Embodied carbon & zero emission targets adopted in new EPBD
All new homes in Europe must meet binding embodied carbon reduction targets and produce zero on site emissions by 2030, due to changes led by Irish Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe.
All new homes in Europe must meet binding embodied carbon reduction targets and produce zero on site emissions by 2030, due to changes led by Irish Green Party MEP Ciarán Cuffe.
The UK’s official climate change advisor has called on the government to tighten energy efficiency standards for new housing to bring them down, or close to, passive house standard.
The Saint-Gobain Ireland Technical Academy is adding to its existing training portfolio by launching a series of free nZEB modular courses. Starting this July, these innovative nZEB courses will offer those working in construction in Ireland a chance to upskill, free of charge, in an increasingly regulated area of the construction industry.
London encouraged to adopt its own building energy standard.
Despite increasing standards of insulation and airtightness, housing developers face few requirements to provide better ventilation and indoor air quality for new home buyers — beyond knocking extra holes in walls. But as reports of condensation and mould affecting new housing developments continue to surface in both the UK and Ireland, and research indicates many new homes may have poor indoor air quality, are developers finally waking up to the need for properly engineered ventilation systems?
At the time of going to press, the Department of Housing, Planning, Community & Local Government was set to imminently launch a public consultation on a major revision to Part L of the building regulations for buildings other than dwellings.
Historic buildings are all too easy to ignore when considering potential candidates for energy upgrade work. The heritage value of an historic building can often mitigate against the most obvious interventions, such as adding some form of wall insulation or replacing windows. Architect Fergal McGirl takes a typical Georgian building in Dublin through the energy rating process and proposes some considered upgrade measures.
Sustainable Energy Ireland was initially criticised by some quarters for the lack of vetting of renewable energy installers registered under the Greener Homes Scheme. However, the recent introduction of mandatory training for those on the register has also proven controversial, writes Lenny Antonelli.
Patrick Daly, co-founder of the RiSE (Research in Sustainable Environments) research unit in the DIT has undertaken an in depth study and critique of the current Irish Part L for energy efficiency in dwellings, comparing it in detail to the UK equivalent. The findings raise challenging questions about the Irish standards and methodology and highlight serious shortcomings in comparison to our UK neighbours, permitting substantially higher levels of CO2 emissions from new homes in Ireland than in the UK.
As the January 2006 deadline for implementation of the EU Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings draws ever nearer, the Irish Government has spelt out its plans to delay the across the board introduction of building energy ratings until 2009. But how does this compare to other EU Member States?
Energy Directive
Construct Ireland and Century Homes present the need for Energy Labels before the Joint Oireachtas Committee