Issue 38 - passivehouseplus.co.uk

Six of one

The climate emergency demands that we minimise the energy we use to operate buildings, as well as the energy we use to construct new buildings, where new buildings are needed. A Passive House Association of Ireland-commissioned analysis may start to shed some light on the embodied carbon impact that different build methods can have.

Cambridge choses passive house comfort for Kings’ College students

Most people think of cold, cramped and poor-quality buildings when they think of student accommodation, but two new passive house residences at King’s College, Cambridge are rewriting the rulebook, with their focus on occupant comfort, architectural quality, and an enlightened, long-term view of construction costs.

Pitch perfect - Beguiling Dundee passive house puts wood into woodland

An intriguing new passive house in Dundee takes the traditional ‘box’ form associated with the standard and turns it on its head, using a series of pitched roofs and different claddings to make it feel more like a traditional city terrace than a single dwelling – built with a heavy emphasis on carbon sequestering materials.

Sligo deep retrofit delivers warmth, light & mountain views

Complete with butterfly roofed extension, this fabric first renovation has turned a cold and uninspiring 1970s bungalow into a cosy A-rated modern home, with some clever design touches helping to open the house up to wide-angle views and dramatic coastal light.

International - Issue 38

This issue features a new nursery school in Paris, built to the Passive House Institute’s low energy building standard.

Why the Green Homes Grant failed

The Green Homes Grant scheme failed because politicians failed to heed more than a decade of lessons about how to do retrofit well, writes Dr Peter Rickaby, and now there will be an even bigger hill to climb.

On the 3D printing of buildings

Building physics expert Toby Cambray finds himself unconvinced by the merits of a new home in the Netherlands that has been 3D printed with concrete.

How to scale up energy renovation

The government’s target of retrofitting half a million homes by 2030 may seem daunting, but the Irish Green Building Council is working on a series of initiatives to help make it a reality, as the group’s Marion Jammet reports.

What’s to show from four years of Rebuilding Ireland?

In 2017 the government promised it would deliver 50,000 homes over the next five years as part of its Rebuilding Ireland programme. But figures from the first four years show it has fallen well short, writes Mel Reynolds.

Growing use of CO2 monitors to slow Covid spread

While the Irish government is delivering CO2 monitors to schools to help prevent the spread of Covid-19, and some European regions have mandated the use of such monitors in all buildings open to the public, the UK has yet to introduce such measures and has removed the requirement for mask-wearing in schools.

Erne Campus is world’s largest passive house premium building

South West College’s new Erne Campus building in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, is the world’s largest, and the first educational building, to be certified to the passive house premium standard, the Passive House Institute has confirmed.

New app for remote control of Nilan Compact P

Nilan has developed a new app that allows users to control their ventilation system and heat pump directly from their mobile phone. The feature now comes as standard on all of the company’s popular Compact P combined heating and ventilation systems.

Ecocel on site with 56 homes in Cork

Irish cellulose insulation manufacturer Ecocel is currently on site completing the installation of its cellulose insulation to a new social housing development in County Cork.

Grant heat pumps at centre of NI energy transition project

Leading heating technology manufacturer Grant will be supporting Ulster University and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE) in their RULET – Rural-Led Energy Transition – initiative, aimed at reducing or eliminating the risk of low-income households being left behind in the transition to clean, smart, integrated energy systems.

Prestige Aluclad: bespoke passive glazing can be competitive

Architects and self-builders who are designing bespoke dwellings often struggle to find bespoke glazing products that match their ideal design, but leading supplier Prestige Aluclad says consumers can find custom window and door solutions at competitive prices if they turn to specialist manufacturers.

Passive house turns 30

The passive house standard is celebrating its 30th birthday this year. The world’s first passive houses were built in Darmstadt, Germany in 1991.

Lancaster student wins eco design award

The School of Architecture from Lancaster University and Ecological Building Systems UK formed a partnership in 2021 to award the best eco-design produced by first year students of the BA (Hons) Architecture at the university.

CVC Direct launch MVHR add-on for space heating & cooling

Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) systems are an efficient way of providing the necessary ventilation with very few heat losses for airtight dwellings. However, MVHR systems can also be used for space heating or back up heating.

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