passivehouse+ | Issue 11
News Ultimate Joinery becomes partners with Internorm are tested and certified at the IFT Rosenheim research centre. As well as energy performance, the centre also tests for water tightness, air permeability and shock resistance. Internorm windows are available in four principle ranges: Studio, Home, Home Pure and Ambient, suiting a wide range of architectural styles. Ultimate Joinery’s Paul Tristram told Passive House Plus that Internorm has also recently developed a series of exciting new innovative features for its windows under its ‘I-tec’ brand. These include a unique hardware system with invisible locking that delivers the “highest possible security,” a shading system featuring windowintegrated blinds that have their own autonomous energy supply, solar photovoltaic blinds, integrated pollen filters, and heat recovery ventilation via a built-in heat exchanger. All Internorm window systems can also be fitted with a motor driven blind without an external power source, Tristram told Passive House Plus. The energy is generated by a photovoltaic module which is integrated into the blind cover and provides self-sufficient power for the electric motor. The energy is stored in a battery, and is available when required. Dublin-based Ultimate Joinery has announced that it has become partners with Internorm, the Austrian manufacturer of passive house certified, low energy windows and doors. Internorm is one of Europe’s leading manufacturers of windows for passive houses. The company had nine products certified by the Passive House Institute before shifting to IFT
Rosenheim certification. The Austrian manufacturer produces triple-glazed UPVC, UPVC/ aluminium and timber/aluminium composites. Internorm’s passive house windows feature glazing U-values down as low as 0.4 W/m2K, thermally broken Internorm ISO spacers, and highly insulating edge seals. All nine of Internorm’s passive house windows
Ultimate Joinery also specialises in conservation sliding sash windows, bespoke joinery, staircases and internal doors. See www.ultimatejoinery.ie for more information.
(above) Timber/aluminium windows from the Internorm Studio range were specified in the Richard Hawkesdesigned Crossway passive house in Kent
New Cork timber framer delivers exceptional airtightness Leading Cork-based timber frame builder Tim O’Donovan has launched a new company, Sustainable Building Services (SBS), that specialises in low energy new build and retrofit, airtightness, and ventilation systems. O’Donovan has launched the company in conjunction with another local building contractor, Vince Tubb. “We’re bespoke builders, our frames are built on site by us,” O’Donovan said. “We like to use as much sustainable material as possible, such as cellulose and wood fibre.” SBS also supplies both mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) and demand controlled ventilation (DCV) systems, and offers consultancy on low energy building to both contractors and self-builders. The company is also teaming up with local firm Rebel Energy to offer renewable energy and heating services. SBS also offers Part L consultancy, plus airtightness contracting and consultancy for other builders. The company has already completed a number of timber frame projects, all built entirely on site, that have achieved some of Ireland’s best air-
tightness results, including one in Co Wicklow that achieved 0.12 air changes per hour at 50 Pascals – an astonishing 5 times tighter than the passive house requirement, and approximately 60 times tighter than the backstop target in TGD L. But O’Donovan emphasised the importance of airtightness on all projects and warned that, because the technical guidance documents which outline the prima facie route to meeting Ireland’s building regulations still only require
airtightness of 7 m3/hr/m2, there is a danger any resurgence in construction activity will only lead to more leaky buildings. “Airtightness is such an integral part of what needs to be done as far as energy conservation in a building,” he said. (above) This recent Sustainable Building Services project in Wicklow was designed to be both airtight and wind-tight, and achieved a blower door test result of 0.12 ACH
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