Passive House Plus (Sustainable building) issue 31 IRL

INSULATION | AIRTIGHTNESS | BUILDING SCIENCE | VENTILATION | GREEN MATERIALS

S U S TA I N A B L E B U I L D I N G

STEEPLY SUSTAINABLE Passive design triumph on impossible Cork site

DEVELOPING STORY

Issue 31 €4.75 IRISH EDITION

Life inside Ireland’s largest low energy housing scheme

NZEB explained The lowdown on new home energy performance & ventilation requirements

Passive endurance

How well are the oldest passive houses faring?

OKNOPLAST

ADVERTORIAL

2 | passivehouseplus.ie | Issue 29

ADVERTORIAL

OKNOPLAST

ALUHAUS SLIDE

IMPRESSIVE DESIGN IN ALUMINIUM Large and spectacular glazing in terrace and balcony doors increasingly dominates modern house design. This solution results in our homes receiving more natural light, thus making the interior more cosy and spacious. When deciding on installing such solutions, it is worth focusing on the durability and functionality that the ALUHAUS Slide terrace doors offer.

M

aximising the amount of light in the house has recently become the priority for designers working on stylish projects. Aluminium, being a light yet strong material, has supported designers in realising their visions. It is also a very aesthetic and flexible material, so quite unsurprisingly it is the Architect’s favourite.

leaves, adapting the whole lot to their own concept. The selection is simply stunning and will help realise even the most daring designs.

Interesting and original ideas based on aluminium can be found on the factory floor in ALUHAUS, a brand which is part of the OKNOPLAST Group famed for its unique design and production quality.

One such idea enjoying increasing popularity are the outstanding ALUHAUS Slide corner terrace doors.

Apart from the purely aesthetic and practical factors, doors should also be an effective barrier against burglars.

ALUHAUS Slide can be equipped with additional hardware as well as burglarproof, laminated glass.

CLEVER FEATURES

OPEN YOUR MIND TO A NEW KIND OF QUALITY ALUHAUS Slide doors can help create a unique, designer interior and ensure magnificent views – it’s possible to achieve up to four panels 3.3m wide by 3.2m high each. Such solutions provide a spectacular effect, becoming a source of pride for their owners.

Furthermore, the shapes of the profiles allow for developing slim but durable structures, which combined with the extremely broad colour palette enables the realisation of greatest architectural visions.

It is also worth paying some attention to the sheer multitude of different configurations possible with this product, because there are remarkably 11 of them. They take into account the diverse locations and sizes of structures, from corner ones to those located on a single wall, shifting left or right, outside or inside. Customers can choose the different directions of sliding, various positions and number of

counterpart. The process of aluminium preservation should also be mentioned. It requires much less treatment than timber, so there is no need to use agents that can be harmful to the environment. Aluminum is not only an extremely flexible material that allows for creating beautiful designs, but also a durable metal that is resistant to sunlight or moisture.

EXCEPTIONAL PROPERTIES AND DURABILITY This system is characterised by the increased thermal insulation parameters with Uw on the 0.84 mark thanks to, among others, the built-in polyamide thermal break made with the addition of glass fibre. This way, the tenants can enjoy the comfort of a warm home while minimising their energy bills and carbon footprint. The large dimensions of the glazing also play a role – thermal parameters of any window or door are known to be the strongest within the glazing itself. In this context, the properties of the aluminium frame are just as important. While a timber frame could offer a similarly good or even slightly better U-value, the aluminium frame has a significantly longer lifespan than its

The ALUHAUS Slide system can include a motor for automated opening and closing, which is controlled through a button or remote. The product is also available within the OKNOPLAST Smart range. The right application and access to a smartphone, tablet or laptop will make it possible to remotely control all automated windows, doors and shutters.

The OKNOPLAST Smart solutions are convenient and energy-efficient, while also increasing the overall security of the house. Smart alarm sensors can be installed in all Aluhaus windows & doors and connected to the owner’s app and the security company’s computer.

The user will receive a notification in case of any break-in attempts, thanks to which they can quickly and easily evaluate the situation. Furthermore, the system can be programmed to open and close different windows at various times throughout the day, which can not only help with house ventilation but also deter potential burglars watching the house by making it look inhabited while the owners are away on holiday.

ph+ | oknoplast advertorial | 3

EDITOR’S LETTER

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

Publishers

Temple Media Ltd PO Box 9688, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland t +353 (0)1 210 7513 | t +353 (0)1 210 7512 e info@passivehouseplus.ie www.passivehouseplus.ie

Editor

Jeff Colley jeff@passivehouseplus.ie

Deputy Editor

Lenny Antonelli lenny@passivehouseplus.ie

Reporter

John Hearne john@passivehouseplus.ie

Reporter

Kate de Selincourt kate@passivehouseplus.ie

Reporter

John Cradden cradden@passivehouseplus.ie

Reader Reponse / IT

Dudley Colley dudley@passivehouseplus.ie

Accounts

Oisin Hart oisin@passivehouseplus.ie

Art Director

Lauren Colley lauren@passivehouseplus.ie

Design

Aoife O’Hara aoife@evekudesign.com | evekudesign.com

Contributors

Toby Cambray Greengauge Building Energy Consultants | Kenny McHugh Secured by Design | Marc Ó’Riain doctor of architecture | Mel Reynolds architect | Peter Rickaby energy & sustainability consultant | Richard Tibenham Greenlite Energy Assessors | David W Smith journalist

Print

GPS Colour Graphics www.gpscolour.co.uk | +44 (0) 28 9070 2020

editor’s letter T

he debacle that came to a head in August around SEAI’s Deep Retrofit Pilot Programme was as shameful as it was damaging. While climate action minister Richard Bruton’s U-turn ended the media circus for now and may provide some short-term respite – not least for the circa 250 homeowners who had applied under the scheme, and in many cases commenced works – this may ultimately prove to be an exercise in treating the symptoms, rather than the cause. Lessons need to be learned, or we will stand no chance of meeting Ireland’s climate action plan target to retrofit 500,000 homes to at least a B2 BER by 2030.

For the best part of a decade, many of the most reputable companies involved in Ireland’s nascent retrofit industry have been repeating the same complaints about SEAI’s schemes. Funding is provided to SEAI on an annual basis, which is a root cause of many problems. Applications made early in the year are often not approved till May or June, with works to be completed by mid-October.

That tight turnaround means seasonal labour or subcontractors being brought in, and the quality of work can be undermined by the need to turnaround projects quickly. Payment of grants may take six months or more, held up either by an auditing system that many claim places too much focus on inconsequential issues over genuine quality, or by SEAI running out of funding and seeking to bring the project over into the following year’s budget – which in turn diminishes SEAI’s budget for new applications.

This last point is particularly evident in the Deep Retrofit Pilot Programme. The initial allocation for 2019 was €7m, with an additional €3m provided 50/50 by SEAI and the Department of Climate Action as of 11 July – the day before both bodies came in to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action to discuss housing retrofit policy. SEAI confirmed to Passive House Plus on 13 August that €10m in funding for the scheme in 2019 would cover 12 new projects out of 64 applications and 20 projects that had been approved

ISSUE 31 in 2018, but not funded. Our analysis revealed that the funding for the 12 new projects came to less than €3.38m. As we go to press a Department of Climate Action spokesperson has confirmed to Passive House Plus that a total of €3.97m worth of projects was approved in 2018 for 2019 spend. That makes a total spend for 2019 of a little over €7m, but it doesn’t explain where the bulk of the extra €3m went.

Perhaps the most lamentable aspect of this tale has been the poor communication.

Well-placed industry sources claim that there were no indications from SEAI that funding had run out prior to the August announcement.

Passive House Plus has identified 11 of the 12 new projects for 2019, the last of which was the 14th application, lodged on 13 March. Fifty-two applications were later declined by default when the scheme folded in August – prior to the government U-turn. SEAI should have established by mid-March that there was a high probability that all or most of the budget for the scheme was likely exhausted, and warned service providers that additional applications would be highly risky and dependant on SEAI obtaining additional funding.

It’s too early to say how much damage this debacle has done to confidence levels – for both consumers and the construction industry – in the retrofit market. A lot of hard work has been done over the last few years to build capacity and expertise to enable the delivery of genuinely successful deep retrofits. The taskforce announced by Minister Bruton must find a way to enable the industry and participating homeowners to openly and anonymously share their experiences, to ensure such a debacle is never repeated. The state must now work out how to restore confidence and seamlessly grow the hard-won industry capacity and expertise – with no more sudden shocks from stop/start approaches to funding – to avoid abjectly failing to meet our targets.

Regards, The editor

Cover

Steep Wedge House Photo by Gareth Sullivan

Publisher’s circulation statement: 9,000 copies of Passive House Plus (Irish edition) are printed and distributed to the leading figures involved in sustainable building in Ireland including architects; consulting; m&e and building services engineers; developers; builders; energy auditors; renewable energy companies; environmental consultants; county, city and town councillors; key local authority personnel; and to newsagents nationwide via Easons.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in Passive House Plus are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publishers.

ABC Certified Average Net Circulation of 7,343 for the period 01/07/17 to 30/06/18.

4 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

About

Passive House Plus is an official partner magazine of the International Passive House Association. Passive House Plus (Irish edition) is an official magazine of the Passive House Association of Ireland.

SO QUIET WE HAD TO SHOUT ABOUT IT Ultra Quiet Ecodan The NEW LOW NOISE Air Source Heat Pump • An 8 dB(A) drop in sound output • Dedicated ATW chassis • Market leading performance

Keep it quiet, visit ultraquietecodan.co.uk Contact sales.info@meir.mee.com or call 1890 326 326 www.mitsubishielectric.ie

Search #ultraquietecodan

CONTENTS

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

CONTENTS COVER STORY

10

30

42

08

COLUMN

10

INTERNATIONAL

16

NEWS

22

ISOVER AWARDS 2019

24

30

Mel Reynolds explains why Department of Housing statistics on HAP may be grossly inflating the state’s impact on tackling the housing crisis.

This issue features a low energy community centre in a mountainous region of Austria.

BER data shows increase in housebuilding, 47-unit passive house scheme gets underway in Killiney, and concern for the future of the domestic external insulation market.

Stunning Cork passive house heads list of Isover Award winners.

COMMENT Dr Marc Ó Riain looks at how the design approaches of architects and engineers diverged in the middle of the century; Dr Peter Rickaby says he has never been more optimistic about the prospects for a sustainable built environment; Secured by Design’s Kenny McHugh writes about crime prevention with CO2 co-benefits; and Richard Tibenham of Greenlite Energy Assessors explains why two particular buildings should serve as a warning to the whole construction sector.

CASE STUDIES Steeply Sustainable Low carbon passive design triumph on impossible Cork site

The unique split-level, wedge-shaped plan of this striking and award-winning new passive house in Cork isn’t just for show — it

6 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

56

66

72

72

56

78

Strong & Stable East Sussex home with a striking farmyard-inspired design

While this striking new larch-clad home in rural East Sussex ultimately received the backing of the local planners, there was just one catch: it had to meet the passive house standard before its owners could move in.

NZEB regs analysis What the changes to Part L & F for dwellings mean

New building regulations for energy efficiency and ventilation in dwellings come into force later this year and are designed to bring Ireland in line with European rules that all new homes be nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs). But while the new versions of TGD F and L represent a step forward, many industry experts still have major worries over key aspects of the regulations.

Big Time UK’s largest passive scheme comes to Camden

The first phase of the hugely ambitious Agar Grove redevelopment in Camden was finished in April 2018.

Not only is it the largest passive house scheme in the UK to date, it also aims to be a model for sustainable urban regeneration and for creating liveable spaces at the heart of our cities.

66

One of the most common questions asked of passive buildings is how they will perform in the long-term — will the building still be airtight in 20 years, and will the heat recovery ventilation still be working? Recent testing and evaluation of passive houses built in the 1990s and 2000s sheds new and convincing light on these questions.

Developing Story Life inside Ireland’s largest low energy housing scheme

Over the last decade, Cosgrave Developments have set about building a new neighbourhood near the south Dublin seaside town of Dún Laoghaire.

Honey Park and Cualanor are two adjacent schemes comprising nearly 2,000 low energy homes, one of which houses this magazine’s editor, who has found a scheme with green credentials that go far beyond a good energy rating.

INSIGHT Passive Resistance How are the first passive houses faring today?

is a carefully thought-out response to an extremely challenging site, and an example of how great architecture can create beautiful, sustainable buildings in even the most unlikely of spaces, and with a fraction of the upfront carbon costs of traditional build methods.

42

CONTENTS

84

MARKETPLACE Keep up with the latest developments from some of the leading companies in sustainable building, including new product innovations, project updates and more.

94

What can space travel tell us about building science?

In the first instalment of his new column on building physics, Toby Cambray, co-founder of Greengauge Building Energy Consultants, takes a look at some similarities and differences between rocket science and building science.

ph+ ph+ | contents | contents | 7 | 7

MEL REYNOLDS

COLUMN

Rebuilding Ireland

mishap significantly inflating HAP figures Mark Twain popularised the saying “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics”. Mel Reynolds explains why Department of Housing statistics on HAP may be grossly inflating the state’s impact on tackling the housing crisis.

“

Rebuilding Ireland: An Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness” was launched in July 2016 by former minister for housing Simon Coveney and includes five pillars of actions designed to address homelessness, accelerate social housing supply, build more homes and improve the rental sector as well as utilising existing stock better. The target was to provide 47,000 long-term social housing homes through build, acquisition and leasing programmes and a further 87,000 flexible housing supports from 2016 to 2021.

A review in 2017 saw the five-year target increase to 137,563 social housing ‘solutions’ of which 97,596 (71%) are to be leases from the private rental sector.

The Department of Housing appears to distort performance figures to meet or surpass annual targets.

HAP ‘Housing Assistance Payment’ (HAP) is the big ‘solution’ and the 2021 target is for 83,760 subsidised tenancies. HAP is intended to unify social housing support, replace Rent Supplement, remove barriers to work and provide a more flexible form of rent support to rapidly address housing need. HAP has been rolled out on a phased basis and from March 2017 was made available in all local authorities who administer the scheme and pay landlords directly. The rent charged is within limits set down for the household type in that local authority’s area, which vary and may be subject to review. Tenants pay a weekly HAP rent contribution to the local authority, based on their income and ability to pay.

Rebuilding Ireland HAP is projected to increase by a further 15,000 tenancies in 2019. Spending on HAP in 2018 was €277M and this is forecast to increase to €422M this year, an annual increase of €145M. These are large budgets.

8 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

Reported vs actual Two Dáil answers, one from former housing minister Simon Coveney in 2018 and more recently from Minister Murphy this year, when read together give an accurate picture of active HAP tenancies for the past six years to Q1 (first quarter) 2019. Active tenancy totals give the annual net increases per year, as shown in table 1. These figures are at odds with official Rebuilding Ireland performance figures which show much higher additional HAP tenancies as per table 2.

