Live blog of speech by architect Joseph Little

Leading green architect Joseph Little speaking on "ensuring robustness, health and value when retrofitting":

12.04pm: Everything in Irish architecture in the past was about keeping water out and maintaining building strength - now we need to think about energy, air tightness, humidity and climate change too

12.07pm: Single biggest heat loss point in a house is the chimney - an air balloon for just €30 can solve this 

12.10pm: It could be much more cost effective to energy-upgrade old buildings than houses from the 70s and 80s - insulation measures pay back quicker

12.14pm: Our "hole in the wall" ventilation method is dreadful - government seems reluctant to ban it, but now is the time to get rid of it. It's draughty, it loses too much heat, doesn't ventilate where it's needed, and only works if the wind is blowing the right direction

12.15pm: Heat recovery ventilation can be a good alternative, but it must be designed properly. Many systems installed are not actually meeting the building regulations (Part F)

12.17pm: Passive stack ventilation is another option - it's cheaper than HRV and doesn't require power, but isn't suitable for every building

12.20pm: Like Padraic Davis, Little is impressed by the potential of calcium silicate boards for internal insulation - he has a sample of one example of the material, the Calcitherm product from Ecological Building Systems

12.29: Little's conclusions: holes-in-the-wall should be banned as a method of ventilation, all whole-building ventilation systems should be certified to meet the building regs, the government should launch a public information campaign on the most effective energy upgrade measures, and the government needs to issue guidelines on upgrading common types of buildings, and these guidelines should consider different moisture conditions in different areas around the country.

Little is finished now - click 'Blogs' up the top for the next live blog.