Ecological take double honours at SEAI Energy Show

This article was originally published in issue 21 of Passive House Plus magazine. Want immediate access to all back issues and exclusive extra content? Click here to subscribe for as little as €10, or click here to receive the next issue free of charge

“It was incredible to see that among many technical products ranging from high performance solar panels, heat pumps, combined heat and power and other impressive technical solutions, an ancient building material, lime and cork, used as far back as the Roman times, won the best energy efficient product award in 2017,” said Niall Crosson, senior engineer with Ecological Building Systems.

Diathonite Evolution thermal plaster combines the breathable properties of lime with the unique thermal properties of cork, clay and diatomaceous earth, and is suitable for use on the retrofit of existing buildings as well as in new buildings. With a thermal conductivity of only 0.045W/mK, just 30mm of Diathonite can reduce the U-value for a solid wall from 2.5W/m2K to 0.8W/m2K, while allowing the wall to breathe and minimising the risk of long-term moisture or mould issues.

“It was rewarding to see that SEAI recognised the valuable contribution and technical benefits traditional natural insulation materials can make to aid in the delivery of robust and effective retrofitting of the Irish housing stock,” Crosson added.

Meanwhile Ecological’s new low energy retrofit course was highly commended in the best service provider category. There have been full bookings at each course so far, Ecological have reported, with attendees coming from all over Ireland and the UK.

Crosson added: “It is clear that there is a critical need to increase training and education to ensure a retrofit or new building is executed to a high standard and nZEB is attained, with appropriate materials to prevent having to ‘retrofit our retrofits’ and new builds in the future. With so many training courses now available, there has never been a better time to upskill.”

Ecological distribute the range of Diasen cork lime thermal plasters to Ireland and the UK.

For more information regarding Ecological’s training courses or for samples and information concerning Diasen Diathonite Evolution cork lime thermal plaster see www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com.