Rebuilding Ireland appear to be using gross figures to imply HAP targets are being met when in fact the reality of new tenancies is much less. It seems that as HAP tenancies are being renewed, they are being counted as additional new tenancies, which they patently are not. For example, if a local authority in one year creates 100 new HAP tenancies and renews 70 existing ones, this is being counted as 170 new households supported rather than 100. This annual distortion can be expected to increase as the actual numbers of existing tenancies grows and renewals increase. As can be seen from official figures this is precisely what is happening from 2017 up to Q1 2019.

Rebuilding Ireland additional totals are significantly inflated. This appears to be progressive, from 132% in 2017 increasing to 178% by 2019 Q1. The Rebuilding Ireland total of 40,241 for new HAP households supported from 2017 to Q1 2019 is 12,566 (145%) more than the 27,675 total for active tenancies confirmed in the Dáil for the same period.

This ‘results inflation’ has happened in just over two years. A discrepancy of this size is significant. Assessments of current costs, future budgets and policy depend on analysis based on accurate data.

Conclusion The Department of Housing appears to distort performance figures to meet or surpass annual targets. This is apparent across numerous data sets. Social housing provision is at much lower levels than suggested. Builds should be distinct from new acquisitions; short term vacant units should not be included as additional new homes and accurate net totals for HAP tenancies should be provided. All Rebuilding Ireland data needs to be interrogated very carefully alongside other official sources.

Responsibility for performance reviews

may need to be removed from the Department of Housing and placed with an independent body such as the Central Statistics Office to guarantee future accuracy, as has been done for new home completions.

Given the rental distress experienced by households on modest incomes, official distortions of this magnitude may have unintended consequences for government policy and the large number of families dependent on public housing. ■ 2014-2019 Q1 HAP Tenancies: Dáil answers Year

Total active HAP tenancies (year end)

Active tenancies per year

2014

485

485

2015

6,165

5,680

2016

18,240

12,075

2017

31,228

12,988

2018

43,443

12,215

2019 Q1

45,915

2,472

Table 1 2016-2019 Q1 HAP Tenancies: Rebuilding Year

Rebuilding Ireland: New households supported per year

2016

12,075

2017

17,916

2018

17,926

2019 Q1

4,399

TOTAL

52,316

Table 2 2016-2019 Q1 HAP Tenancies: Rebuilding Ireland vs Actual Rebuilding Ireland: New households supported per year

% difference

12,988

17,916

138%

12,215

17,926

148%

2,472

4,399

175%

27,675

40,241

145%

Year

Dáil: Active tenancies per year

2017 2018 2019 Q1 TOTAL Table 3

A fully referenced version of this article is online at www.passivehouseplus.ie Mel Reynolds is a registered architect with more than 25 years of experience in project management, conservation, urban design and developer-led housing. He is also a certified passive house designer.

THE EVOLUTION OF CONTROL NEW HEAT RECOVERY VENTILATION

BY AERECO www.aereco.ie

AUSTRIA

I N T E R N AT I O N A L

0.00M 0.00M

5.00M 5.00M

10.00M 10.00M

INTERNATIONAL

Photos: Christian Flatscher

PASSI V E & E C O BU IL D S F R O M AR OUND THE WO RL D

10

IN BRIEF Building: 615 sqm community centre Architect: Johannes Nägele Method: Concrete core with timber frame shell Standard: Low energy new build with passive house components

INNERBRAZ COMMUNITY CENTRE, BLUDENZ, AUSTRIA

W

hen the villagers of Innerbraz in the mountainous Bludenz district of eastern Austria wanted to inject new life into their village, they launched an architectural competition for the design of a new community centre.

Ten proposals were entered, but it was local architect Johannes Nägele’s striking-yet-sensitive design that won the day. Finished in 2017, the new centre now beautifully contrasts and compliments the more traditional surrounding buildings under the snowy peaks of the Vorarlberg Alps.

The building houses three functions: on the ground floor are the new community offices, set at street level to make them open and accessible to local residents.

At basement level is a new childcare facility, with access to a sheltered outdoor playground, while on the top floor there is a large, acoustically isolated rehearsal space for the local music society.

Set beside the existing kindergarten and local schools, the placement of the new community centre also creates new and extended outdoor spaces for pupils to share. There is also a new public courtyard

facing the road, with a covered entrance where locals waiting for the bus can shelter from bad weather.

Outside, the town hall’s striking facade is clad with silver fir, a tree native to these alpine regions. Structurally, it features an inner load-bearing concrete frame with an outer, airtight (0.56 ACH) prefabricated timber shell, insulated with sheep wool. Both the interior walls and furniture are clad with untreated, brushed wooden surfaces from local fir forests too. “They can still smell the silver fir inside,” architect Johannes Nägele says.

Speaking to Passive House Plus, Nägele said that the various functions of the building mean it has become a lively village centre, and he says its users are particularly happy with the excellent indoor air quality provided by the controlled ventilation system. Space heating demand is very low too (10 kWh/m2/ yr), and is met by the region’s district heating system, which is fed with locally grown wood chips.

All in all, Nägele says the new town hall has helped lead to the “revitalisation of the village”.

ph+ | austria international | 11

12

SHOWROOMS: CORK, DUBLIN, GALWAY & BELFAST UNPARALLELED CHOICE OF PASSIVE CERTIFIED PRODUCTS – OUTWARD OPENING, INWARD OPENING, UPVC, ALUMINIUM, ALUCLAD

GROUND BREAKING U-VALUES FROM AS LOW AS 0.47W/M²K

T. 064 7751151 E. info@munsterjoinery.ie

www.munsterjoinery.ie WINDOWS & DOORS

WANT TO KNOW MORE? The digital version of this magazine includes access to exclusive galleries of architectural drawings.

The digital magazine is available to subscribers on www.passive.ie

THE LAMINATED INSULATION BOARD THAT IS…

INTELLIGENTLY DENSE PITCHED ROOF INSULATION FROM ISOVER

InLiner board, a laminated low lambda, high density mineral wool slab finished with a Gyproc plasterboard lining.

The Intelligent Pitched Roof Board.

FIRE RATED TO 30 MINS INLINER F EXCELLENT THERMAL PERFORMANCE 0.032 EXCELLENT ACOUSTIC PERFORMANCE 53DB HIGH DENSITY RIGID MINERAL WOOL SLAB

EASY TO INSTALL AND DURABLE MECHANICAL FIXATION

Independently tested for fire, acoustic & thermal performance, as well as a robust & solid plaster finish

Discover the detail isover.ie/inliner

NEWS

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

NEWS

BER data indicates national house building growth – except for Dublin

S

ignificantly more new homes (16.5%) were built in Ireland in the first eight months of 2019 compared to the same period in 2018 – with double digit declines in Dublin cancelled out by strong growth in the rest of the country, new analysis by Passive House Plus indicates.

The largest volume of activity continues to be in the commuter counties surrounding Dublin, with 696 new homes built in Meath (+51%), 513 in Kildare (+14%), 396 in Wicklow (+156%) and 234 in Louth (+17.6%), with the whole Leinster region (excluding Dublin) up 49.25% on the first eight months in 2018.

Even larger growth is evident in other provinces, albeit from lower base activity levels. BERs have been issued for 785 homes built this year in Munster (+96.7%), 170 in Connacht (+66.7%), and 92 in the Ulster counties of Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan (+95.7%). As with previous analyses, it’s likely that in the region of three-quarters of new self-builds are not reported in the data – which may mean the figures are particularly conservative for areas with a large amount of one-off housing activity, due to widespread non-compliance in this cohort with the requirement to obtain BERs prior to occupancy.

Meanwhile activity in Dublin is down by 19.5% year-on-year, down from 2,425 BERs for 2018-built homes published from Jan-August last year to 1,954 in 2019 to date.

Activity in Dublin is down across all house types excluding apartments – which are up 28.4% compared to this stage last year, indicating the continuing growth of the build-to-rent market in the capital. Tellingly, semi-ds are down 41.3%, terraced homes are down 27.2% and detached homes 18.8%.

The total number of semi-ds and detached homes are lower than by this stage in 2017.

Previous analysis by Passive House Plus in June was showing a marginal increase in output in the year up to mid-May, with this latest analysis now showing strong performance throughout the summer months. The analysis was carried out using SEAI’s National BER Research Tool, which contains details of all published BERs for dwellings in Ireland.

In total, 5,095 BERs have been published to date for homes listed as built in 2019,

1600 1400 1200 1000 2016

800

2017

600

2018

400

2019

200 0

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44

Monthly BER totals for new homes by year of construction

compared to 4,376 homes by the same stage last year. The standing total for homes built in 2018 is 12,074, a figure which is likely to eventually rise to close to 14,000 new homes, once the lag of late BERs is added, with an estimated additional 3,000 self-builds in breach of the requirement to obtain BERs. Energy performance trends Meanwhile, the average primary energy score for new homes in the first eight months of 2019 was 51.85 kWh/m2/yr – compared to 52.76 kWh/m2/yr for the same period in 2018.

While almost all 2019-built homes (99.7%) have achieved an A3 rating or better, this represents a drop of 0.2% on the same period in 2018, with a small number of homes that appear to be far from compliance with Part L of the building regulations including a pair of B2-rated homes and a single C1. Over one-third of properties (33.84%) scored an A2 (+4.7%), while 65.7% scored an A3 (-4.7%).

The continuing growth of heat pumps is evident in the data, featuring in 51.9% of new homes (+14.1%), with gas boilers at 38.6% (-13.3%), CHP at 8% (+0.4%), and oil boilers at 1.5% (-0.9%). It’s worth noting that these figures are likely to be unusually exposed to the fact that the vast majority of new one-off houses – a rough estimate would be 75% – don’t have final BERs published. The 2018 standing total for self builds1 included 81.2% heat pumps, 10% oil boilers and 8% gas boilers, indicating that the adjusted figures would cement the domination of heat pumps while lifting oil boilers by a point or so.

Half (49.9%) of 2019-built homes are reliant on natural ventilation, 29% have whole house extract ventilation, 20.6% have heat recovery ventilation and 0.4% positive

input ventilation. The natural ventilation figures will likely drop significantly once BERs published later in the year and beyond are included (53.2% and 59.2% respectively of homes built in the first eight months of 2018 and 2017 were naturally ventilated, and the current totals for these two years in full are now 48.1% and 53.1% respectively).

Almost two-thirds (64.5%) of naturally ventilated 2019-built homes – meaning 32.2% of all 2019-built homes – have an air permeability q50 of below 5 m3/hr/ m2 @50Pa. These homes have an average q50 of 3.07. Given the consensus from industry sources that the requirement in Part F of the building regulations (2009) to increase the area of background vents by 40% in naturally ventilated homes with a q50 below 5 is virtually never observed, this cohort of homes is likely substantially under-ventilated, and may pose a threat to occupant health.

The average airtightness test result for 2019-built homes is 2.85, compared to 2.86 for the same period in 2018, based on the 85% of new homes in the first eight months of both 2018 and 2019 which had tests done.

Average U-values in 2019-built homes compared to figures for the same period last year are 0.177 (0.173) for walls; 0.121 (unchanged) for roofs; 0.126 (0.129) for floors; 1.22 (1.21) for windows and 1.39 (1.48) for external doors.

In terms of thermal bridging, 72.9% (-5.9%) of 2019-built homes used the ‘acceptable constructions details’ Y value of 0.08, 16.45 used the default value of 0.15 (+7.1%) – a growing cohort of homes which may struggle to meet the surface temperature requirements in Part L 2011 – and 10.7% (-1.1%) used a calculated value of less than 0.08. •

1 Detached houses, where the reason for obtaining a BER was occupation by homeowner. The standing total is derived from all BERs published to date for 2018-built homes.

16 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

NEWS

Bank of Ireland unveils new green loans B

ank of Ireland has unveiled a suite of green loans and interest rates to encourage home owners and businesses to be more energy efficient. The new initiatives include a green interest rate discount for borrowers buying or building energy efficient homes, and a green home improvement loan for energy efficiency retrofits. Businesses, including farmers, will also be able to access reduced interest rates for investment in energy saving improvements.

The loans are part of the bank’s sustainable finance fund, which will make €1 billion of green loans and discounts available over the coming year. According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), over 1 million homes in Ireland need investment to make them energy efficient, while additionally, Irish SMEs spend more than €2 billion annually on energy. The loans and discounts are designed to support more sustainable energy use in Irish homes and businesses, and include a green mortgage interest rate, a green home improvement loan

and a green business loan.

Mortgage borrowers can receive a discount of 0.2% off any of BOI’s fixed interest rate options (from one to ten years) where a fixed term is selected at drawdown of the mortgage.

This fixed rate discount will be available from drawdown on new borrowing to finance the purchase, construction, or renovation of residential buildings that achieve an A-rated BER. Based on a 20-year, €200,000 mortgage fixed for the first five years, the green mortgage interest rate would represent a saving of approximately €2,085 over the five-year term. The sustainable finance fund will also offer a green home improvement loan at 6.5% (variable APR) for amounts from €2,000 to €65,000. Designed to fund energy efficiency upgrades, the loan will offer a discount on current rates from 0.3% to 2% (depending on the loan amount). Based on a €15,000 loan, this discount would represent a saving of circa €418 over a five-year period.

The Bank of Ireland green business loan offers discounted finance to businesses who

want to implement energy-saving initiatives to reduce their energy costs and their carbon footprint. A discount of 0.5% off the margin that the bank applies to the small business rate will be available to customers who are subject to small business rate loan pricing.

Based on a €300,000 loan at the small business rate, this discount would represent a saving of circa €5,925 over a seven-year period.

Commenting on the launch of the Bank of Ireland sustainable finance fund, Bank of Ireland’s retail division CEO Gavin Kelly said: “Everyone has a part to play in addressing one of the most important issues of our time – climate change. Addressing this challenge means changing behaviour, and as a leading financial services provider in Ireland we can make a meaningful contribution to incentivising that change.

“The sustainable finance fund and the first of its new products announced today are designed to practically support our customers’ transition to a more energy efficient and sustainable future.” •

Durkan to break ground on 47 Killiney passive houses

D

urkan Residential are set to break ground this month on one of Ireland’s largest passive house schemes to date, Rockfield.

Situated on Church Road, Killiney, the scheme will comprise 47 units, including 15 generously proportioned 171 m2 houses, 16 duplexes averaging 115 m2, and 16 ground floor units averaging 80 m2 each.

Durkan Residential director Barry Durkan told Passive House Plus all units would be passive house certified as standard, with buyers given the option of upgrading to a PV and storage solution as an extra to attain net zero living within the development.

