News

Design and performance centre stage at UK Passivhaus Awards

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.

General

UN pushes for radical sustainable building action

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.

General

New Licence Plus scheme undermines retrofit standards, experts say

TrustMark defends scheme & says it creates a pathway to PAS 2035

General

Show Me the Bodies: How We Let Grenfell Happen

Simon Jones reviews new book exploring the Grenfell tragedy.

General

Scotland to mandate passive house for new homes

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.

Government

Must listen: Zero Ambitions Podcast

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.

General

WorldGBC launches green building policy principles for governments

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.

General

Passive house isn’t just about efficiency – it’s about social justice

The potential of the passive house standard to change the world isn’t restricted to tackling climate change – it’s about social justice too.

Events

EU votes through EPBD recast

Changes include embodied carbon, zero emission buildings and minimum energy standards

Government

Thermal bypass paper published

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.

General

Exeter's leading-edge leisure centre provided inspiration for UK Conference

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.

Events

AECB Conference focuses on practical decarbonisation

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.

Events

Ashden Awards winners showcase climate solutions

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.

Events

AECB launches two levels of retrofit standards

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.

General

Decarbonising buildings “most important issue” – Climate Change Committee

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.

Climate Change

New passive house & embodied carbon resources

Do thicker insulated walls, triple glazed windows, & MVHR ventilation systems tip the scales unfavourably for passive house when it comes to embodied carbon?

General

EU proposes gas demand reduction plan till spring

As Russia weaponises gas exports, the European Commission has proposed a gas demand reduction plan, to cut use in Europe by 15 per cent until next spring.

Government

World’s first passive house hospital completed in Frankfurt

The world’s first passive house hospital has been certified by the Passive House Institute – showing that the standard can be applied to even to the most demanding building types.

Projects

AECB conference to showcase timber innovation

The AECB conference 2022 will focus on practical solutions to decarbonising buildings, with a particular emphasis on timber-based approaches with the potential to deliver low energy, healthy buildings at scale while minimising the use of precious resources and impact on the environment.

Events

Max Fordham House verified as UK’s first net zero carbon home

Max Fordham House in North London has become the first residential building in the UK to be verified as net zero carbon. Located in the London Borough of Camden, this certified passive house was designed for, and lived in by, the late legendary engineer Max Fordham.

General

Renfrewshire aims for 3,500 whole-house deep retrofits

A major new social housing retrofit programme by Renfrewshire Council will see up to 3,500 local authority dwellings renovated to either Enerphit or the AECB Retrofit Standard.

Projects

UK’s first passive leisure centre nears completion

St Sidwell’s Point Leisure Centre in Exeter, the first passive-certified leisure centre in the UK, is set to open to the public on 29 April

Projects

‘Sufficiency’ key alongside energy efficiency & renewables, says IPCC

Latest climate report calls for more e cient use of floor space in buildings

Climate Change

New EU law will mandate renovation of inefficient buildings

Green groups criticise lack of focus on embodied carbon. The European Commission is proposing sweeping changes to the way in which energy ratings for buildings are allocated, in a bid to stimulate the retrofit of the worst performing buildings across Europe.

General

Building or upgrading?

If you’re pricing, designing or constructing a building – whether it's an energy upgrade of a small house or a sustainable new build home, office or multi unit scheme – Passive House Plus can help.

Click here to get in contact with the companies you need, and receive a copy of Passive House Plus for free!

Marketplace

Beattie Passive announces appointments

Beattie Passive announces appointments

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.

23-08-2023 Marketplace

Partel launches range of airtight grommets and accessories

Partel launches range of airtight grommets and accessories

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 box, Electriseal Box.

23-08-2023 Marketplace

Daikin sustainable solutions on display in BBC Earth Experience

Daikin sustainable solutions on display in BBC Earth Experience

Heat pump giant Daikin has sponsored a groundbreaking sustainable building in London, for the BBC Earth Experience.

23-08-2023 Marketplace

Avoid thermal bridging with Bosig Phonotherm 200 (RG550)

Avoid thermal bridging with Bosig Phonotherm 200 (RG550)

Thermal bridges will most likely occur where one building element meets another, for example a wall meeting a window.

23-08-2023 Marketplace

Blogs

Awaab Ishak’s death shows that building physics are a life and death matter

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.

Blogs

Mainstreaming retrofit – a massive missed opportunity

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.

Blogs

Does nuclear have a role to play in decarbonising energy?

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?

Blogs

Is it okay to retrofit heat pumps before building fabric?

How flexible can heat pumps be to handle what may be inexactly defined heating demands, asks Toby Cambray?

Blogs

Enniskillen passive house camp attracts international audience

Enniskillen passive house camp attracts international audience

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).

Blogs

Why we wrote Designing for the Climate Emergency

Why we wrote Designing for the Climate Emergency

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.

Blogs

Bad retrofit is worse than no retrofit

But doing retrofit well and at scale remains an enormous technical and financial challenge, writes Dr Peter Rickaby.

Blogs

HomeWorld 1981: car engine-driven houses & low energy ideas that stuck

HomeWorld 1981: car engine-driven houses & low energy ideas that stuck

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.

Blogs

Podcast: what we've learned from 20 years in green building mags

Podcast: what we've learned from 20 years in green building mags

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.

Blogs

Punk retrofit: fighting the lack of vision on energy upgrades

Punk retrofit: fighting the lack of vision on energy upgrades

In the aftermath of COP26, Dr Peter Rickaby asks what is the government’s plan to deliver the deep, whole-house, quality-assured retrofits needed to get us to net zero by 2050?

Blogs

The world energy crisis 2022

The world energy crisis 2022

The energy crises of the 1970s did not prompt a major shift in Europe from foreign oil and gas towards energy efficiency and renewables. Will we learn this time around, wonders Dr Marc O Riain

Blogs

Lifting retrofit out of its silo

There has been a sleuth of recent reports on how to retrofit Britain’s existing homes, but we must think deeper than the practical matter of reducing energy and carbon, to how we create beautiful places to live, writes Peter Rickaby.

Blogs

The PH+ guides

The PH+ guide to insulating foundations

The PH+ guide to insulating foundations

While understanding wall and roof insulation is relatively straightforward, insulation under the ground floor can be a bit of a mystery by comparison. Not only is it buried in the ground, but there are notoriously tricky spots like the wall-floor junction that need to be detailed and insulated properly. And the design of your foundation often depends on site conditions and the type of structure you’re going to build, too. In this guide, we explain some different ways of insulating one of the most challenging parts of the building envelope.

10-06-2019 Guides

The PH+ guide to airtightness

The PH+ guide to airtightness

Once poorly understood by the mainstream building industry, airtightness is now increasingly seen as one of the most crucial objectives on any building project. Not only is it vital for energy efficiency, it’s also key for thermal comfort and for protecting a building’s structure from dampness and mould. In this comprehensive guide to airtightness, we look at why it’s so important, how exactly it’s measured, and most importantly, how to achieve it on site.

04-02-2019 Guides

The PH+ guide to insulating concrete formwork

The PH+ guide to insulating concrete formwork

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

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

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.

30-07-2020 Guides