses require heating. Passive House is not however limited to construction in colder climates. (more…)
This business to business event is a must for anyone with a professional interest in or responsibility for energy use.
Registration for the Exhibition has now closed. You can register on the day. Entrance is free to the Exhibition on production of trade ID.
Now firmly established as the showcase event for Ireland’s energy sector, this year’s event follows the highly successful format of previous years. A cutting edge technology and trade exhibition with leading Irish and European product and service suppliers will showcase the very latest in energy innovation offering visitors a unique experience in seeking low energy solutions for buildings and the opportunity to engage those experts leading the energy sector both here and abroad. (more…)
The crisis in the property business has deflected attention away from, what is the real crisis in housing. That is, that our homes are damaging the environment.
The introduction of building regulations that help to reduce the level of emissions from modern homes will reduce the mpact of our future housing stock.
There is however the issue of, what to do with our existing homes. Take the case of Ireland for example. It is estimated that 930,000 houses were built before the first ever building regulations in 1991, with approximately 1,000,0000 built before the 1996 building regulations. To put that in context: 350,000 houses have no wall insulation, 200,000 houses have no roof insulation and 350,000 houses have just single-glazed windows. (Source DoEHLG, 2002).
It is time, therefore to start thinking ‘retro’ and bring our existing housing stock up to an acceptable standard that achieves higher levels of comfort in our homes and less impact on the environment.
At the “See the Light 2009 conference” in Galway, Ireland, Professor Owen Lewis, CEO of SEI, launched new guidelines for upgrading existing dwellings in Ireland to the PassivHaus Standard.
The new guidelines provide practical advice on the utilisation of construction products, materials and techniques that minimize waste, improve air quality, increase energy efficiency and protect the environment. They also include two Irish case studies in retro-fitting existing houses to the PassivHaus Standard. The document entitles “Retrofitted Passive Houses can be downloaded HERE
If you want to discover a bit more about Passive Houses, it might be worth visiting the Ecobuild & Futurebuild Conference whis is taking place in Earl’s Court, London from Tuesday 3rd to Thursday 5th of March 2009.
For more information, please click here
On the first day of Ecobuild (Tuesday 3 March) BRE will be holding a free PassivHaus seminar in the Thames Lounge.
MORNING SESSION: Creating a PassivHaus culture
Chair Gavin Hodgson, PassivHaus UK, Managed by BRE
10:30 Making a case for PassivHaus: lessons for a crisis – Chris Herring, Director, Green Building Store/Chair, AECB
11:00 PassivHaus in the UK – where are we now? – Oliver Child, Senior Consultant, BRE
11:30 Case study: new materials in PassivHaus design – Howard Liddell, Principal, Gaia Architects
12:00 PassivHaus construction and the skills gap – Malcolm Bell, Professor of Surveying & Sustainable Housing, Leeds Metropolitan University
12:30 Close
AFTERNOON SESSION: There’s no haus like PassivHaus
Chair Justin Bere, Bere:Architects
12:45 Case study: the UK’s first completed PassivHaus – Justin Bere, Bere:Architects
13:15 Case study: PassivHaus is for everyone! – Andrew Bissell, Chair, Blue Property
13:45 PassivHaus retrofit – Mark Siddall, Senior Architect, Dewjo’c Architects Ltd
14:15 Learning from the Swedish experience – Henrietta Lynch, Associate, The Good Homes Alliance
The seminar is free to attend and as there is no pre-booking available for the seminar, attendance is on a first-come-first-served basis. The seminar will be held in the Thames Lounge.
For information on the Passive House Seminar click here
The reality at the moment is that the building of new houses has temporarily in any case ground to a halt. This has of course, implications for the economy but on the other hand offers us with new opportunities.
There has been no better time to focus on bringing our existing housing stock up to a proper standard.
Newer houses are now being built to higher standards of insulation and energy efficiency but if you built or bought prior to 2002, it is likely that your house is less energy efficient and therfore more expensive to run.
On February 8th last Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Eamon Ryan and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley today launched the national insulation programme for economic recovery. The three-strand insulation programme will cut heating bills for householders, reduce carbon emissions and create thousands of jobs both directly and indirectly over the course of 2009.
TO VIEW PRESS RELEASE, CLICK HERE
The scheme is being administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) and to register your interest you must simple call 1850 927 000 or email hes@sei.ie.
Measure covered by the scheme include roof insulation, cavity wall insulation, Internal Wall Dry-lining, External Wall Insulation, High Efficiency Gas or Oil fired Boiler with Heating Controls Upgrade, Heating Controls Upgrade and a Before works and an After works assessment.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS, CLICK HERE
From Jaunuary 1st, 2009, all homes sold or rented in Ireland will be required by law to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate. A BER certificate is something similar to what we see on electrical appliances such as fridges. To see a sample BER certificate CLICK HERE
Listen to a discussion today on Ireland’s RTE Radio 1 between Kevin O’Rourke of Sustainable Energy Ireland and Tom Parlon of the Construction Industry Federation click here
Anyone interested in finding out more about the concept of the Passive House might be interested in this upcoming event. If you are thinking of building in 2009 and 2010 a visit to Frankfurt in April may well be worth you while, particularly with the availability of cheap flights!
The 13th International Conference on Passive Houses will take place on 17th and 18th April 2009 in Frankfurt in Germany
The Conference will focus on the following themes: Public Initiatives and Public Energy-Efficient Buildings, Non-Residential Buildings, Passive Houses – Apartment Blocks, Innovation from Research and Development: Building Technology and Building Shell, Assessment of Completed Modernisation Projects, Comfort and Health, Financing and Marketing and Housing Industry and Sustainability.
Running side by side with the conference will be the 2009 Public Passive House Exhibition
Date: Friday 17th April – Saturday 18th April 2009
Location: Messe Frankfurt, Hall 5.1
Opening hours: 17th April 2009 9 am – 7 pm
18th April 2009 9 am – 5 pm
Exhibition area: 3.000 m²
Beat escalating energy costs! Passive houses allow for more comfort and lower energy demand: Intelligent solutions for old and new buildings will be on show at the 2009 Passive House Exhibition in Frankfurt:
* Building companies, specialist federations, architecture and engineering offices
* Producers of windows, doors, ventilation systems and insulating materials,
* Providers of building parts, whole solutions, house technology systems and solar companies
They present building components and products which reach the top standards for energy-efficient building through high quality and innovative technology.
* Entrance to the exhibition is free for all visitors.
* Conference and exhibition take place directly next to each other in the Messe Frankfurt.
* A support programme of lectures is directed at conference and exhibition visitors. Here exhibitors can present their products and services.
The exhibition is directed at interested building owners and specialist visitors such as architects, building specialists, planners, energy consultants, producers of building products, companies in the building industry, housing industry and energy providers.Field trips, Sunday 19 April 2008
On Sunday 19 April there will be the opportunity to attend one of five different tours to visit Passive Houses (new buildings and refurbishments).
Start: Conference Main Entrance – Messe Frankfurt
Finish: Frankfurt am Main, Hauptbahnhof (central station)
Click her for more information
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