Durkan said the firm was hoping to offer green mortgages for the homes and to team up with an energy supplier to offer more favourable rates for buyers.

Designed by McCullough Mulvin Architects and with passive house consultancy from MosArt, the new development is

intended to appeal primarily to career professionals and first-time buyers within the area, along with families and trader downers looking to live in a healthier, more efficient home.

According to Durkan, the scheme’s sustainability goes beyond energy efficiency. “We will be upcycling felled trees into new playground equipment and crushing and reusing rock as excavated for use within the development,” he said. The scheme will also feature sedum roofs and extensive soft landscaping, supporting biodiversity and enabling stormwater attenuation.

The homes will be built using single leaf masonry with external insulation and brick slips, with Durkan Residential partners Ecofix acting as specialist external insulation and airtightness contractors. Ecofix worked with Durkan Residential on Ireland’s largest passive house scheme to date, the 59-unit third phase of Silken Park in City West. •

(above) Renderings of Rockfield, Durkan Residential’s 47-unit passive house scheme in Killiney.

ph+ | news | 17

NEWS

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

Energy Action to host 8th fuel poverty conference

Photo by Tim Crocker

E

nergy Action is hosting its eighth annual Fuel Poverty Conference in Dublin on 21 October 2019, at the Croke Park Conference Centre. The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment Richard Bruton TD will open the conference.

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘together we thrive’, and the conference will look at how collaboration can bring positive change for the fuel poor. “The problem of fuel poverty can be solved only through the joint efforts of community organisations, government departments, local authorities, energy companies and other groups working together as an expanded community,” said Brian McSharry, CEO of Energy Action.

This year’s conference is set against the background of the government’s recently published Climate Action Plan. In this plan, the government acknowledges the key role that communities will play in delivering the ambitious targets set out in the plan. Citizen engagement at local level is recognised as an integral part of the process.

Energy Action is currently developing the conference programme and we will have a line-up of expert speakers from Ireland and abroad including Sorcha Edwards, secretary general of Housing Europe, Josephine Maguire of SEAI, Brendan Tuohy of Dingle Hub in Kerry, Eugene Conlon of Dunleer Sustainable Energy Community in Louth, and Brian Whitington from the Scottish Isles community energy group Tighean Innse Gall.

The conference will also include a number of interactive workshops to facilitate dialogue among community groups, social enterprises, policy makers, health experts, regulators, local authorities, energy companies and the various agencies supporting vulnerable people throughout Ireland.

“Energy Action has advocated for many years on behalf of people living in fuel poverty,” said Brian McSharry. “Fuel poverty is an enduring problem with widespread and severe impact, particularly on peoples’ health and wellbeing. It is estimated that 380,000 households are in fuel poverty in Ireland and over 50 million people in Europe cannot keep their home adequately warm.

For more information see www.energyaction.ie. • (above) Delegates at Energy Action’s 2017 Fuel Poverty Conference.

18 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

Norwich passive house project nominated for Stirling Prize T

he Goldsmith Street development in Norwich has become both the first social housing scheme and the first passive house certified project to be nominated for the Stirling Prize, British architecture’s most prestigious award. Goldsmith Street is a development of 105 passive house certified new homes for Norwich City Council, designed by architects Mikhail Riches with Cathy Hawley.

“This project is a culmination of 11 years commitment and courage by our client, Norwich City Council,” read a statement from Mikhail Riches. “We are absolutely thrilled to see a 100% social housing scheme on the Stirling Prize shortlist.

“We work very hard to make beautiful architecture that is socially and environmentally conscious, here we had a client that pushed us further to achieve certified passive house at scale. The purpose of our practice is to create buildings people love. We hope people will love living here.”

Meanwhile the adjudication panel for the Stirling Prize said of Goldsmith Street: “It captures the spirit of a very special place. A coherent visual field that communicated the best of enlightened modern domestic European architecture from the outset.”

The panel said that the development manages to be dense but not oppressive, with streets that feel owned “by pedestrians rather than cars”, and a high standard of workmanship and impressively high-spec interiors.

“Bringing the reduced energy consumption associated with passive house to mass housing is a great achievement, and one that has taken a large amount of effort and care by the architects. This is an exemplary project.”

Other key members of the project team included contractor RG Carter, M&E engineer Greengauge, passive house designers WARM and clerk of works Enhabit. The winner of this year’s award will be announced on 8 October at a ceremony at the Roundhouse in London.

(above) The Stirling Prize nominated Goldsmith Street scheme in Norwich.

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

NEWS

Passive House conference comes to China

A rendering of the Gaobeidian district, which will be the largest passive house scheme in the world.

T

he 23rd annual International Passive House Conference takes place outside of Europe for the first time ever this year, with the Chinese city of Gaobeidian hosting the event on 9 to 11 October. This year’s conference was rescheduled after originally being set for 21 and 22 September.

Gaobeidian is about 100 km south of Beijing, and the construction of a passive house district comprising over 20 high-rise buildings is currently underway in the city. Once complete, this will be the largest residential passive house development in the world.

"China is the country with the most construction work going on at the moment, and this is not being done sustainably at present. This means that we must do our utmost to ensure that the development towards sustainable construction also

advances in China,” said Dr Wolfgang Feist, founder of the Passive House Institute.

The theme of this year’s conference is ‘passive house worldwide’ and the German environmental scientist Ernst Ulrich will deliver the keynote speech. A series of more than 20 lectures will take place on 9 and 10 October (Wednesday and Thursday). Two of these presentations will focus on passive house projects in China, while others will look at energy efficient retrofits from around the world.

Working groups will also examine topics including passive house projects in hot climates, kitchen ventilation systems, airtightness in high-rise buildings, as well as the design tools PHPP and designPH. All presentations will be held in English or Chinese and simultaneously be translated

into the other language.

Other workshops will focus on airtightness, energy balance at the district level, energy efficient hot water systems, cooling and dehumidification, calculation of thermal bridges, ventilation systems and windows.

A two-day “train-the-trainer” workshop will be geared towards those organising courses for certified passive house designers and tradespersons. Participants can also choose between three passive house excursions: a visit to the Gaobeidian passive house district, passive house projects in the capital Beijing, or a passive house office complex in Zhuzhou, which is about 30 kilometres from Gaobeidian.

For more information about the event and logistics of attending see www.passivehouseconference.org. •

Dún Laoghaire to host World NZEB Forum in November

M

inister for finance Pascal Donohoe TD announced the World Nearly Zero Energy Building (NZEB) Forum at government buildings recently, to be held in Dún Laoghaire on 13-14 November.

The conference takes place just two weeks after NZEB becomes mandatory in Ireland for all domestic construction, and conference hosts NZEB Ireland are reporting substantial interest in the event from the design and construction community.

A stellar line-up of speakers from home and abroad has been prepared by NZEB Ireland and the event will run over two days, with optional site visits and workshops on day one and the main event on day two.

Case studies will form the core of the conference, from both residential and commercial sectors, and including two dedicated tracks on the retrofit challenge.

The conference is supported by Dún LaoghaireRathdown County Council with lead sponsorship by Kingspan.

Further details on the NZEB event of the year can be found at www.worldnzebforum2019.com. •

(above) Pictured at the official announcement of the World NZEB Forum at government buildings are (l-r) Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county architect Andrée Dargan; minister for finance Pascal Donohoe; and former Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council cathaoirleach Cllr Ossian Smyth.

ph+ | news | 19

NEWS

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

New building regs “tragic” for external insulation market

T

here is growing concern in the retrofit industry that incoming changes to Part L of the building regulations, set to come into force this November, could decimate the market for external insulation.

The impending changes to the building regulations, designed to bring Ireland in line with European requirements that all new buildings be ‘nearly zero energy’, require any retrofit that upgrades more than 25% of a building’s surface to either achieve a B2 BER, by undertaking other retrofit measures at the same time, or to install a new heating system and attic insulation.

The measures that the ‘major renovation’ clause applies to are external wall insulation, internal wall insulation, window upgrades, and roof and floor renovations. However, there is particular concern at the extent to which this rule could affect the market for external insulation, given this type of upgrade can easily meet the 25% surface area threshold.

Homeowners undertaking external insulation can currently apply for a grant of up to €6,000 to part-fund the work, but from November on they will be required to undertake the additional measures outlined above at the same time. Grants for homeowners are also currently available for internal and cavity wall insulation, attic insulation, heat pumps, solar thermal and solar PV systems and heating controls, but the new requirements will still significantly increase the outlay demanded from homeowners.

Speaking to Passive House Plus, Martin Labedz of MBC Project, who supply the KABE Therm external wall insulation

(EWI) system in Ireland, described the changes as “tragic” for the EWI market in Ireland.

“This will most likely mean the death of 90% of the private homeowner market for EWI, dealing another blow to our carbon emissions targets,” said Labedz. “Most homeowners will just give up on getting insulation done.”

Ken Lee of insulation contractor LeeTherm went even further, saying the market for owner-occupier retrofit of external insulation was now “gone”. Lee said that in his experience, many of his customers will undertake whole-house retrofits over time, perhaps doing external insulation one year, then upgrading their windows once they’ve saved extra money a few years later.

“People just don’t have the money to do the windows, doors, external insulation and a heat pump all in one go,” he said.

Lee also expressed concern that the recent controversy surrounding the deep retrofit grant scheme, during which it was temporarily revealed the scheme had run out of funds before more funding was made available, had in fact created the impression among homeowners that all insulation and retrofit grants had been suspended.

“We have people ringing now saying all the grants are gone,” he said. “People don’t differentiate between [schemes]…

The phones have got noticeably quieter.”

The changes to Part L for major renovations are derived from the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, which has also mandated the NZEB standard across the continent, and appear designed to deal with concern that piecemeal retrofits — where someone undertakes just a single measure or two,

such as attic or cavity wall insulation — are not sufficient to sufficiently reduce carbon emissions from buildings.

There is also a worry that without whole-house retrofit plans, single measures can sometimes exacerbate problems with building fabric or indoor air quality. Insulating and making a house more airtight without upgrading the ventilation system for example, can lead to poor indoor air quality.

In the UK, the new retrofit code of practice SR 54, which will apply to government-funded schemes, is designed to ensure that any retrofit is properly designed, considers the whole dwelling, and protects the building fabric as well as indoor air quality.

At European level, there is also a growing movement to incentivise ‘step-by-step’ deep retrofits, where major upgrades are undertaken over a period of years to make the costs more manageable for building owners — but are carried out according to a whole-house retrofit plan developed at the outset of the process.

The Passive House Institute now allows certification of Enerphit to be undertaken this way according to their retrofit plans.

However, the recent changes to Irish building regulations do not appear to facilitate these types of upgrades.

There also remain questions over how the new regulations will be enforced.

While new build housing is subject to planning permission and the Building Control Amendment Regulations (BCAR), under which compliance with the building regulations must be demonstrated, most retrofits are not subject to these rules, so there is uncertainty as to how building control offices in local authorities will be expected to check for compliance. •

Greenbuild Europe 2020 to take place in Dublin T he third annual Greenbuild Europe conference will be held in Dublin on 24-25 March 2020, at the Croke Park conference centre. The event, hosted by the US Green Building Council (USGBC), brings together green building leaders from throughout Europe, and celebrates the industry’s accomplishments in creating a more sustainable built environment, and a better quality of life for all.

“Europe is at the forefront of green building,” said Mahesh Ramanujam, president and CEO of the USGBC. “With Europe’s remarkable leadership, Dublin, Ireland, is the perfect location for Greenbuild Europe as we work toward our

20 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

vision of green buildings for everyone.”

Greenbuild Europe will feature sessions covering all aspects of sustainable design, construction and operations for buildings and communities, including their impact on people, the environment and the economy.

Greenbuild attendees will learn about LEED v4 and v4.1, building performance, energy efficiency, codes, market trends, health and wellbeing, the business case for green building and more.

Other topics at Greenbuild Europe will include communities and cities, building performance and smart buildings, codes and certification, and European market trends.

USGBC will partner with the Irish Green

Building Council (IGBC) for the event. “We are delighted to welcome Greenbuild to Dublin as a chance to showcase the great work that has been done in Ireland,” said Pat Barry, CEO, IGBC. “With action on climate change now a top priority for the Irish government, Greenbuild Europe will showcase solutions from the building sector. We are looking forward to sharing ideas and best practice in green building with professionals from Europe and around the world.”

Registration for Greenbuild Europe will open in autumn 2019. Sponsorship opportunities are currently available. See greenbuild.usgbc.org/europe for more information. •

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

NEWS

It’s ALL Inside!

EXHAUST AIR HEAT PUMP NIBE F730 No Outdoor Heat Pump Required An ideal solution for apartments & housing schemes Heating, Ventilation & Hot Water Inverter Compressor 1.1 to 6KW Remote Control & Monitoring by Uplink - Smartphone APP & PC Modular Construction - pre plumbed & pre wired

Erp Info In ready for Assessors - call 01 2864 888 or visit www.unipipe.ie

Builders - Just one machine & one trade required for Part L compliance!

Developers - Lower build costs for apartments as no district heating required Double award winner at The Energy Show, Dublin 2016

www.unipipe.ie

ph+ | news | 21

ISOVER AWARDS

INSIGHT

Winners from the 2019 ISOVER awards, from L to R: Declan McElhinney from Ceiling and Allied Ltd; James Walsh from Low Energy Design; Gareth Sullivan from Simply Architecture; Brian Dolan, managing director, ISOVER Ireland; Paul McNally from The Passivhaus Architecture Company; Mick Cosgrave from Cosgrave Developments; and Niall Small from HJ Lyons.

ISOVER AWARDS

CELEBRATE BEST IN IRISH ENERGY EFFICIENCY & DESIGN

S

imply Architecture, and their new build residential project The Fairways (also known as Steep Wedge House) in Cork was named the winner of the 2019 Overall ISOVER Award, as well as picking up the Designer of the Year award, at the third ever ISOVER Awards, which took place at the Smock Alley Theatre on 6 June 2019.

The event saw over 100 construction and building professionals, including architects, engineers, builders and developers, come together to recognise and celebrate the

best-built and most energy efficient building projects from across Ireland. The Fairways is a certified passive house and is profiled in depth on p28 of this issue of Passive House Plus.

According to the ISOVER Awards 2019 judging panel, the project represented the perfect combination of great design and sustainability. The design responds ingeniously to an extremely challenging suburban site to prove that world class energy performance can be achieved with show-stopping aesthetics, and utilising low

embodied energy materials.

Cosgrave Developments picked up both the overall runner-up spot and the Contractor of the Year Award for Fairway Drive and Abbot Drive, two sections of the highly energy efficient Cualanor development in Dún Laoghaire. This project is featured on p42 of this issue of Passive House Plus.

