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.

Fuel poverty has “come of age” in the last 3 years and great strides have been made in understanding the scale of the problem, Christine Liddell, professor of psychology at Ulster University, said in her keynote address to the Energy Action conference in Dublin Castle on Monday, 6 February.

Citing British research as an example, she stressed that any investment made in tackling fuel poverty would be recouped by the state.

Building Life Consultancy is to hold two-day thermal bridge assessor workshops in Dublin on 16-17 February, 12-13 April, and 7- 8 June. The workshops are intended for architects, engineers, technologists, BER assessors, CEPH designers, insulation suppliers, and anyone with a focus on fabric performance and detailing.

"There has been increased demand for hands-on training in thermal bridge calculation and surface condensation risk assessment to meet the latest IS, BS, ISO Standards,” Building Life Consultancy’s Joseph Little told Construct Ireland.

Environment minister Phil Hogan and public expenditure and reform minister Brendan Howlin today launched Green Tenders, Ireland's first green public procurement action plan. The aim of the plan is to encourage public authorities to purchase more sustainable products and services.

The action plan stresses that green public procurement can be a "driver for innovation" and "provide a competitive advantage for emerging companies".

The government's cuts to its Better Energy grants will cost jobs and make it extremely difficult for Ireland to meet its retrofit and energy reduction targets, green building magazine Construct Ireland has warned.

Following the budget, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland reduced grants for cavity wall insulation from €320 to €350. Grants for internal and external wall insulation were also reduced — previously these were €2,000 and and €4,000 respectively, but now separate rates have been introduced for different house types, with the maximum being €1,800 for internal insulation and €3,600 for external.

An unpublished 2005 Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland report found that new homes were failing to meet minimum energy efficiency, ventilation and fire safety regulations during the boom.

A ground breaking performance-based advertising system developed by green building and upgrading magazine Construct Ireland has been nominated for an innovation gong at the Irish Magazine Awards.

The bold offer means companies advertising green products and services in Construct Ireland don’t have to pay for adverts until they receive a pre-agreed number of reader enquiries.

The property and construction industries from 89 nations representing more than 30,000 organisations have united for World Green Building Week, from 19-23 September. The Irish Green Building Council is hosting a series of events as part of the week.
 
World Green Building Week aims to highlight the important role that green buildings play in improving the global carbon footprint, while also saving money, creating jobs and reducing poverty.



 

Joseph Little and Calina Ferraro of Building Life Consultancy, and Manfred Kehrer of the Fraunhofer Institute of Building Physics will deliver a two day workshop on Wufi Pro hygrothermal simulation software in Dublin on 15 and 16 September.

This workshop will teach attendees to use Fraunhofer’s Wufi Pro software for simulating heat and moisture transfer through building fabric for the purpose of assessing risk and preventing interstitial condensation. The focus of the workshop will be on the practical application of the software.

Environmental groups have criticised the EU's new Energy Efficiency Directive for failing to mandate member states to make big energy savings over the next decade.

According to the European Commission, the plan will deliver 20% energy savings across the union by 2020. However, Friends of the Earth said the directive would "not make savings to the extent promised, or on the scale needed to fight climate change".

Environment Minister Phil Hogan has signed the new statutory instrument for Part L of the building regulations — which deals with energy efficiency in dwellings — into law, the department has confirmed to Construct Ireland.

The new regulations aim to deliver a 60% reduction in energy performance and carbon emissions for new dwellings compared to the 2005 standards, and will become effective from 1 December 2011.

Eamon Ryan newly elected as leader of the Green Party this afternoo with 71.6% of the vote. More to follow...

The government has published its draft national action plan on green public procurement (GPP). Environment minister Phil Hogan said the plan, when finalised later this year, will apply to all personnel involved in procurement across the public sector.

The plan aims to ensure the government purchases sustainable products and services in areas such as construction, energy, food and transport.

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.

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) has opened entries for the eighth all-island Sustainable Energy Awards. Sponsored by ESB Electric Ireland, the awards honour individuals and organisations that "demonstrate excellence in sustainable energy practices".

The competition is open to private and public sector organisations of all sizes throughout the island of Ireland.

Energy minister Pat Rabbitte today announced the opening of the government's electric vehicle grant scheme. Eligible vehicles can receive a grant of up to €5,000.

Qualifying vehicles sold after 1 January 2011 will be eligible, and a total of €5m has been allocated for the scheme.
 

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%.

The pioneering energy charity Energy Action is set to hold a two-day fuel poverty conference in Dublin Castle on 7-8 February.

“The introduction of the carbon tax on fuel costs in 2010 has further exacerbated the health and monetary problems for the fuel poor,” said Energy Action general manager Charles Roarty. “Due to low income and possibly debt these households will not have the funds needed to pay for retrofitting measures, even allowing for SEAI’s Home Energy Saving scheme grants.”

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.