The vast majority of Irish buildings are in need of substantial energy upgrade work. Given the difficult economic conditions and low public awareness of the cost, comfort and health benefits of a well-designed energy renovation, the notion of upgrading most Irish buildings is a considerable challenge. However, as Lenny Antonelli explains, new ideas are emerging that could stimulate energy upgrade work on an unprecedented scale.

Much of the housing built around Dublin over the last forty years has been built of single-leaf nine-inch hollow block construction – which are both notoriously energy inefficient and extremely difficult to insulate effectively without causing damp problems. Lenny Antonelli visited a hollow block house which has been ecologically renovated to protect occupant health whilst shooting to the top of the energy rating scale.

The Department of Agriculture’s new Food Safety Centre is a deceptively simple building that combines natural ventilation and lighting with energy efficiency - all on a designed natural landscape that seeks to both boost biodiversity and prevent flooding. Lenny Antonelli visited the County Kildare site to find out more

An interesting couple of blog posts have appeared over the last few days on Treehugger . First, Lloyd Alter pondered why so many green buildings are ugly. Alter referenced an interesting

Two stories in the Irish Times today touch on the effect the economic downturn will have on carbon emissions.

Looking at the national situation, the Times reports that the EPA will today announce a dramatic reduction in greenhouse gas emissions associated with the economic downturn.

While it is one of the most ecological building materials around, rammed earth - a mixture of earth, sand, gravel and clay - is usually associated with buildings with an earthy, less-than-modern aesthetic. A new house in Vorarlberg, Austria, could change that.

 

According to Building.co.uk, the three leading international tools for assessing the environmental impact of buildings will soon be combined to create a common international standard.

The best examples of sustainable planning and building in Northern Ireland were honoured in a joint awards ceremony held last month by the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. The RTPI described the winning projects as follows:

As energy refurbishment climbs higher and higher up the political agenda, this video from the Guardian takes a look one upgrade project that claims to have reduced the carbon footprint of a Victorian house in Nottingham from 19 tonnes a year to just half a tonne.

Following the annoucement that the government is commiting 100 million euro this year to domestic energy refurb, the UK's climate change secretary Ed Miliband has announced that all British households will be retrofitted by 2030.