Other winners included Low Energy Design for St Bricin’s Park in Dublin, a social housing deep retrofit project that was profiled in Issue 30 of the magazine, and Henry J Lyons

above, left to right Some of this year’s winning projects were the Cualanor development in Dún Laoghaire, The Fairways (also known as Steep Wedge House) in Cork, and St Joseph’s Woollen Mills, also in Cork.

22 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

INSIGHT

Architects for the City Quay development in the Dublin Docklands. The full list of winning projects is published below.

Speaking at the awards, Isover Ireland managing director Brian Dolan praised the quality of entrants, and of the Irish construction sector in general. “Today, leaders in Ireland’s construction sector were celebrated and awarded for their world class energy efficient building projects. The ISOVER Awards showcase what excellence in energy efficient design and build looks like in 2019, and highlights the importance of continually striving to improve the energy performance of our buildings.”

“Talking to my colleagues from around the world in Saint-Gobain, it is my belief that Irish architects, building contractors and all building professionals, are amongst the best in the world. The level of expertise we possess, and the projects we ultimately deliver, serve as an international benchmark for what energy efficiency excellence looks like as we move into the new era of environmental consciousness.

Climate emergency Dolan also emphasised the urgent need to deliver a more energy efficient built environment in response to the climate crisis. “As society’s values towards the environment and climate change rapidly evolve and the

world’s attention turns to the health of our planet, the importance of energy efficiency for our buildings has grown substantially in the minds of both the public and government.”

“As an industry, we must continue to develop our skills to consistently improve the energy efficiency of our buildings, signalling a leadership position in the efforts to mitigate the impact of climate change.”

“Every entry in the 2019 ISOVER Awards is a symbol of excellence in energy efficient design and build, and is worthy of being recognised as an industry leader and key contributor to the fight against climate change.”

Expert judges The ISOVER Awards, which were previously known as the Energy Efficiency Awards, celebrate the Irish construction industry professionals who place the green building agenda at the heart of their projects and champion energy efficiency in their work.

The awards were open to all construction and building professionals, including architects, engineers, builders and developers.

Winners were chosen by a panel of industry experts including Irish Green Building Council CEO Pat Barry, Passive House Plus editor Jeff Colley and Patrick Bradley, architect and former judge on RTE’s ‘Home of the Year’.

The panel of experts looked for excellence in both the design of the build from a specifica-

ISOVER AWARDS

tions point of view, but also with regards to how the building was constructed on-site, to ensure maximum energy efficiency for future occupants.

Commenting on the calibre of the winners at the ISOVER Awards, Jeff Colley said: “The ISOVER Awards 2019 recognise and reward the best-built and most energy efficient building projects from across the island of Ireland, and signals to the rest of the construction industry what the leading edge of low energy design and construction is all about, at a time when we need the whole industry and society in general to take decisive action to stave off a combination of environmental crises. The entries included numerous examples showing exactly the kind of excellence that needs to become the norm as we face up to the climate crisis: real leadership and advocacy for energy efficient thinking through their outstanding building and design.”

Meanwhile, awards judge and architect Patrick Bradley commented: “The ISOVER Awards is a wonderful initiative which demonstrates the importance of prioritising energy efficiency in the construction industry. My fellow judges and I had very difficult decisions to make when selecting the winners of this year’s ISOVER Awards and we were incredibly impressed with the calibre of entries.”

The ISOVER Awards 2019 Winners List Designers: • Excellence in Commercial New Build – Henry J Lyons for City Quay, Dublin 2 • Excellence in Commercial Renovation - The Passivhaus Architecture Company for St Joseph’s Woollen Mills, Co. Cork • Excellence in Residential New Build Simply Architecture for The Fairways, Co. Cork • Excellence in Residential Renovation Low Energy Design for St. Bricin’s Park, Dublin 7 Contractors: • Excellence in Commercial New Build - Ceiling and Allied Ltd for Maldron Hotel, Co. Cork • Excellence in Residential New Build Cosgrave Developments for Fairway Drive & Abbot Drive, Co. Dublin • Excellence in Residential Renovation - CHP Mechanical Services Ltd for Central Promenade, Co. Down Contractor & Designer of the year: • Runner Up & Contractor of the Year 2019 - Cosgrave Developments for Fairway Drive & Abbot Drive, Co. Dublin • Overall Winner & Designer of the Year 2019 - Simply Architecture for The Fairways, Co. Cork

clockwise from top left Pictured at the awards (L-R) are adjudicator and Irish Green Building Council CEO Pat Barry, managing director of Isover Ireland Brian Dolan, awards MC Claire Brock of Virgin Media News, adjudicator and Passive House Plus editor Jeff Colley, and adjudicator and architect Patrick Bradley; Claire Brock hosting the awards; overall award winners Gareth and Barbara Sullivan of Simply Architecture; ISOVER Ireland’s Brian Dolan.

ph+ | isover awards insight | 23

MARC Ó RIAIN

COLUMN

The schism in solar energy In his latest column on the evolution of solar energy, Dr Marc Ó Riain looks at how the design approaches of architects and engineers diverged in the middle of the century.

A

rchitecture and engineering can often seem like different worlds, alien from each other, with different values, priorities and cultures. In the mid-late 1950s, architectural and engineering interests in solar energy and solar housing diverged, only to recombine in late 1973 to respond to the first oil crisis.

The falling price of oil, gas and electricity through the late 1950s in the US undermined the demand for existing renewable technologies. The arrival of International movement architects from Europe displaced indigenous architects and their American modern style.

Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House would trump Lloyd Wright’s Solar Hemicycle. The ‘Case Study’ house program in California had created sustainable models for modest modern living but failed to achieve mass market scalability.

By 1950, architects in the US had established the principles of good solar house design and this was promoted by manufacturers like Libby Owens Ford in their publication of modern solar house designs for nearly every US state.

Engineers like Telkes and architects like Raymond had designed an innovative house to harness solar gain through windows, storing it in phase-change heat bins (Dover House).

But consumer demand had shifted toward electricity, with most households installing refrigeration, washing machines, water heaters and 250 million mass-produced air

active engineering technologies like fluorescent lighting, air conditioning and elevators which would allow starkly rectangular, deep plan and unshaded glass slabs to be designed, mimicking Corbusier and Sant’Elia’s futurist visions. These engineering solutions freed the architect from environmental performance concerns.

“All precepts for climatic compensation through structure and form are rendered obsolete” (Banham, 1969). Therefore, architects did not need to concern themselves with engineering trivialities — systems were to be contained, hidden, enclosed and accommodated within the formal expression.

The first building to have a solar array was a remote Japanese lighthouse in 1963.

conditioning units by 1954. Electricity - not heat - would be the focus of future research.

MIT’s 1950 conference on ‘space heating with solar energy’ demonstrated that a schism existed between architectural and engineering approaches to this changing market. Denzer (‘The Solar House’, 2013) argues that architects had focused on the psychological, aesthetic and typological effects of living in and designing an optimal house whilst the engineers were concerned with data and performance issues. Supporting this in the subsequent decade, engineers would take a different path from architects in exploring solar voltaic solutions to building energy.

Architectural styles would be freed by

24 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

Meanwhile, the engineers shifted focus toward alternative active solar research. In 1883, American inventor Charles Fritts made a 1% efficient solar selenium cell. In 1940, Russell Shoemaker Ohl at Bell Labs discovered that a silicone sample with different levels of impurities on either side conducted current when it was exposed to light, but again was only 1% efficient.

In 1953, two chemists at Bell Labs dipped a piece of silicon containing gallium impurities into lithium and shined a light on it, producing an electrical current. Unfortunately, the gallium-lithium combination degraded too quickly at room temperature, so they shifted to a boron-arsenic silicon

cell and linked them together into a “solar battery”. In 1954, they demonstrated their 6% efficient solar panel by using it to power a small toy Ferris wheel and a solar powered radio transmitter (APS 2009).

By 1957, Hoffman labs had produced an 8% efficient solar cell, 10% by 1959 and an impressive 14% by 1960. The first building to have a solar array was a remote Japanese lighthouse in 1963 with a 242-watt array

by Sharp Solar who started mass production of solar cells. Luckily for this emerging technology, this coincided with the initiation of the space race. A solar array of 3,600 solar cells covered most of the Telstar 1 satellite, which was launched in 1962, and produced a tiny 14 watts of power.

Although solar PV had commercial applications in the 1960s, cost per watt could not compete with the established nuclear power industry until the 1990s. Building-integrated and roof-mounted photovoltaics only started to be seen in the early 1990s, as costs fell with advances in clean manufacturing.

PV therefore was not the technological solution to the oil crisis of 1973. There was little interest in the environment in the late 1960s, and solar architecture had failed to achieve market penetration or market consciousness.

Behavioural change and a global economic shock would be the impetus for a sudden geo-political policy and consumer change.

In the next issue I will discuss the rise of the environmental movement in the 1960s that will frame this geopolitical fulcrum point. n (above left) Model of the Telstar 1 satellite, which was launched in 1962 and covered in 3,600 solar cells. Photo: Tiia Monto.

Dr Marc Ó Riain is a lecturer at the Department of Architecture at Cork Institute of Technology, one of the founding editors of Iterations design research journal and practice review, a former president of the Institute of Designers in Ireland, and has completed a PhD in low energy building retrofit, realising Ireland’s first commercial NZEB retrofit in 2013.

COLUMN

DR PETER RICKABY

Is it too late for sustainability?

Despite the urgency with which radical action is required to transform our built environment, Dr Peter Rickaby says he has never been more optimistic about the possibility of change.

I

t is some time since I have felt as optimistic about the prospects for a sustainable built environment as I have recently.

The global campaign of young people led by Greta Thunberg, the response to David Attenborough’s documentaries, and popular support for Extinction Rebellion are encouraging and inspiring.

The Committee on Climate Change’s report, the UK government’s ‘Buildings Mission’ to halve the energy use of new buildings and halve the cost of retrofitting existing buildings to the same standard by 2030, and revision of the statutory greenhouse gas emissions target from 80% reduction to net zero by 2050, are all steps in the right direction.

As are the opportunities for ambitious reviews of building regulations in England and in Wales, the promotion of quality-assured deep retrofit via the Whole House

The success of the passive house standard and the growing numbers of passive house certified designers are evidence that building and housing professionals are taking sustainability seriously and understand the need to change the way we build.

A group of award-winning UK architectural practices have declared that they will lead the drive for sustainable buildings through their Architects Declare petition (www.architectsdeclare.com), after years of domination of our industry by contractors, developers and housebuilders whose main interest has been the bottom line, and many of whom (with some laudable exceptions) have fiercely resisted change.

A culture change is needed — organisations must protect not just their own interest (and profits) but also those of their customers and of the public. The new UK domestic retrofit standard PAS 2035 requires

We must stop using concrete, bricks, steel and excessive amounts of glass.

Retrofit competition, and implementation of the Each Home Counts review, TrustMark and the domestic retrofit standard (PAS 2035). In Ireland, the EU’s NZEB (near zero energy buildings) standard is embraced and SEAI’s Deep Retrofit programme is showing the way to a sustainable housing stock.

On the other hand, the Trump administration in the US is recalcitrant and irresponsible, UK politicians are obsessively distracted by nonsense, and the devolved governments and local authorities that have declared ‘climate emergencies’ show little understanding of the scope of appropriate response. The UK government supports the expansion of Heathrow Airport, the extraction of oil and gas from beneath the North Sea, and the development of fracking.

A friend who monitored action on energy efficiency in housing for over forty years showed that the level of activity simply tracked the international oil price.

We have been here before, and hope has quickly been dispelled by a lack of joined-up thinking, the politics of the Middle East, a change of government or even a change of minister. How can we keep sustainability on track this time?

the appointment of a qualified retrofit coordinator for every project and defines part of the Retrofit Coordinator’s role as protecting clients’ interests and the public interest. This provision, when incorporated in an early draft, baffled some members of the steering group whose organisations had for years focussed on deriving profit from government retrofit and fuel poverty programmes, had paid little attention to the health and welfare of householders, and who saw no need to change the way they work.

The change required is so far-reaching that it is hard to grasp and can only be sketched out here. We must stop expanding airports.

We must stop building city-centre office blocks with huge journey-to-work footprints in the transport sector, and instead re-think working practices using the internet. We must stop building shopping centres surrounded by carparks and continue to re-think retailing around online shopping and efficient delivery.

We must co-locate homes and workplaces, schools and recreation within walking distances of each other and on public transport routes. We must deal with fuel poverty because people who live in cold,

damp, mouldy homes are not interested in reducing emissions – they just want to be comfortable. We must make our buildings energy efficient, and healthier. We must eliminate dependence on fossil fuels from our buildings and focus instead on clean electricity.

We must stop using concrete, bricks, steel and excessive amounts of glass because they are the most energy intensive building materials imaginable. We must turn most buildings into exporters of energy, to compensate for the protected buildings whose energy demand will be difficult to eliminate without damaging our architectural heritage. We must adopt a whole-life approach to energy use and emissions. We must re-use old buildings or recycle the materials and products from which they are made, and we must design new buildings for easy re-use and/or recycling.

None of this is new, but it amounts to a huge challenge. Scientists tell us that time for effective action on climate change is running out. We may already have left it too late, but I suspect that if we fail to rise to the challenge this time our children will not forgive us. n

Dr Peter Rickaby is a semi-retired energy and sustainability consultant who works for the UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings at University College London. He also chairs the BSI Retrofit Standards Task Group, helping to develop retrofit standards for domestic and non-domestic buildings in the UK.

ph+ | column | 25

KENNY MCHUGH

COLUMN

Secured by Design:

crime prevention with CO2 co-benefits More than one million homes have been built around the UK to security standards required by Secured by Design (SBD), the UK’s national police crime prevention initiative, with significant reductions in crime and with considerable benefits to the environment. SBD senior development officer, Kenny McHugh, explains what SBD could offer to Ireland.

A £11.6m passive house development of 72 homes for shared ownership and affordable rent at Primrose Park, Plymouth, was the first such development of its kind to receive SBD’s highest award for security.

O

ne-third of all new houses and apartments in the UK over the last 20 years have been built to standards set by Secured by Design, a police organisation which has a network of SBD-trained ‘designing out crime’ officers in 43 police forces in England and Wales, as well as in Police Scotland and the Police Service in Northern Ireland.

These officers work with architects, developers and local authority planners at the planning stage to design out crime in a range of building types from private and social housing through to schools, hospitals, retail and commercial premises, and sport and leisure facilities.

Crime prevention measures focus on the physical security of buildings to ensure that products like doors and windows are sufficiently robust to resist attack by opportunistic

homes for residents, but also it brings benefits to hard-pressed police forces.

