Gas cooking is killing 40,000 European people a year in Europe, a major new study has revealed, with an average of almost two years taken off their life in the EU and United Kingdom due to exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emitted during gas cooking.The countries with the highest burden were Italy, Poland, Romania, France and the UK.
Multi-award winning Belfast-based property developer, Fraser Millar, has launched Northern Ireland’s second large-scale residential passive house development – a 74-unit scheme of detached and semi-detached homes at a total project value of £30m.
Aidan Doyle has joined insulation manufacturer, Unilin Insulation, as General Manager for both the Ireland and UK businesses.
Home buyers seeking sustainable luxury and energy income in a sought-after part of England have a rare opportunity with a newly launched passive house scheme in St Albans.
Patrick Harvie MSP, the Scottish government’s minister for zero carbon buildings, active travel and tenants' rights, was a keynote speaker at the UK Passivhaus Conference in Edinburgh on 17 October, and shared his vision for energy efficient and low carbon buildings in Scotland.
Delegates at the 2023 AECB Conference heard a wide range of speakers covering everything from guerrilla edible planting to peak oil to detailed discussions on whole life carbon calculation.
A new free-to-access training programme, Design Performance for Climate Action, provides architecture students across the UK with a solid foundation in climate-responsive building design – with passive house at its core.
Three leading sustainable building organisations have expressed disappointment with the government’s proposed Future Homes Standard, which went to consultation in December, along with proposals for non-domestic buildings.
The AECB 2023 Conference will focus on providing solutions required for building in an age of climate chaos and biodiversity collapse.
A pioneering co-housing scheme, a cube-shaped self build, a cork and polyester- insulated retrofit to a 1970s house, a glulam timber school, and a curved college building were the winners at the 2023 UK Passivhaus Awards.
The United Nations is pushing for a rapid drive to make the world’s buildings sustainable – aided by an international coalition centred in the Wexford town of Enniscorthy.
TrustMark defends scheme & says it creates a pathway to PAS 2035
Simon Jones reviews new book exploring the Grenfell tragedy.
Scotland’s minister for zero carbon buildings is proposing to make the passive house standard, or a new Scottish equivalent, the minimum energy efficiency standard for new build homes from the end of 2024.
Over the past two years Passive House Plus editor Jeff Colley has been moonlighting as co-host of Zero Ambitions, a weekly podcast that wrestles with the challenge of how to deliver the scale and ambition of decarbonisation and sustainability in buildings required to avoid a hellish future.
The World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) has launched a set of principles aimed at guiding national governments to develop effective building policies and programmes to accelerate a decarbonised future.
The potential of the passive house standard to change the world isn’t restricted to tackling climate change – it’s about social justice too.
Changes include embodied carbon, zero emission buildings and minimum energy standards
The Passivhaus Trust has published a new technical paper on thermal bypass – the phenomenon where air movement across, within and behind insulation increases heat loss, causes discomfort and enables mould growth.
This year’s UK Passivhaus Conference was held in Exeter, reflecting Exeter City Council’s record for developing buildings to the passive house standard over the last decade.
The first in-person event of the Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) since Covid, the 2022 AECB Conference, focussed on practical solutions to decarbonising buildings.
Organisations tackling the UK cost of living crisis and providing a new generation with the skills for green jobs have been recognised in this year’s international Ashden Awards.
The Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) has introduced a new retrofit standard catering for hard-to-treat homes and cases where homeowners want to take urgent action on climate change but are not currently able to commit to a deep retrofit.
Decarbonising buildings is “probably the most important issue” in the UK’s efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UK’s independent authority on climate change.
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Ireland’s first 3D printed housing project has been delivered in Dundalk – integrating Firetite aerated clay cavity wall insulation.
20-11-2024 Marketplace
Sisk, in collaboration with a consortium of leading low carbon industry experts, has announced that it has been successful in securing £500,000 from Innovate UK funding as part of the Contracts for Innovation: Decarbonising concrete competition, to invest in a pioneering scalable low carbon demonstrator, marking a world first new low carbon concrete technology.
20-11-2024 Projects
Leading insulation manufacturer Unilin has produced a report on calculating and reducing embodied carbon while using the company’s products.
05-01-2024 Marketplace
Zehnder Group UK has launched the Zehnder ComfoAir Flex – a mechanical ventilation system with heat recovery (MVHR) specifically designed for tight spaces and challenging installation environments.
05-01-2024 Marketplace
Carbon emissions originating from the construction and operation of buildings in the UK constitute a sizeable portion of the country’s overall emissions, amounting to 40 per cent.
Passive house pioneer and offsite modular construction specialist Beattie Passive is delighted to announce the appointment of Simon Clarke to the newly created role of client solutions manager.
Galway-based sustainable building product supplier Partel has launched two new paper-based membrane products, Izoperm Plus Eco and Vara Plus Eco.
Passive house pioneer and modular construction specialist Beattie Passive has made a series of appointments to strengthen its project management, HR, and architectural design teams.
