ISH, the world’s leading trade fair focused on building services, energy, and water, returns to Messe Frankfurt from 11 to 15 March 2019.

The Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun picked up the Buildings Award at the 2018 SEAI Sustainable Energy Awards, which were held at the Mansion House, Dublin, on 25 October. The awards recognise excellence in energy management in business, communities and public sector organisations.

Energy efficient properties less likely to default, research finds

Heat pumps were likely the dominant heating system in new Irish homes in 2017, and mechanical ventilation was on course to overtake natural ventilation in new homes in 2018, an analysis by Passive House Plus has revealed.

Fifty-four percent of Irish organisations participating in the World Green Building Trends 2018 SmartMarket Report expect their projects to be green by 2021 — well above the global average of 47%. “The number of green buildings has increased significantly in Ireland over the last five years,” said Pat Barry, CEO of the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC).

NIBE’s F730 exhaust air heat pumps have been selected to provide heating, ventilation and hot water for the Bolands Quay apartment development at Grand Canal Dock in Dublin, which is currently under construction.

The environmental impact of uPVC windows can be substantially reduced through proper recycling at the end of life, according to MBC Project, the Irish supplier of windows and doors for low energy and passive house projects.

VRM Tech, the developer of innovative mobile software apps for the construction industry, has launched Virtual Construction Management Platform (VCMP), a cloud-based app that aims to radically streamline the management of construction projects.

Woodfibre insulation specialist, NBT, is on target for a 50 per cent growth in sales volumes for 2018, indicating that specifiers are increasingly selecting woodfibre for its thermal performance, year-round comfort and moisture dispersion properties.

It is being suggested that the creation of a Joint Competent Authority – as called for by Dame Judith Hackitt in her review of the building regulatory system, after the Grenfell tragedy – is due to be announced by the UK Ministry of Housing very soon. And a new industry initiative is calling for Dame Judith’s recommendations to be implemented in full.