According to the Office of National Statistics, property crime in England and Wales fell by 64% from a peak in 1995 to 2014/15 – a period that spans the middle years of SBD’s 30-year, on-going campaign for increased security in the built environment.

One of the reasons why we believe we have been so successful is that we insist that all door and window products are fully certified.

This requires factory production controls and regular product and test audits by a certifying authority. Our product accreditation provides a police badge to recognise high standards maintained over time.

Whilst building regulations for security exist in England, Scotland and Wales, there is no such regulation to compel security being incorporated in the Republic of Ireland.

Effective burglary prevention measures produce less carbon emissions than those generated by a domestic burglary.

burglars and can extend to the layout and landscaping of entire developments to maximise natural surveillance, create defensible space and limit excessive through movement.

Research has shown consistently over the years that SBD techniques work. In September 2017, a Police Scotland study of 3,000 housing association homes, built across more than 150 developments in Fife over the last 20 years, found reductions in crime of 87% year on year.

Importantly, not only does this deliver secure

26 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

In Northern Ireland, the Department for Communities requires that all social housing must meet the design requirements for SBD accreditation. The success of SBD in Northern Ireland has seen our security measures implemented in social housing and in hospitals, schools and libraries. The opportunities exist for us to expand the benefits of SBD into the Republic of Ireland. Earlier this year, we trained officers in crime prevention from An Garda Síochána (AGS) at their college in

Templemore. Further training is in the pipeline.

We believe SBD measures are affordable with additional costs of £170 for a two or three-bed detached house, £240 for a ground floor apartment and £70 for an upper floor apartment. The Association of British Insurers has estimated that the introduction of SBD standards across the UK would bring more than £3.2 billion worth of savings to the economy over 20 years.

We’re also good for the environment too.

A 2016 study by the University of Surrey and supported by SBD, the Home Office, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council found that crime committed in 2011 in England and Wales gave rise to over four million tonnes of carbon dioxide, equivalent to emissions of around 900,000 UK homes.

Burglary resulted in the largest proportion of the total footprint (30%) because of the carbon associated with replacing stolen or damaged goods.

We joined the same partners again to support two further research studies published in February and March 2017. The first of these found effective burglary prevention measures, such as door and window locks, produce less carbon emissions than those generated by a domestic burglary, which is estimated to account for around one tonne of CO2.

The second showed that between 1995 and 2015, the carbon footprint of acquisitive and violent crime in England and Wales had dropped by 62%, a total reduction of 54 million tonnes of CO2. The study concluded that the focus on reducing high carbon crimes like burglary, could be encouraged and highlighted the ‘growing connection between crime and sustainability agendas.’

Among the most famous buildings to incorporate our crime prevention principles are the 2012 London Olympics site, the 2014 Commonwealth Games Village, Wembley Stadium, the National Stadium of Wales, and the Scottish and Welsh Assembly Buildings.

For design guides, visit: www.securedbydesign.com/guidance/design-guides.

For a video on how SBD works, visit: https:// youtu.be/jZ7oeAQcHmc. A fully referenced version of this article is available at www.passivehouseplus.ie n

COLUMN

MARC Ó RIAIN

NORDAN WINDOWS & DOORS

High Performance, High Security Norwegian Timber Windows & Doors

When Durability, the Environment and Security matter to You www.nordan.ie

Tel - 01 4601 111 ph+ | column | 27

RICHARD TIBENHAM

COLUMN

How will today’s buildings

perform tomorrow?

Richard Tibenham of Greenlite Energy Assessors says a case of two highly energy-inefficient and ‘hard-totreat’ buildings, built in 2013, should serve as a warning to the whole construction sector.

D

uring his time in office, David Cameron promised a bonfire of the regulations in the building industry. His government even operated a ‘one-in, two-out’ rule, specifying that for every new regulation imposed, two existing regulations had to be removed. Since then, the regulation of energy efficiency in the built environment has roughly plateaued, with the free market and planning authorities taking the lead on energy efficiency and carbon emissions.

Consequently, this has given rise to a new phenomenon: that of the new building, often fitted with solar panels and on-site renewable energy generation, which paradoxically eschews energy efficiency in a way that seriously hinders the transition towards a low or zero carbon economy.

The consequences of greenwash are letting themselves be known.

The term ‘hard-to-treat’ is usually applied to older buildings with solid masonry walls.

These require internal or external insulation to improve their thermal efficiency, a disruptive and costly process. But now hard-to-treat characteristics are creeping their way into new and superficially ‘green’ buildings.

Recently, I was consulted on the measures necessary to achieve zero carbon operation for two modern buildings, built in 2013 under the building regulations Part L2A 2010. They were equipped with photovoltaic (PV) arrays, as well as reasonably efficient air source heat pump systems. Lighting, including external floodlights, contributed the lion’s share of the site’s energy demand, but internally, space heating was by far the highest demand.

Lighting was pretty much the only low hanging fruit that could be addressed. Low wattage LED alternatives offered a low-cost fix, though poor consideration of daylight availability meant that some areas incurred lighting loads year-round, irrespective of lighting efficiency. The client wasn’t quite ready to go knocking large holes in the walls and roof, so taking things further required a bit more head scratching.

Despite the heat pumps, wintertime heating energy demand remained high.

The buildings’ lightweight steel frames were insulated to minimum standards and incurred high levels of air leakage. The

28 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

bolt-on ‘fixes’ of PV and heat pumps where applied as a substitute for form and fabric efficiency. This resulted in two new buildings which just about satisfied the building regulations, yet proved hard to treat so far as further improvements were concerned.

eradicated, and roof pitches and orientations optimised for solar energy generation.

In the event, zero carbon operation will likely remain a pipe dream for these buildings and others like them.

The UK is sitting on a growing infrastruc-

Hard-to-treat characteristics are creeping their way into new buildings.

In energy efficiency, as in health, prevention is better than cure: maximising efficiency and preventing high energy demand is far better than masking inefficiencies with the short lived cure of renewable energy generation.

Concerningly, buildings like this are the norm in the UK. Under the current building regulations, commercial buildings especially all too often adopt a ‘fabric last’ approach — an inversion of the conventional wisdom of fabric first. The falling cost of PV cells has made them a cheap alternative route to compliance, avoiding the riskier business of good airtightness. To boot, a bit of PV on the roof also ticks the boxes for local authority planning policy requirements for renewable energy generation, allowing local councils to make bogus claims about delivering supposedly ‘sustainable growth’.

A fabric first approach, integrating form and fabric considerations, offers reduced operational demands during the periods of the year when it most matters, i.e. during the winter, when grid energy demand and carbon intensity are at their highest. The best that can be done for these two buildings is ‘theoretical’ carbon neutrality via a large PV array, providing excess to required energy generation during the summer, yet still incurring high energy demand during the winter. There is only so much summertime demand that can accommodate this dynamic, making it an unsuitable approach for broader city and regional zero carbon aims, unless vast capacities of expensive energy storage is included.

If prior considerations had been given to these buildings’ orientation, form and fabric, then heating and lighting loads could have been minimised, cooling loads

ture time bomb, in the form of an unnecessarily inefficient built environment. The industry is crying out for better leadership as consecutive governments’ aversion to better regulation leads to avoidable defects in the UK’s building stock. A report by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee (BEIS) states that energy efficiency is the cheapest way to reduce carbon emissions, suggesting that time is hopefully being called on this wasteful endeavor. If we are to avoid carpeting the country in solar and wind farms, then a fabric first approach is needed to ensure that the buildings of today are future proofed for the needs of tomorrow.

A fully referenced version of this article is available at www.passivehouseplus.ie n

A wonderfully simple system to help achieve renewable targets and Part L compliance.

Showersave waste water heat recovery systems soon to be visible in DEAP4 as of October 2019.

• • • •

Maintenance free Low cost systems Simple to install Installed in 70,000 homes across Europe

A mainstream system to compliment all modern heating systems.

Save as much energy as 1kWp of PV at 1/3 the cost Contact Showersave to find out how to improve the energy performance of your next project.

Call: 048 9334 4488

Email: sales@showersave.com

www.showersave.com

STEEP WEDGE

CASE STUDY

WANT TO KNOW MORE? The digital version of this magazine includes access to exclusive galleries of architectural drawings.

The digital magazine is available to subscribers on www.passive.ie

30 30 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

STEEP WEDGE

S T E E P LY S U S TA I N A B L E L O W C A R B O N PA S S I V E D E S I G N T R I U M P H ON IMPOSSIBLE CORK SITE The unique split-level, wedge-shaped plan of this striking and award-winning new passive house in Cork isn’t just for show — it is a carefully thought-out response to an extremely challenging site, and an example of how great architecture can create beautiful, sustainable buildings in even the most unlikely of spaces, and with a fraction of the upfront carbon costs of traditional build methods.

Words by John Cradden

€95

per year (calculated space heating use)

Building: 180 sqm split-level timber frame house Completed: September 2017 Location: Douglas, Co Cork Budget: €360,000 Standard: Passive house certified Embodied carbon: Circa 35% of the CO2 emissions of a comparable traditional build*

* See box out on upfront carbon costs for a detailed explanation and breakdown of the embodied carbon calculations.

ph+ | steep wedge case study | 31 31

STEEP WEDGE

CASE STUDY

T

his house looks at first like one of those highly ambitious contemporary ‘grand designs’ built as a no-expensespared showcase for the talents and imagination of the team of architects, engineers and builders behind it. Although it has clearly been designed to fit on a steeply sloping site, this wedge-shaped home would surely win awards for its aesthetics alone.

The true story of its gestation is as far from this first impression as you could imagine. This 180 square metre passive-certified home, built on a very tight budget, has certainly won awards, but they are as much for its highly sustainable and resourceful response to a very technical and problematic brief as for its striking appearance.

Indeed, in choosing this compact house design as its overall winner, the judging panel of the 2019 Isover Awards described it as “the perfect way of doing things in terms of sustainability and design”.

“The design responds ingeniously to an extremely challenging suburban site to prove that world-class energy performance can be achieved with show-stopping aesthetics, utilising low embodied energy materials,” the judging panel said.

Located in the Cork city suburb of Douglas, the house was designed and built by architect Gareth Sullivan as his family home.

“As a young family looking for our first home,

32 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

we became disillusioned with rising house prices and poor availability of quality choice in the market,” he says. They wanted to be close to the city so even the possibility of a self-build looked to be unattainable given the high price of good sites in the area. So, they decided to look for a more challenging one.

“We set eyes upon a steeply sloping site which had an abundance of issues and apparent problems. It looked implausible, but it was affordable,” says Sullivan. The fact that the site was being sold without planning permission was a further risk, but “having researched the various restrictions presented by the site, we had just enough confidence they could be overcome, so we took the plunge and bought it”.

While Sullivan makes it sound like a reasonable risk, it’s easy to see why the site was viewed by its previous owners as nothing more useful than a builder’s yard. Besides its steeply sloping nature, the site has no less than three wayleaves — protected access routes to various county council services pipes — across it. A minimum separation distance needed to be observed for each.

“The services don’t run through our site but essentially we couldn’t build too close to them,” Sullivan says.

What this meant was that only a small wedge-shaped plot in the corner of the site could be developed, and even access to

CASE STUDY

this was awkward. Furthermore, the county council placed restrictions on the ridge height and south-facing windows to prevent the property overlooking a neighbouring site, severely limiting the house’s solar gain.

So, the house design, as it evolved, was shaped primarily by the need to overcome each of these obstacles. This certainly explains the compact wedge-shaped form, but the solar gain challenge was addressed partly by a PHPP (Passive House Planning Package) analysis to ensure the building fabric would be of a higher standard to compensate, while windows on the south-facing side were set high enough to avoiding any overlooking issues. Additional roof lights also helped, and the living spaces are separated over three levels to track the sun’s path.

Sullivan and his wife, Barbara, bought the site in 2013 and began a lengthy process of liaising with Cork County Council service engineers and the local planner, John Lalor, who was thankfully open-minded. “It took a few design iterations to finally reach a point where planning was secured, and all issues were carefully managed to ensure our house would not negatively impact access to the services or be overbearing for any of our neighbours.”

They continued to take their time with the second phase, that of detailing the design and mobilising the construction, which included deciding to self-build. “The self-build approach wasn’t always a given but in the end it was a budget-driven decision to try and reach the level of quality we wanted to.”

“We did consider using a main contractor but once we decided to use a timber frame system it gave me the confidence to take on

Photography: Jed Niezgoda & Gareth Sullivan

the self-build challenge, as the ECO Timber Frame package also included insulation and airtightness.”

Starting the build in August 2016, it took a big co-ordination effort by Sullivan to keep things on track to finish just over a year later.

He did a useful bit of the labouring work in his spare time and various family members chipped in, too. “It was actually really nice to share the experience of building the house.”

Needless to say, there was much design and engineering head-scratching with the build, according to Sullivan, ranging from maximising light to ensuring the flow of the house wasn’t compromised by separating the different levels, and the difficult orientation.

One fairly significant detail was the frameless glass wrapping around the corner from the entrance door, which required structural steel so that the engineer could cantilever that corner to eliminate the post.

But the reward was an extra 300 mm in width to the very narrow entrance, which was badly needed to give it a greater sense of space on arrival.

“Little challenges like this were overcome by some subtle but well-considered moves that thankfully have worked to make the house feel more spacious despite the restrictions,” says Sullivan.

As well as meeting the passive house standard, Sullivan was keen to opt for as many natural materials as possible for the building fabric, something that clearly got a nod of approval from the Isover Award judges. The ECO Timber Frame package and decision to opt for Aquapanel cement board instead of a blockwork outer leaf is

STEEP WEDGE

We set eyes upon a steeply sloping site…

It looked implausible, but it was affordable.

ph+ | steep wedge case study | 33

STEEP WEDGE

CASE STUDY

Changing the face of buildings throughout Ireland

Walls finished with Aquapanel delivered an estimated 75% reduction in embodied CO2 compared to cavity wall construction at Steep Wedge House.

Aquapanel Cement Board technology sets new standards for the design and construction of buildings in Ireland and is a proven alternative to block and brick for exterior applications.

Greenspan can provide a complete design specification and build option for your building facade. ce IAB certified, Homebond & DOE approved.

Contact GREENSPAN on 069 82222 sales@greenspan.ie www.greenspan.ie 34 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

Timber frame structure by timber frame manufacturer

Aquapanel External Cement Board

Pressure treated timber battens

Aquapanel Exterior Basecoat

IAB approved breather membrane

Fibre mesh embedded within basecoat

OSB sheating

Approved render system

CASE STUDY

STEEP WEDGE

The best thing about this project is that it has given us a home.

ph+ | steep wedge case study | 35

STEEP WEDGE

CASE STUDY

ENERGY ACTION FUEL POVERTY CONFERENCE - TOGETHER WE THRIVE -

MONDAY OCTOBER 21ST 2019 CROKE PARK CONFERENCE CENTRE, DUBLIN

Early bird tickets to this special event are now available from www.energyaction.ie

Supported by:

Engineered Stronger To Last Longer

Airtight Air Distribution Ductwork for Mechanical Ventilation With modern homes evermore airtight, effective, efficient, ventilation has never been more important.

