Planning reform will thwart low energy housing, councils say

Britain is failing to address housing as part of the climate emergency, according to a group of 60 local authorities, businesses and civil society groups who say government changes to planning rules could spell the end of zero carbon homes in England.

Futurebuild goes bigger without losing its soul

The UK's leading sustainable construction event is co-locating with two other shows in May.

Cairn secures passive house certification for three Dublin developments

Major new passive house schemes for Ireland.

UK net zero carbon standard accepts passive house as compliance route

Passive house certification has been formally recognised as a deemed-to-satisfy route within the UK Net Zero Carbon Buildings Standard at practical completion, in a move which recognises the reliability of the passive house standard as a way delivering significant real world carbon savings.

Lacuna: thermal modification boosts timber utility

Thermally modified timber has been used in the building industry for years, principally as a durable and sustainable cladding material, but its history stretches back millennia.

Passive House Systems wins airtightness certification from PHI

A new airtightness system produced by Passive House Systems has been given the green light by the Passive House Institute, with the UK launch in March 2026.

SkamoWall marketing indicates value of storytelling focus

When SkamoWall arrived in the UK, its Viking-themed advert in Passive House Plus quietly tested a hunch: that storytelling still shapes product choice, even in a technical publication.

Proctor membrane used on landmark Dublin passive scheme

Proctor Group’s Wraptite airtight membrane has been used on one of the largest passive house projects in Ireland, with the self-adhering membrane forming part of the external wall build-up at Cairn Homes’ Pipers Square development in Charlestown, Dublin.

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History repeating

Through passion, patience, and architectural expertise, a 16th century Carmel-ite friar’s cottage in Kinsale, owned by Passive House Plus columnist Dr Marc Ó Riain, has achieved what many thought impossible— an A1 energy rating for a Tudor-era building. But not without challenges.

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Flat earth

What do you do when a building type is inefficient, common, hard to treat – and often used to house vulnerable people? Chris Morgan of leading passive house architects John Gilbert Architects tells the story of an extraordinary pilot project that may show the way to solve the stickiest of problems.

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Material matters - A palette for a vulnerable planet

In recent years, the drive to reduce the embodied carbon of buildings has led to a resurgent interest in timber and other biobased building materials. But peering into the future, if we are to think not just about carbon but also land, water, and regenerating nature, how might we build to meet our essential needs, and what might we build with? By Lenny Antonelli and Andy Simmonds

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Derelict to dream home

A couple breathes new life into a set of historic barns, creating an Enerphit dream home in the Gloucestershire countryside.

Energy poverty and electric heating

As electricity decarbonises, the case for switching from fossil fuel boilers to efficient use of electricity to heat buildings via heat pumps has become overwhelming. But in markets like the UK where electricity is far more expensive than the European average, and people on low incomes may be chronically underheating poorly insulated homes, could a drive to electrify heating exacerbate energy poverty?

Three books and a taxi ride

Peter Rickaby looks back on an extraordinary career, the challenge of convincing people of the need for a new approach to buildings, and the people who helped him to do just that.

The transformative power of industrialised retrofit

The retrofit market is messy, scuppered by knowledge and skills gaps, and inconsistent approaches. Ele George makes the case for industrialisation to level up the retrofit market.

Tripling EU / UK Energy Efficiency Policy: the NZEB

One of Europe’s key climate breakthroughs came in the form of the EU’s nearly zero energy building target, as Dr. Marc Ó Riain explains in the latest part of his series on the history of low energy building.

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.

The PH+ guide to greener concrete - reducing the climate impact of cement and concrete in buildings

Cement is responsible for up to 8% of global carbon emissions, and in this guide, sustainable design expert Jay Stuart looks at ways to minimise its environmental impact through good design, and at some of the alternative, lower carbon cement and concrete products on the market.

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.

The PH+ guide to heat recovery ventilation

Heat recovery ventilation is an invaluable way to maintain indoor air quality in low energy buildings and minimise the loss of precious heat, but there are several issues to address to ensure optimal performance. Ventilation expert Ian Mawditt, a technical advisor on Part F of England’s building regulations, has decades of experience in field investigations of indoor air quality and ventilation effectiveness. His guide, which focuses on centralised or ducted whole house heat recovery systems, is essential reading to anyone considering such a system.