Leading manufacturer of air and windtight systems Partel has announced the launch of the Kabseal line of airtight solutions for detail sealing, in addition to its new airtight electrical back…
Heat pump giant Daikin has sponsored a groundbreaking sustainable building in London, for the BBC Earth Experience.
Thermal bridges will most likely occur where one building element meets another, for example a wall meeting a window.
The A. Proctor Group factory in Blairgowrie has recently been upgraded with solar PV panels to provide a significant part of its energy from renewable sources and substantially reduce its…
Sustainable roof product supplier Ecoroofing Systems Ltd has boosted its circularity credentials – by opening a UK-based processing plant.
Pioneering passive house modular housing provider Beattie Passive has had a busy start to 2023: being named a supplier on two multibillion pound frameworks for new build and retrofit, achieving…
Sustainable building product supplier A. Proctor Group has introduced a new online U-value calculator, condensation risk analysis software, and members area with a range of technical supports available to architects…
Partel, a leading manufacturer of airtight and windtight membranes, has developed two new fire-rated breather membranes that exceed current fire safety regulation levels for high-rise and high-risk buildings: Exoperm Duro…
Specialist thermal break manufacturer Meesenburg Group has entered the UK market, introducing the Triotherm+ range of thermal brackets to prevent heat loss and mould risk at window and door reveals…
Specialist green building & retrofit company Ecovert Solutions has developed an oil-free approach to external wall insulation (EWI) emanating from green new build approaches: cellulose insulated I-beam construction.
Leading sustainable building product supplier Ecological Building Systems has launched Retro EcoWall, a new quick-to-install internal wall insulation system ideal for traditional buildings, designed to meet the requirements of the…
The new collaborative flat pack timber-based build system partnership We Build Eco is reporting strong interest, in the aftermath of a sneak preview feature article on the business in issue…
Recent analysis has suggested a slowdown in the property sector for 2024, but what impact might a drop in inflation have? Mel Reynolds runs the numbers.
It’s fair to say that green building wasn’t a thing in early 90s Ireland, which makes one extraordinary Dublin project from 1994 all the more remarkable, as Dr. Marc O Riain writes.
Shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 2003, BedZed was a prominent example of architecture starting to pay attention to sustainability. But how well did it work? In the latest part of his series on the history of low energy architecture, Dr. Marc O Riain looks back at a landmark project.
Advances in building physics in recent years are leading to an ever-increasing understanding among experts of the risks that a litany of pollutants can pose to building occupants. But this has not stopped vulnerable people from living – and dying - in substandard buildings that exacerbate these risks. Urgent action is needed, Toby Cambray explains, to better communicate and decisively tackle the risks buildings can pose to their occupants.
The scale of the retrofit challenge facing the UK and Ireland will require an army of tradespeople to upgrade homes – leading many to the conclusion that a new retrofit industry needs to be built from scratch. But is a more realistic answer staring us in the face – a thriving existing industry of trusted local tradespeople, asks Dr Catrin Maby OBE.
One zero carbon energy source has historically been vehemently opposed by environmentalists. But can nuclear power overcome the high-profile failures of its past, asks Dr. Marc O Riain, or has the technology missed the boat?
How flexible can heat pumps be to handle what may be inexactly defined heating demands, asks Toby Cambray?
The passive house camp recently took place from 26-29 September at South West College's passive house premium-certified Erne Campus and the Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies (CREST).
Over the last century architects have unwittingly played a key role in terms of climate collapse and a slew of linked catastrophic environmental and social harms. A new book aims to change that.
But doing retrofit well and at scale remains an enormous technical and financial challenge, writes Dr Peter Rickaby.
In the latest missive in his series on the history of low energy design, Dr Marc Ó'Riain looks to some wacky and wonderful experimentation in a project that aimed to transform public perception of Milton Keynes.
To kick start the new year, have a listen to co-founders Jeff Colley and Dan Hyde on what they've learned in the 20 years since our first issue came out.
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.
09-04-2021 Guides
As electricity supply from renewable sources continues to grow, and electricity grids gradually decarbonise as dirtier fossil fuels are phased out, heating homes with electrical technologies like heat pumps starts to make more sense. And in the mild, temperate climate of Britain and Ireland, air source heat pumps are particularly suitable — especially as new build standards of energy efficiency continue to tighten, meaning new homes need less and less energy to achieve comfortable indoor temperatures. But how do air source heat pumps work, what types are there, and how much do they cost to run? Our in-depth guide attempts...
08-05-2018 Guides
Building physics take no prisoners. Anyone designing, constructing or upgrading the thermal envelope of a building to modern energy performance levels is duty bound to understand and minimise thermal bridging, or suffer the consequences. One-man thermal bridging encyclopaedia Andrew Lundberg of Passivate, who teaches thermal bridging analysis at Dublin Institute of Technology, gives some practical advice on why and how to tackle thermal bridging head on, and describes some of the leading innovations in thermally broken components.
19-04-2018 Guides
As demand for super-insulated and airtight building structures grows, insulating concrete formwork (ICF) is rapidly gaining popularity as a method of construction. But what exactly is ICF, what are its key advantages, and why is it so well suited to passive house and low energy construction?
16-10-2018 Guides