Central to the effectiveness of any mechanical ventilation system is the air distribution system.

Designed for use especially with Brink MVHR units, Ubbink Air Excellent Semi-Rigid Air Distribution Systems are: - Manufactured from specialist, fully recyclable, corrosion-resistant, polymers - Designed for radial installation, to minimise installation cost and complexity - Feature an anti-bacterial, anti-static finish to maximise air quality - Of twin-wall, ribbed construction, to maximise duct strength - Utilise push-fit system components, delivering guaranteed Class D airtightness - Engineered to reduce noise transfer from inside and outside the home - TĂœV SĂœD approved for complete peace of mind and reassurance.

To find out more about the benefits Ubbink Air Excellent offers, Visit www.brinkhrv.com or Call Kernohan Distribution on 057 9152 663 (ROI) or 028 9127 0233 (NI).

36 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery

CASE STUDY

probably the most significant element, along with Steico woodfibre board and cellulose recycled newspaper insulation. Even the slate adorning the entrance roof has strong green credentials: Penrhyn Bangor Blue slates boast a projected lifespan measured in centuries, require very little embodied energy to process, and come from the only slate manufacturer in the world that operates to ISO 14001. In this case Celtic grade slates were used – a heavier grade of Welsh slate designed to withstand the harsh climates in Wales, Scotland and Ireland.

But what does this thoroughly green-sounding building spec mean in terms of measurable environmental impact? Passive House Plus called in the services of Tim Martel, publisher of PHribbon, an add-on to PHPP, the software that’s used to design passive houses, to attempt to work out the effect of these material choices. The results are explained in detail in the box out here, and they’re significant: the house apparently has less than a quarter of the upfront carbon costs it would have had if built to the same standard using a typical cavity wall build method.

Architect Patrick Bradley, one of the Isover Awards judges and a well-known face from RTÉ’s Home of the Year programme, said what makes Steep Wedge House so special is the way it manages to merge both sustainability and aesthetics on a very tricky site.

“The architects created something out of a difficult site that’s very beautiful,” he says.

“I thought the detail, and the understanding, and the problem solving that went into the project was excellent. It may just be one individual house, but it provides an example of how to combine sustainability and aesthetics for others to follow — it’s a beautifully designed project that meets the highest standards of sustainability, and that to me is what makes good architecture. The two go hand in hand.”

Like with many self-builds, things are still evolving for the Sullivan’s even after two years, but so far, the house has proved very flexible for the couple and their two toddlers, and Gareth Sullivan says it remains “consistently comfortable”.

He adds: “We have a guest bedroom near the living spaces which has been used mainly

STEEP WEDGE

as a playroom and then it converts back when guests come to stay. This was an important feature of the house for us as we wanted to make sure we wouldn’t have spaces that would be wasted, and this is working really well.”

The couple are also enjoying one of the key features of the house, which is the connection to the garden at the lowest level directly off the kitchen. “As this part of the site is covered by mature trees, we have an unusual sense of escape and it is easy to forget we are in a built-up suburban area. This and the sense of light we get in different parts of the house throughout the day are the highlights for us.”

There is also the benefit of being able to reside close to Douglas village, where Barbara grew up, and which is an easy cycle commute to the city.

“At the end of the day, in spite of all the design challenges, the problematic site and the technical rigour to achieve the passive house standard, the best thing about this project is that it has given us a home. In so many ways that is the most satisfying thing.”

CONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

1 The ground floor features a raft foundation consisting of a 300 mm insulation system by Kore, with underfloor heating also installed at this stage; 2 followed by the concrete slab with service penetrations; 3 a close-up of wall insulation details at the retaining wall; 4 erection of the factory-built Eco Timber Frame system; 5 Steico 22 mm woodfibre board wrapping the timber stud; 6 the timber frame nearing completion, with Aquapanel cement board externally; 7 measuring the depth of the Ecocel cellulose-filled timber stud; 8 Rockwool insulation installed in 50 mm service cavity; 9 insulation, airtightness taping and membrane at triple glazed roof window.

ph+ | steep wedge case study | 37

STEEP WEDGE

CASE STUDY

THE FLOOR SCREEDING SPECIALISTS

INSTALLERS OF LIQUID AND SEMI-DRY FLOOR SCREEDS - IRELAND’S LARGEST INSTALLER OF CEMFLOOR SCREED

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: PREMIER FLOOR SCREED T: 087 2245717 / 067 38968 INFO@PREMIERFLOORSCREED.IE WWW.PREMIERFLOORSCREED.IE

Passive Window Solutions Passive Ultra

Passive Ultra+

TIMBER

TIMBER / ALUMINIUM CLAD

Timber is natures choice and the most sustainable window you can choose.

The natural timber nish provides a feeling of warmth, comfort & and a fresh, soft appearance to the eye.

Whilst looking through your th natural timber windows you can relax and know you’re close to the environment!

25 kWh/m2

WER

W/m2k

0.68

70+

A Rated

U Value

Life Expectancy

.

Years

info@westbuildingproducts.com www.westbuildingproducts.com Tel: 021 437 2929 38 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

For the best of two world’s you can choose Aluclad windows from Viking.

You will achieve the natural timber feel and look inside with the maintenance free external skin prolonging the life of the window and removing the hassle of maintaining your windows.

CASE STUDY

STEEP WEDGE

CALCULATIONS SUGGEST UP TO 77% REDUCTION IN EMBODIED CO 2

By Tim Martel, AECB

T

he embodied CO2 of Steep Wedge House was calculated with PHribbon, an add-on for PHPP published by the AECB. We wanted to compare the house as built using timber frame and a slate roof with cavity wall of the same U-value and a concrete tile roof.

PHribbon works within PHPP and helped speed up the process. Calculations were from a new version currently being tested that includes transport and there were some adjustments that were made by hand to the final spreadsheet.

The software creates a table on a new Excel tab in PHPP and writes figures as formulas. Internal walls, intermediate floors and the slate roof aren’t included in the PHPP but the software now enables these to be selected and entered. Alternative rows for a cavity wall construction, strip foundations and concrete tiles were also added. The entire house comes in at an estimated total embodied CO2 reduction of 41 to 80% compared to the reference house, depending on whether carbon sequestration in timber products is excluded or included. The biggest savings were from I-beam walls with cellulose insulation instead of concrete blockwork, which also halved transport CO2. Overall, and without counting sequestration, the walls - including Aquapanel cement boards instread of blockwork rainscreens - came in at 8-10 (average: 8.9) tonnes of CO2,

compared to cavity walls at 33-37 (average: 35) tonnes CO2. The analysis excluded the concrete retaining wall.

Some uncertainty is reflected in error bars of the result. Most of this is from transport. Some is from variations in installed density (further variability, the variation of embodied CO2 results is being added to PHribbon). Generally, EPDs were favoured if available and a couple were added to the PHribbon library, for KORE EPS insulation and Knauf Aquapanel cement board. An accuracy label is included in the spreadsheet. EPDs were considered good accuracy and the ICE database medium accuracy because the product used may not necessarily be that close to the average across many manufacturers – though it’s important to note that it corresponds to UK averages, which may differ from Irish figures. There were a few low accuracy results where neither of those were available and reasonable assumptions had to be made. There are differing opinions on whether sequestered carbon from timber should be taken into account and the AECB suggested that any storage from timber was not included. Another article is due to come out soon on this.

Transport is included. Generally distances were not known so upper and lower figures were derived from three realistic local and long distance scenarios.

Local delivery lorries are often loaded at poor capacity – in this case 30% was used (by weight or volume, whichever is the greater). Return distances from the factory ranged from 120 to 900 mile round trips using two lorry sizes at 30 or 70% capacity. For long trips a smaller capacity local delivery lorry was added. For some materials distances were known from manufacturer to site, but delivery distances were still multiplied by 1.2 to 1.5 to account for extended routes of multi-drop deliveries via a distributor. Windows from Latvia were calculated with a large container ship, small container ship and by road.

SELECTED PROJECT DETAILS Clients: Gareth & Barbara Sullivan Architect: Simply Architecture Passive house certifier: Earth Cycle Technologies Civil & structural engineering: Tanner Structural Designs Energy consultant: Evan Finnegan Timber frame: ECO Timber Frame Quantity surveyor: KSQS M&E contractor: Energywise Ireland Heat pump: Daikin, via Energywise Ireland Heat recovery ventilation: Brink, via Energywise Ireland Airtightness tester: Pro Air Tight Testing External render: MS Plastering Cladding: Aquapanel, via Greenspan Windows & doors: Viking, via West Windows & Doors Roof windows: Sky Frame, via West Windows & Doors Cellulose insulation: Ecocel Floor insulation: KORE Screed contractor: Premier Floor Screed Screed: Cemfloor, via McGrath’s of Cong Oak flooring: Del Forno Tiles & Timber Roof: Singly Ply Roofing Roof slates: Lagan Building Solutions

Read more about this project in detail

ph+ | steep wedge case study | 39

STUDY

021 4374949

GUARANTEE

E

HU

RS

NTEE RA

ON

STEEP WEDGE HOUSE

CKED GUA BA

100 YEARS

QUARR Y

www.ecotimberframe.ie

A

TIMBER FRAME C A S E ROOF TRUSS PASSIVE HOUSE

STEEP WEDGE

ND RED Y

E

LBS ARE THE EXCLUSIVE IRISH DISTRIBUTOR FOR WELSH SLATE – THE BEST QUALITY ROOFING SLATES FOUND ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. LAGAN BUILDING SOLUTIONS LTD

LBSproducts.com

Complete Electrical, Mechanical & Renewable Energy Solutions

Heat Pumps Underroor Heating Heat Recovery Ventilation Solar PV Panels

Unit 6, North Point Business Park, Blackpool, Co Cork

(021) 4308185 9.00AM - 5.30PM info@energywiseireland.ie

www.energywiseireland.ie 40 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

STEEP WEDGE

IN DETAIL Building type: 180 sqm detached (2.5 storey) split level, timber-frame dwelling on sloping site.

Location: Douglas, Cork Completion date: September 2017 Budget: €360,000 (not including site cost) Passive house certification: Certified Space heating demand: 22 kWh/m2/yr Heat load: 10 W/m2 Primary energy demand: 60 kWh/m2/yr Heat loss form factor (PHPP): 3.29 Overheating: 6% of year above 25C Number of occupants: 4 Energy performance coefficient (EPC): 0.282 Carbon performance coefficient (CPC): 0.255 BER: A2 (43.9 kWh/m2/yr) Environmental assessment method: N/A Measured energy consumption: Pending Airtightness: 0.56 ACH at 50 Pa Thermal bridging: Timber frame system on EPS insulated raft ensured thermal bridge free junctions. Wood fibre insulation to exterior face and reveals. Y-value (based on ACDs and numerical simulations): 0.01 W/mK

screed around underfloor heating pipes; On polythene membrane; on 40 mm Steico Therm woodfibre insulation board; on OSB decking, on 375 mm deep open web floor joists with 100 mm Rockwool sound insulation.

Rendered Walls: Factory-built timber frame with Weberend MT render system externally on 15 mm Aquapanel cement board, on 75 x 50 mm vertical battens, on Proctor Frameshield breather membrane, on Steico 22 mm woodfibre board, on 295 x 38 mm cellulose-filled timber stud, on 15 mm taped and sealed OSB, on 50 mm service cavity insulated with Rockwool insulation, on 12.5 mm plasterboard. Where externally render is replaced by timber cladding; 18 mm Iroko vertical cladding, on battens and counter battens on Tyvek UV facade membrane.

U-value: 0.11 W/m2K Retaining wall: Geo-textile membrane externally on drainage membrane, on 200 mm Kingspan Styrozone N 300R insulation, on Preprufe 300R membrane, on 200 mm concrete retaining wall to structural engineer’s design and specifications, on 25 mm top hat steel battens with 25 mm Isover Metac insulation between, 12.5 mm plasterboard slab internally. U-value: 0.13 W/m2K High pitch roof: Blue Bangor Penrhyn Celtic Grade rugged natural slate externally on 50x35 battens/counter battens, followed underneath

by Icopal Monarperm 700 breather membrane, 350 mm rafters fully filled with cellulose insulation, PROFiSOL airtight membrane, 50 mm uninsulated service cavity, 12.5 mm

plasterboard ceiling. U-value: 0.13 W/m2K Low Pitch Roof: Sarnafil PVC membrane on S-Felt externally, on 25 mm Marine plywood, on 50x35 battens/counter battens, on Icopal Monarperm 700 breather membrane, on 346 mm timber I-joists fully filled with cellulose insulation, on PROFiSOL airtight membrane, on 50 mm uninsulated service cavity, on 12.5 mm plasterboard ceiling. U-value: 0.11 W/m2K Windows: Viking S14 & S11 triple glazed timber-alu clad windows with argon fill.

Average overall U-value: 0.8 W/m2K Roof windows: 3 x Sky Frame flush triple glazed roof lights. Overall U-value: 0.9 W/m2K Heating system: 8kW Daikin Altherma 2 split system air-to-water heat pump with SPF of 356% supplying underfloor heating (& radiators to mezzanine). 260 litre integrated indoor unit.

Stove: Contura i5 5Kw wood burning stove.

Ventilation: Brink Renovent Excellent 400 Plus MVHR system. 84% efficiency certified by Passive House Institute.

Water: Low flow fixtures.

Electricity: Wired for PV panels to roof to allow ease of future installation Green materials: Timber frame, cellulose insulation, woodfibre insulation, cement boards.

Energy costs: Estimated space heating costs of €95.57/year based on DEAP heat pump tool calculated value of 503 kWh/yr, assuming €0.19c per unit. Stove with free wood supply estimated to use 369 kWh/yr.

Ground floor: Concrete raft on 300 mm EPS insulated system by KORE. U-value: 0.10 W/m2K First floor: BOEN engineered oak wood flooring; on underlay; on 50 mm Cemfloor

ph+ | steep wedge case study | 41

DUN LAOGHAIRE

CASE STUDY

DEVELOPING STORY LIFE INSIDE IN IRELA N D’ S LA R GE ST LOW E N E R GY H OU SI N G SC H E M E

42 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

DUN LAOGHAIRE

WANT TO KNOW MORE? The digital version of this magazine includes access to exclusive galleries of architectural drawings.

