green - passivehouseplus.co.uk

At the time of writing RIBA’s Stirling Prize winning project is just hours away from being announced. But how sustainable will the winner be?

Tall buildings tend to be among the worst offenders in terms of energy and environmental profligacy – but one new Viennese project shows that high rise doesn’t have to mean high environmental impact.

It's not too hard to remember a time when 'passive house' was a rare, hallowed term. Of course it is still the zenith of low energy building. But there was a time only a few years ago, at our predecessor magazine Construct Ireland, when the possibility of featuring a certified passive house only came along every couple of issues.

Watch this video of leading eco-architect Howard Liddell, who passed away three months ago, discussing his philosophy of eco-minimalism.

Leading Irish timber frame manufacturer Cygnum is launching a pioneering closed low embodied carbon panelised building system that integrates cellulose insulation.

The Precision system has been developed by the company to drive down the costs of a building system that’s becoming increasingly popular due to its thermal performance, healthiness and low environmental impact.

The government is withdrawing grant support for heat pumps and biomass boilers and reducing grants for other energy efficiency upgrades as part of its new Better Energy national building upgrade programme. The government has allocated an additional €30m to the programme this year in addition to the €60m set aside in this year's budget. It expects the extra funding to support an additional 2,000 jobs in the retrofit sector in 2011.

Ireland's first passive house development emerged as the big winner at the first inaugural Isover Energy Efficiency Awards in Dublin on Friday. The Grange Lough project — by developer Michael Bennett and Shoalwater Timber Frame — won first place in the competition and will now go on to Isover's European awards in Barcelona this June. This is the first time Ireland will be represented at the finals.

Bank of Ireland has launched Ireland's first "green equity release" loan. The new mortgage feature allows customers to unlock equity in their home to invest in energy efficient home improvements.

Homeowners with SEAI grant approval for their home improvements can now avail of the bank’s LTV mortgage rate of 3%.

Mankind can learn more about cutting energy consumption and carbon emissions by studying insects than by engaging in a space-race approach focused on high tech answers, leading Irish architect Seán Harrington writes in the new issue of green building and upgrading magazine Construct Ireland.

Energy Minister Eamon Ryan today announced new funding for renewable energy companies in Ireland.
 
The funding is part of a Europe-wide programme that will be managed jointly by the European Commission, European Investment Bank and EU member states. It will assist eight carbon capture and storage and 34 renewable energy projects in the EU.

People planning to build a new home could save themselves thousands of euro each year by developing a passive house, according to the Passive House Association of Ireland (PHAI), a new low energy design initiative comprising passive house designers and contractors.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) today announced that it is inviting submissions from manufacturers and suppliers to the new Accelerated Capital Allowances (ACA) equipment categories announced by the government as part of the Finance Act.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has announced that Ireland's renewable energy production is growing, and claimed that Ireland is "one of the world’s leading countries in the use of wind energy for electricity generation".

A new coalition of Irish business leaders has issued an open letter urging the government to leverage the State’s €17bn annual procurement spend to develop the green economy.

The CEOs and managing directors of companies including Siemens Ireland, Airtricity, Ecocem, Glen Dimplex and Bord Gais have signed up to Green for Growth, a coalition calling for the state to commit to buying greener goods and services to keep Ireland competitive domestically and internationally.

Green for Growth, a coalition of leading Irish businesses set up to demand strong government leadership on green procurement, will be launched tomorrow, Friday 14 May 2010 in The Annesley Suite, Alexander Hotel, Merrion Square, Dublin 2 at 12pm. The coalition has been organised by Construct Ireland magazine.

One of the mid-west region’s best known primary schools has moved to reduce its annual water and sewer charges by installing waterless urinal systems.

The Model School in Limerick City invested in the systems, installed by BR Waterless Solution, to offset the scale of metered water charges that were introduced for all schools and educational centres in January. 

Ireland now ranks fourth in the world for the contribution of wind energy to electricity use, according to the International Energy Agency's 2008 Wind Energy Annual Report.

Ireland, which supplies 8.7% of electricity demand from wind, is only behind Denmark (19.3%), Spain (11.7%) and Portugal (11.3%).

Hempire Building Plaster, a new high-performance natural material that competes with more commonly used products in terms of performance and ease of use but can actually make for better, more pleasant buildings has been developed in Ireland.

Targets for greater energy efficiency in construction and renewable energy growth unveiled at Energy Forum, writes Jason Walsh

Why you need to be seen in Passive House Plus