From the Construct Ireland archives

Richard Douthwaite explains how inadequate conventional energy generation is and reveals the potential that combined heat and power & energy service companies can offer.

Closed-panel timber frame home in Wicklow with impressive thermal performance and airtightness

In recent years it’s become increasingly accepted that the age of cheap and abundant oil and gas supplies is coming to an end, and that future energy needs will have to be met from cleaner, more widely available fuel sources. According to Richard Douthwaite, the prospects of exponentially rising costs and failure to ramp up carbon capture and storage will mitigate against coal’s ability to take up the slack

Ireland's largest passive house development to date, Shanganagh Castle, is proof that with proper planning and collaboration, delivering high density housing doesn’t mean compromising on quality or climate action – without increasing costs or causing delays.

U-value alone is a blunt instrument for gauging the thermal performance of a building. Ground-breaking eco architects Joseph Little and Benat Arregi of Building Life Consultancy explain why our increasingly ambitious insulation efforts must involve a rigorous attention to thermal bridging if we’re serious about creating low energy, healthy buildings.

Turning a ruined farm house into a usable dwelling has been a dream for decades, but can an age-old structure really be brought-up to the cutting edge of energy efficiency? Architect Frank Cooney has found a way with a ruin in Cavan currently undergoing renovation. Jason Walsh visited the site to find out more.

A cursory browse through Dublin Civic Trusts website and one is all too quickly reminded of the constant threat to our Architectural heritage

Lorna Kelly, of the Irish Timber Frame Manafacturers Association, takes a look at IrishTimber Frame

The introduction of smart metering later this year presents a great opportunity to engage Irish people en masse into substantially reducing their energy consumption, simply by showing them how much electricity they’re consuming, and how much the cost varies at different times of the day. However, as Richard Douthwaite warns, there is a real risk that smart metering may come in a form that benefits the electricity companies and not the end-user.