The digital magazine is available to subscribers on www.passive.ie

€620

per year (space heating & hot water — see ‘In detail’ for more) Buildings: 1,950-home sustainable neighbourhood Completed: Work still in progress Location: Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin Standard: A2 & A3 (BERs)

Over the last decade, Cosgrave Developments have set about building a new neighbourhood near the south Dublin seaside town of Dún Laoghaire.

Honey Park and Cualanor are two adjacent schemes comprising nearly 2,000 low energy homes, one of which houses this magazine’s editor, who has found a scheme with green credentials that go far beyond a good energy rating.

Words by Jeff Colley

ph+ | dun laoghaire case study | 43

DUN LAOGHAIRE

CASE STUDY

above The two developments of Honey Park (top) and Cualanor (bottom) have a combined total of over 1,950 new homes, the vast majority of which have A2 BERs, as well as a 2,500 sqm shopping centre.

44 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

I

n all the years I’ve been writing about low energy buildings, I’ve never had the chance to live in one. The stories we heard over the years from occupants of these buildings – about a palpable difference in comfort and anecdotal evidence of health improvements – in some way were abstract or theoretical to me when my lived reality was renting buildings that were either too cold or too stuffy, and invariably with a bit of mould thrown in too, exacerbated by the lack of outdoor drying options.

As serial renters, my wife Lauren and I had had a run of bad luck. We had lived quite happily and run the magazine for several years from a poorly built Celtic Tiger townhouse in Blackrock – complete with a 1 sqm backyard where you literally couldn’t stand a bicycle up on two wheels. Our first child, Rex, was born in 2013, and the house no longer met our growing needs. So we moved to a 1950s semi-d on Wainsfort Road, Terenure, where our daughter Sadie was born. This house was too remote from shops, given that neither Lauren nor I drive, and we had to move after a year when an electrician discovered the house’s electrics hadn’t been grounded and needed total rewiring.

We hastily found a beautifully extended and renovated ex-corporation house on Kill Avenue, Dún Laoghaire that had been promised to us for three years.

As lovely as this house – which had been upgraded to a B2 building energy rating (BER), but whose glassy extension made it prone to overheating – was, the transition upset Rex, who has since been diagnosed with autism. When the landlord changed plans and decided to sell up within our first year there, my wife and I were forced to look at our options. Working from home was

becoming challenging – Rex and Sadie were prone to bursting into the office to play – so we decided to look for something smaller, and keep a separate office.

Lauren thought that we should look to stay in the area, to minimise disruption for Rex. As luck would have it, we found a new rental option in a development a vigorous stone’s throw away from our last house: Cosgrave Developments’ Honey Park. It was close and familiar – Rex had even been to the playground and lake in Honey Park, and we regularly used the small shopping centre built by Cosgrave on the edge of the scheme.

The energy performance struck a chord too – an A2 BER, high levels of insulation and decent airtightness, with heat recovery ventilation. So in May 2017 we moved into the Neptune building, a brand new 198 apartment building in Honey Park, secure in the knowledge that as this was a build-torent scheme, we’d have about as secure a tenure as is possible in the Irish private rental market. The company took out a little office on Patrick Street in Dún Laoghaire.

Honey Park sits on the site of what was once part of Dún Laoghaire Golf Club. Cosgraves bought that land in 2002, and developed plans to create two new developments: Honey Park and Cualanor, separated only by a road, which would ultimately consist of a combined total of over 1,950 new homes and a 2,500 sqm shopping centre. While building a new golf club for Dún Laoghaire Golf Course in Enniskerry and a bowls club on the periphery of the Cualanor land, Cosgraves started the proverbial groundwork at Honey Park by building the park that would provide the scheme’s focal point, including a lake, a sizable playground, green areas, wildflower meadows and a basketball court.

DUN LAOGHAIRE

I have to remember to check the weather on my phone in the morning.

I met developer Mick Cosgrave and consulting engineer Richard McElligott – in the local Costa coffee shop Cosgrave’s built, of course – to discuss the scheme’s quietly sustainable approach. Since starting out in 1979, Cosgrave Group have built 7,620 homes, in the process picking up countless awards and earning a reputation for quality.

Over the intervening 40 years, the company has developed what it refers to as the five pillars of excellence, which the company lists as quality (design, specification and construction); sustainability (energy efficient living); low maintenance (reliable, long term solutions); user focused design (homes for people to enjoy); and community benefit (a stage for living). These five pillars are made manifest in Honey Park and Cualanor, and a long-term view that was evident in the genesis of the schemes.

“The first thing we did was put in the park – five acres in that – before a house was built,” says Mick Cosgrave. “It’s a huge forward investment but it makes the place. You have

top and bottom left Both developments feature large parks and playgrounds, which help to create “a place that people want to live in”. Aside from retaining trees from the site where possible, mature plants are also added to help create a sense of place; right the impressive Honey Park playground provides a safe place for children to play and meet other kids from the area.

Photography: Image Works

ph+ | dun laoghaire case study | 45

DUN LAOGHAIRE

CASE STUDY

InDomo

Ultimate indoor comfort

Integrated duct system for comfortable ventilation in residential buildings

InDomo is a complete ventilation and exhaust system, suitable for integration or embedment in residential buildings. All connections are fitted with Lindab Safe gaskets, which fulfil air tightness class D – the toughest demands for air tightness.

The incoming air is tempered by the heat exchanger to match the indoor temperature, create a comfortable indoor climate, minimise draughts and reduce energy consumption in the home.

Contact: sales@lindab.com Office: 01 4568200 Chris 086 2733958 46 | Halligan: passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

to create a place that people want to live in.”

According to Cosgrave, aside from retaining trees from the site where possible, the group tends to put in mature plants to help create a sense of place. “So you arrive, it’s as if the house could have been there for five years.

We’ve been doing that for the last 30 years.”

“It’s more of a neighbourhood,” adds Richard McElligott.

Cosgrave explains that the lake went in for more practical reasons – storm water attenuation – but grew into an opportunity to provide amenity for residents while also supporting biodiversity. “We decided to make something more of it, working with [environmental NGO] the Curlew Trust. They gave us all [the advice] to create the habitats to attract the birds.” Sure enough, the lake is home to a cacophony of ducks, moorhens, the odd heron, and of course, the inevitable pigeons.

As someone who lives in Honey Park, I value having all of this nature on my doorstep, in a park with an impressive playground that people come from neighbouring towns to visit. Our two-bed apartment is 89.5 sqm, plus a balcony overlooking an internal courtyard.

It’s sufficient for our needs, space-wise, but if cabin fever sets in we can take the kids outside in an instant to a place where they can burn off energy and have unstructured play with other kids. In our building there’s also a free gym and office pods – complete with Wi-Fi and coffee machine – where I regularly work, especially during magazine deadlines.

Walkable communities Our office in Dún Laoghaire is a 15-minute

walk away – a pleasant stroll through Honey Park’s sister scheme, Cualanor, taking in a forest trail with resident squirrels, and a walk past the playground in Cualanor’s own park. By happenstance or design, it’s more convenient for Cualanor residents to get to Dún Laoghaire on foot or bicycle than by car, thanks to pedestrian access at the rear of Cualanor, though the vast majority of residents still own cars, of course.

Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming a common sight in the two schemes, with several charge points installed in the underground car parks of the apartment buildings and high-speed chargers next to a GoCar car sharing club hub at the shopping centre. But a greener option than EVs is not to drive at all. My family are testament to the fact that it can be possible, easy, and – barring particularly inclement days – pleasant to get around by foot, whether it be for the daily grind of school and pre-school runs, shopping, work or weekend trips to the seaside, with frequent buses on our doorstep and trains only a brisk walk away.

It was this overall attention to sustainability that made such an impression on the judging panel, which I sat on, for this year’s Isover Awards, where two new phases at Cualanor – Fairway Drive & Abbot Drive – picked up the Excellence in Residential New Build award and Runner Up & Contractor of the Year award.

My fellow judge Pat Barry, CEO of the Irish Green Building Council, is effusive with praise: “This scheme exemplifies what creating sustainable communities is all about.

We can’t tackle climate change with disconnected solutions. It won’t work if we build

DUN LAOGHAIRE

above Spectacular views from a roof terrace at the Leona building; office pods at the Neptune building where part of this article was written; and the sky gym in the Leona building.

ph+ | dun laoghaire case study | 47

DUN LAOGHAIRE

CASE STUDY

Suppliers of photovoltaic systems to Ireland’s largest low energy housing project

Coolair specialise in the design, supply and installation of domestic and commercial photovoltaic systems

Call (01) 4511244 www.coolair.ie info@coolair.ie 48 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

A-rated homes that still lock in high carbon lifestyles. We know we have succeeded in creating a great community when the low carbon choices are the obvious ones, when the most sensible and pleasant way of getting to the local shop, school or work is by walking and cycling, through a beautifully-designed biodiverse landscape. We know success when it makes more sense to be part of the local car club, saving the costs of car ownership for something more worthwhile like leisurely lunches in a local community restaurant or browsing the farmers market.

The carbon transition will be less about technical solutions such as heat pumps and electric cars and more about the soft design skills that enable behaviour change.”

Energy use But what about energy use? The vast majority of the 1,950 homes between Honey Park and Cualanor come in at A2 BERs, and our apartment is no different: an A2 rating with a primary energy score of 43 kWh/ m2/yr covering space heating, hot water, ventilation and lighting – a net total which would be reduced by a contribution to the ‘landlord’ areas (communal spaces like lobbies, hallways and stairs) by a centralised combined heat and power plant.

Since we moved in, we’ve used an average of 36.96 kWh/m2/yr at our heat meter, virtually entirely for hot water. In the 25 months that we’ve lived here, we’ve had perhaps one or at most two radiators on for about a week in total – and even then, sparingly. True, it’s a mid-floor, mid-block apartment, which gives it every advantage.

But we live in a place that feels a lot like a passive house. It’s always warm – between 20 and 25C virtually all the time, though if memory serves it may have come close to 26C briefly last summer.

I have to remember to check the weather on my phone in the morning – otherwise I have no idea whether my kids are wrapped up too warm or not for the school walk until we’re out the door. It’s a disarming experience, and living in a building like this takes a bit of getting used to, so ingrained are your behaviours from living in uncomfortable buildings. It takes a while to remember you never need to put on jumpers or socks indoors.

The heat recovery ventilation also appears to be having a tangible, positive impact.

My son has asthma, and his symptoms – which had been persistent up to that point – seemed to improve as soon as we moved

You have to create a place that people want to live in.

in. Flare-ups tend to coincide with trips away – to his grandparent’s naturally ventilated Celtic Tiger bungalow, or an English Center Parcs holiday home in July where the air was thick with the residue of charcoal barbeques.

But when we get back home, the coughing quickly subsides.

Mick Cosgrave is a strong advocate of heat recovery ventilation, the importance of which was impressed upon him following a trip in 2005 to the Passive House Institute in Darmstadt. “The heat recovery was the big thing for all this to work,” he said. “There’s no point in you insulating your house and having a hole in the wall.” Following that trip, Cosgrave installed heat recovery ventilation systems in all 280 apartments at Lansdowne Gate, a pioneering low energy scheme Cosgraves built in 2005. He had to go out on a limb to do so – the technology wasn’t mentioned in the 2002 edition of Technical Guidance Document F, the building regulations compliance document for ventilation

DUN LAOGHAIRE

systems. A senior official in the department’s housing section wasn’t keen, according to Cosgrave. “He wanted me to have heat recovery and put vents in the walls.”

Thankfully Cosgrave managed to bring the department around.

Chris Halligan of Lindab, who provided the MVHR units throughout Honey Park and Cualanor, explains how the systems work: constantly supplying and extracting air at a low level, but boosted as required – either by an in-built humidity stat or a wired function triggered by the bathroom light coming on.

“The integral humidity sensor increases speed in proportion to relative humidity levels, saving energy and reducing noise,” he says. “The sensor also reacts to small but rapid increases in humidity, even if the normal trigger threshold is not reached. This unique feature ensures adequate ventilation.

The night time relative humidity setback feature suppresses nuisance tripping as humidity gradually increases with falling

top A pair of townhouses at Fairway Drive, Cualanor, one of the newest phases at the development; bottom Mick Cosgrave of Cosgrave Developments.

ph+ | dun laoghaire case study | 49

DUN LAOGHAIRE

CASE STUDY

50 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

temperature.”

Summer bypass – where the ventilation system bypasses the heat exchanger – is operated by an internal damper when the external temperature is below the internal temperature, and the internal temperature is too high. “The bypass opens and allows the cooler outside air to help cool the dwelling,” says Halligan. The systems also feature evening and night-time purge modes, which again boost the ventilation rate when indoor temperatures are too high, though users can turn off the boost function.

From my personal experience, the seamlessness of the ventilation system’s operation has been a real boon: you just leave it alone, and it does its thing. “That’s one thing I learned from the Passive House Institute,” says Mick Cosgrave. “I asked them how do you control it? They said it’s very simple: you set it up, and it’s on. If somebody wants to open the window they open it, if it’s too warm. You don’t give people the option to [mess it up]. Keep it simple.”

Cosgrave speaks from experience: at Lansdowne Gate, where the developer was managing the rental properties before ultimately selling the scheme, user behaviour issues led to call backs over mould problems in a couple of the apartments.

“The day you go in, everything is working, because they turned it back on. For the cost of running it, it’s something like 50c per day.

These people were turning it off thinking they were saving money, and it’s the most dangerous thing they did because so little air was coming in.” Cosgrave learned from the experience. When we moved in to our apartment we were confronted by a sign next to the machine warning starkly never to turn it off, and Cosgraves provided a manual for the apartment, explaining how everything worked. Our system has worked well ever since, although it is overdue a filter change.

Combined heat & power Heat recovery ventilation wasn’t the only innovative technology Cosgrave used at Lansdowne Gate: the 280 apartments were heated by a district heating system, with a centralised boiler house sending heat to each unit. Fresh from his trip to the Passive House Institute with services engineer Pat Dunphy, Cosgrave put in a system capable of delivering 7.5 kW of heat per unit for space heating and hot water, which post occupancy

I value having all of this nature on my doorstep.

DUN LAOGHAIRE

top The renewable energy requirement in Part L is satisfied by solar PV arrays on the houses in both developments; bottom electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming a common sight in the two schemes, with several charge points installed in the underground car parks of the apartment buildings and high-speed chargers next to a GoCar car sharing club hub at the shopping centre.

monitoring showed was overkill. “We ended up putting 10 modular boilers in when we could have done it with six,” says Cosgrave.

When Pat Dunphy retired towards the tail end of the Lansdowne Gate project, Cosgrave approached a number of the country’s best known M&E consultants about designing the heating systems for Honey Park.

