Leading renewable technology supplier Unipipe has become the Irish distributors for the Austrian Smartflower – which the company claim is the world’s first self-contained solar PV system. 

It is well documented that parapets allow conductive materials to transfer energy through the thermal barrier and are therefore just as prone to the problems of thermal bridging as balconies. 

SMET Building Products has advised those specifying floor screed to avoid product failure, particularly in heated screeds, by ensuring their choice of products meets the right standards. “Historically, floor screed failures have regularly resulted from the interaction of heated screed constructions with a wide range of coverings. Failure by the contractor to check on residual moisture and consequent installation of coverings on an overly wet screed may have serious implications for the durability and longevity of the flooring,” said Joris Smet of SMET Building Products. 

Folding attic stairs are a common addition to many homes in Ireland but, like any product that requires cutting a larger aperture in the building fabric, it has the potential to leak air like a sieve. 

A Galway-based timber frame construction firm established last year that specialises in passive house has committed to using 100 per cent ecological building materials and advanced technologies to keep its environmental footprint to a minimum. 

Investing in heat recovery ventilation units without paying due attention to distribution systems may risk undermining energy performance and indoor air quality, a leading ventilation expert has warned. 

Archers of Ballina has become a licensed Irish stockist of Technopor glass foam aggregate.

Austrian low energy window specialist Internorm has launched two new products: a range of timber alu-clad windows and the company’s first outward opening window, Irish Internorm distributor Ultimate Joinery has revealed. 

PV specialist Autarco has developed a microinverter which, it says, outperforms traditional inverters in terms of yield per module, flexibility, safety and reliability. It combines “ultra-reliable components with a distributed architecture that makes for a more resilient power plant”, according to Autarco sales director Lloyd Lawson 

Leading passive house rooflight supplier DVS recently designed, supplied and installed two large Passive House Institute-certified glass roofs for the University of Leicester’s Centre for Medicine, the largest non-residential building built to the passive house standard in the UK. 

The Keystone Group is the first lintel manufacturer to offer an online Psi-value calculator designed for energy assessors and architects. 

Trunk Low Energy Building has announced a brand new venture, Trunk CLT, which provides a specialist structural engineering, fabrication and erection service for any client or architect who desires an inherently low energy cross laminated timber shell solution for their project 

Heating expert Maurice Falvey of Nilan Ireland has advised that a combination of air-based and underfloor heating may offer the best overall solution for the heating of passive houses in Ireland. 

Sustainable flooring company Forbo’s new Marmoleum Striato collection of contemporary linear linoleum designs has been awarded with the iF Design Award 2016. 

Passive House Plus begins the soft launch of our new website today