A2 rated social housing plans announced by minister Gormley

Environment minister John Gormley has announced details of the next generation of low carbon homes to be built in Ireland.

Turning the sod on the Emerald Project in Ballymun, which will be one of the most energy efficient housing developments ever built in Ireland, the minister also announced details of seven additional projects to be funded under a €20 million ‘towards zero carbon homes’ scheme.

These schemes will set the benchmark for new home construction in Ireland, and will be among the most environmentally friendly ever constructed in Ireland. They will all be built to a Building Energy Rating of at least A2.

This will result in very low heating and electricity bills for residents. According to Sustainable Energy Ireland, a standard three bed semi with an A2 rating will cost under €300 per annum to run. It is also expected that all projects will provide real value for money in terms of construction costs.

“These seven projects indicate that in the current environment we can make the quantum leap towards carbon neutral housing without any real impact on the overall cost of housing. They will also show that very low energy homes can be built without huge costs, using a lot of the existing technology and knowledge available to the construction industry.”

“What the projects now being approved will do is to push out the boundaries of environmental performance even further and, through the social housing programme, provide important experience and learning to guide us further along the path towards carbon neutral housing,” Minister Gormley said. The seven projects, in Tramore, Clondalkin, Tralee, Newbridge, Roscommon Town, Tahmahon,  and Portlaoise, will be constructed to achieve a minimum Building Energy Rating standard of A2 and will be supported from a fund of €20 million. A number of other projects are still under consideration for funding.

Housing minister Michael Finneran had previously announced close to €20m in allocations to local authorities for the retrofitting of insulation and other energy efficiency improvements in social housing prior to re-letting, and for apartment complexes. Local authorities have been preparing energy efficiency plans for their areas to manage the delivery of these improvements which will see the majority of dwellings achieve a minimum BER of C1. In addition, a number of demonstration projects are being progressed around the country to inform the expansion of the retrofitting programme.

The Emerald Housing Project

Emerald Housing, conceived with partners Cluid Housing Association, is using the best and most appropriate techniques in consultative planning to create an integrated project featuring solar site design, passive ecological design measures and many green technologies to create a community that will be carbon neutral in terms of heating, will cleanse most of its water and grow some of its own food. Ballymun Regeneration LTD and Sustainable Energy Ireland are patrons and supporters of the project. The project was awarded at the 2005 SEI sustainability awards.