From the Construct Ireland archives

An increasing number of sustainable homes are being built in Ireland but many of them are in rural areas, and yet, Ireland is an increasingly urban society. Jason Walsh looks at one recent attempt to renovate a small terraced house in inner-city Dublin, bringing it up to modern environmental and energy efficiency standards.

The development of Coppinger Court, a high density apartment complex on Popes Quay, Cork City, has been broadly received with a warm response, picking up awards in 2004 including the RIAI Best Sustainable Building award.

Energy efficiency is about more than just U-values – the building envelope must be airtight and virtually cold bridge free. Construct Ireland visited a single-leaf concrete house nearing completion in Moate which combines an excellent envelope with wind, solar and a range of green measures, with the aim of reducing energy and carbon figures to zero in the home’s BER score.

Cork city split level timber frame house with passive solar design, rainwater harvesting, renewables & green material

Four years ago the construction industry was focused on building big and fast — but at the same time, a small team was carefully and ecologically retrofitting a terraced Dublin house on a tight budget according to passive house principles.

Semi-state business Bord Gáis have placed green innovation at the centre of their business strategy. As CEO John Mullins reveals, pay as you save and renewable energy will shape the company’s future.

Woodspec -First Timber Specifiers Guide Produced in Ireland

The German-Irish Chamber of Industry and Commerce (GICIC) has just completed a study titled “The Potential of Renewable Energy in Ireland”.
Based on the study’s findings, Bernd Reinhard, Deputy Executive Director of the GICIC outlines the potential that fast emerging renewable technologies possess to revolutionise Ireland’s energy supply, from wind power’s capacity on a national level, to the benefits the likes of solar and geothermal can offer proactive homeowners

The HARP database allows Building Energy Rating assessors to enter real performance data for heating appliances when calculating Building Energy Ratings rather than low default scores - but few renewable appliances are listed, and the industry appears confused and deterred by the application process. Lenny Antonelli investigates.

A new house in west Cork offers a green vision for the future of Irish home building: not only is it A-rated, airtight and highly energy efficient, it’s built with ecological materials that are manufactured in Ireland too.