“We gave them a budget of 7.5 kW per unit for the heat load on all the apartments and the houses. They came in at between 16 and 21 kW.” Why build in such redundancy? “It’s the engineer’s mantra of looking at it rather than looking for it,” says Richard McElligott, who came onboard with a much more streamlined approach. “As the blocks have come along here, we’ve tried to lower the installed capacity. So when we go and do a block of 150 or 160 apartments, we’re now putting in between 2.5 and 3 kW of capacity or less per unit.” It’s a major reduction, made possible by a more nuanced understanding of occupant behaviour, by the inherent efficiency of apartments – which have less external surface area for heat loss than other dwelling types – and the fact that Cosgrave’s insulation and airtightness specs are now approaching passive house levels.

Does that mean space heating demand has been close to eradicated? “Oh completely,” says McElligott. “During the day the trickle demand ambient load is very low.

You basically get a spike in the morning

– absolutely consistent as clockwork – for about an hour and a half every morning where it’ll jump up, and you get a similar one in the evening. Other than that it’s really, really low.”

The apartment buildings are heated by Buderus condensing gas boilers working in tandem with a bank of Dachs combined heat and power units, supplied by Glenergy, which cover about 40% of the heat load while providing electricity for landlord areas. While the renewable energy requirement in Part L is satisfied by solar PV arrays on the houses at Honey Park and Cualanor, the CHP units fulfil this role in the apartments, given that TGD L permits the use of CHP systems as an alternative means of satisfying the renewable energy requirement.

According to Fintan Lyons, managing director of Kaizen Energy, who manage the district heating systems in the various apartment buildings at the two schemes, the approach is meticulous: “During concept design each and every system is looked at in detail to see how improvements can be made to ensure the right equipment is sized and selected,” he says. “Our operational strategies are agreed and implemented during commissioning to ensure network return temperatures are optimized to 40 degrees or lower throughout the year. These low return temperatures allow the generation equipment – boilers and CHP – to operate in

ph+ | dun laoghaire case study | 51

DUN LAOGHAIRE

CASE STUDY

Install confidence with the Glow-worm Energy Range Glow-worm, pioneers of heating solutions, have been offering reliable and efficient boilers for over 80 years.

The sleek minimal casing hides sophisticated components engineered to the highest possible standards, and with a great range of outputs there is something suitable for every property.

The Energy boiler range has been designed to last longer, reduce your energy bills and be easier to maintain.

Features and benefits Up to 10 Years guarantee subject to T&C’s Cupboard fit Quiet mark approved Compatible with MiGo smart thermostat High efficiency ErP 93% rated boiler that reduces running costs

Find out more at: www.glow-worm.co.uk info@cfquadrant.ie Tel: (01) 630 5757 52 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

Choose the five star boiler brand.

CASE STUDY

DUN LAOGHAIRE

above The internal courtyard in the Neptune apartment building; below the apartments are ventilated via Vent Axia heat recovery ventilation systems - which include prominent signs warning occupants not to switch the units off.

SELECTED PROJECT DETAILS Main contractor/developer: Cosgrave Group Architects: McCrossan O’Rourke Manning Structural engineers: DBFL M&E engineer/energy consultant: McElligott Consulting Engineers Ltd. Landscaping contractor: Carrig Landscapes Airtightness testers: Greenbuild Insulation/airtightness contractor: Usher Insulations Heating contractor (apartments): Kaizen Energy Prepaid heating system (apartments): Prepago CHP: Glenergy Condensing boilers (apartments & houses): C&F Quadrant PV arrays (houses): Coolair District heating consumer units (apartments): Danfoss MVHR systems: Lindab Airtightness membranes: Siga/Isover Mineral wool insulation: Isover PIR insulation: Xtratherm/Kingspan Windows: Wright Window Systems Roof windows (houses): Velux

fully condensing mode, thereby maximising system efficiencies.

“All network pumps operate in variable speed based on the network [ie customer] demand. The CHPs operate 15 hours per day to power the landlord electrical services such as basement lighting and pumps. The CHP operation is optimised to offset expensive daytime electricity and delivers free heat into the heating system for residential customers so it’s a win-win for both the residential customer and management company.”

The net result? “The systems installed in Honey Park are amongst the most efficient district heating systems currently operating in the country,” says Lyons. “I am able to say this with confidence as we would operate the majority of the systems in the country.”

Before the recession hit, Cosgrave had plans to have a centralised plant room heating the entire development – plans that were ultimately dropped, and which fell out of favour when the apartment buildings were sold to different investors. The houses instead have individual Glow-worm gas boilers, with Cosgrave yet to be convinced about the long-term performance of heat pumps, in spite of their widespread uptake across the industry in Ireland in recent years.

“In 20 years’ time, that boiler will still work,” he says. “And you’re not going to get a bill of five grand to replace it in ten years’ time.”

Cosgrave swears by Glow-worm boilers in particular. “Glow-worm have an all-Ireland seven-hour replacement service on the [circuit] boards, and it costs €150 for a board that you can get anywhere. You go for any of the other brands which you’d say might be posher – you’d pay €500-600 for a board.

It’s all to do with minimising the lifetime costs to the end user.” For similar reasons of reliability, Cosgrave opted for Danfoss hydraulic heat interface units for apartments, rather than more complex digital units.

How do the apartments perform in summer? Last year – which was one of the hottest summers on record in Ireland – some of our neighbours found it a little too warm,

but our apartment held up well. Our main living space happens to be north-facing, but both bedrooms are south-facing, and the temperatures crept a little over 25C at times. The stairwell and corridors outside apartments do get warm at times. This may be due to high levels of glazing in the stairwell and heat loss from the centralised heating pipework – insulated pipework will still lose heat, due to the constant supply of hot water it holds.

That also means it can take a while running the tap before the water gets cold. Penthouses aside, many of the apartments are externally shaded by balconies, and all windows feature internal venetian blinds which – as a London Southbank monitoring study published in Issue 26 of Passive House Plus showed – can deliver relatively significant temperature drops. But Mick Cosgrave says overheating is an issue that the group is looking at – wrestling the structural implications and thermal bridging of external shading against the daylighting requirements that inform glazing ratios, etc.

In the overall context, these are fairly small quibbles. Ireland’s largest A-rated development to date – or A-rated neighbourhood, if you will – performs well in energy performance terms, but it succeeds on many other levels, and dispels the notion that being green involves sacrifice, self-denial and a decline in living standards. Honey Park and Cualanor are an important example of the benefits – the delight even – that sustainable places can bring. Places where people don’t have to waste precious time in traffic just to survive.

Places with well-conceived public spaces that help engender a sense of community and encourage children to interact with each other and nature. Places that people would want to live in even if they couldn’t care less about the environment. Places that make it easy to be green.

Read more about this project in detail

ph+ | dun laoghaire case study | 53

DUN LAOGHAIRE

CASE STUDY

17/5410

Making buildings airtight was supposed to be hard work.

Then Blowerproof came along.

The world’s first BBA certified paint-on airtight layer, Blowerproof has been delivering passive house airtightness levels and beyond on the continent for years. Our spray applicators can even guarantee reaching passive house targets. Blowerproof can be applied internally on any wall type, and even to the outer face of masonry on the warm side of external insulation systems.

SPRAY IT

ROLL IT

BRUSH IT

BLOWERPROOF IT

www.blowerproof.ie | t: 00353 (0) 404 66111 | e: info@blowerproof.ie | CPI Foam Ltd, Unit 2c, Charvey Lane Industrial Estate, Rathnew, Co. Wicklow

ph+ | case study | 54

100%

100%

IRISH

IRISH

HEATING SOLUTIONS

Firebird Enviroair Hybrid Heatpump, working with a Firebird oil or Gas Boiler.

The natural Hybrid Combination.

DISTRICT HEATING OPERATORS FOR THE CUALANOR & HONEY PARK DEVELOPMENTS

The perfect heating solution for the modern home - combining market leading technologies with over 35 years home heating experience.

Our services include: TECHNICAL SERVICES:

Unique Irish solution in achieving Part L Compliance.

Constant, reliable, cost efficient heating 365 days a year - regardless of the temperature.

Top of the range intelligent heating controls.

Firebird Heating Solutions - a name you can trust.

ERP Rating

up to A+++

“Firebird heating solutions... first for innovation”

Contact our technical team for more information: Firebird Heating Solutions Ltd. Údarás Industrial Estate, Baile Mhic Íre, Co. Cork, P12 HK51, Ireland.

t: +353 (0)26 45253 e: info@firebird.ie www.firebird.ie

ENVIRONMENT

INNOVATION

54 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

TECHNOLOGY

-

Planned preventative maintenance 24/7 emergency callout Remote monitoring of EMS Management of site capacity (SPC/MIC) Optimizing heat generation mix Clie and customer technical management Client Collection and validation of customer metering data in line with EN1434-6:2015

MANAGEMENT & OPERATION: -

Development of the economic model Fuel procurement (gas, electricity, oil, wood) Financial management Monitoring system performance

info@kaizenenergy.ie

www.kaizenenergy.ie

CASE STUDY

DUN LAOGHAIRE

IN DETAIL The following information relates to Charlotte and Leona apartment buildings (two adjacent blocks of apartments with 319 units in total), unless denoted (*) for whole Honey Park/ Cualanor scheme or otherwise stated.

Building type: 5/6 storey apartment blocks with circa 7 cores each. The units are each over a basement and constructed with masonry walls with an internal insulation liner.

Location*: Honey Park & Cualanor, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin Budget: Construction costs are circa €70M for the two blocks Space heating demand: Typically, less than 10 kWh/m2/yr, based on metered heat usage over the 12 months of operation less the hot water demand.

Energy performance coefficient (EPC): Averaging about 0.36 Carbon performance coefficient (CPC): Values including 0.331 (mid terrace house at Abbot Drive), 0.306 (mid floor apartment at Eustace Court) & 0.221 (apartment in Fairways building).

BER*: Majority of development A2 rated. Some ground and top floor units coming in at A3.

Airtightness: Generally, circa 1.5 m3/hr/m2 at 50 Pa. Thermal bridging: ACD default value of 0.08 used for DEAP calculations. However nearly all construction details were thermally

modelled and if used for the apartments would deliver a thermal bridging factor of 0.06 on average. It has been noted that the gains in the DEAP programme are nominal at this level and only effect the losses associated with space heating which are working out at less than 30% of the thermal footprint of each unit.

Energy bills (measured)*: In the apartments in Honey Park & Cualanor the cost of heat energy for space heating & hot water, off the district heating system works out at circa €620 a year, covering the energy, standing charge, sinking fund and VAT costs per unit.

Heating systems (apartment buildings): Centralised district heating system. 3 mini CHP engines are the lead heat source with a pair of boilers (duty/ assist). All gas fired. Ring main around the basement with a set of rising mains per core. Individual branch on each landing piped to a heat interface unit in each apartment. The heat interface units have heat meters and an instantaneous heat exchanger for hot water generation. The water is direct fed to the rads in the apartment.

Heating systems (houses): Glow-worm Flexicon modulating condensing gas boilers – typically 90.4% efficient, 18 to 20kW boilers.

GROUND FLOOR Apartment buildings: 700 mm thick podium flat slab with 120 mm PIR. U-value: 0.14 W/m2K House floors: Strip foundations with 120mm Xtratherm insulation. U-value: 0.11-0.13

Ventilation*: Vent Axia Sentinel units throughout houses and apartments, with Kinetic Advanced units in Eustace, Charlotte and Leona, with an Appendix Q efficiency (2012) of 93% and 0.66 W/l/s.

Walls*: Brick outer leaf, cavity, block, internal 120 mm PIR board, service cavity and a plasterboard liner. U-value: 0.15-0.16 W/m2K.

Water: All water in apartments supplied off a central water tank and booster pump set which allows for better maintenance of the tanks and less energy used to pump the water. Low capacity cisterns used also.

Apartment roofs: Flat roof with PIR insulation over a concrete deck and a Paralon / Trocal liner. U-value: 0.16 W/m2K. House roofs: Cold roofs with 300 mm of mineral wool insulation on the attic floor – cross laid to cover joists; on airtight membrane on plasterboard. U-values: 0.14 W/m2K. Windows*: Thermally broken Kommerling C70 PVC frames with Diamond Glass double glazed units, with a 16 mm gap. U-value: 0.142 W/m2K. AMS triple glazed aluminium thermally broken system in penthouses.

MICROGENERATION Apartments: Dachs CHP units generate electricity for landlord areas in apartments, while generating heat for district heating system.

Houses: Coolair 4 panel solar PV arrays – rising incrementally from an output of 225 to 300 Wp output per panel from the first phases at Honey Park to the last phase at Cualanor – meaning total outputs of 900 Wp to 1.2 kWp per house to cover background loads, with excess spilling into the grid.

ph+ | dun laoghaire case study | 55

AGAR GROVE

CASE STUDY

WANT TO KNOW MORE? The digital version of this magazine includes access to exclusive galleries of architectural drawings.

The digital magazine is available to subscribers on www.passive.ie

56 56 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

AGAR GROVE

BIG TIME

U K ’ S L A R G E S T PA S S I V E SCHEME COMES TO CAMDEN

The first phase of the hugely ambitious Agar Grove redevelopment in Camden was finished in April 2018.

Not only is it the largest passive house scheme in the UK to date, it also aims to be a model for sustainable urban regeneration and for creating liveable spaces at the heart of our cities.

Words by John Hearne

£13.50

per month (space heating & hot water, see ‘In detail’ for more) Building: 38-unit, seven-storey apartment block.

Concrete frame & cavity wall construction.

Completed: April 2018 Location: Camden, London Standard: Passive house certified

A rendering of Agar Grove, with block A at the back right

ph+ | agar grove case study | 57

AGAR GROVE

CASE STUDY

B

ack in early 2012, when Camden Council began talking to the residents of Agar Grove about the proposed redevelopment of their estate, the occupants of one of the blocks – Lulworth Tower – decided to opt out. Unlike the rest of the estate, which was managed by the council, Lulworth was run by a tenant organisation and had an independent management structure.

Throughout that year and into 2013, the council continued the consultation phase for the rest of the residents, running events and exhibitions in the estate’s community space.

It was following one of these exhibitions that the Lulworth tenants’ organising committee approached the council and asked if they could opt back in.

“That was really exciting for us,” says Michelle Christensen, senior development manager at Camden Council. “The success of what they saw going on around them generated a high level of trust. We were delighted to begin looking at options for them.”

If you could isolate one factor to account for the success of the redevelopment of Agar Grove in its initial stages, it’s has been communication. There has been a free flow of ideas, expertise and feedback between everyone involved: council, residents, designers, contractor, subcontractors and so on.

“Design-and-build contracts don’t normally tend to lend themselves to open dialogue,” says Christensen, “but in Agar Grove, it’s been really essential to making it all work and making it all successful.”

Agar Grove is the largest passive house development in the UK to date, though not all of the proposed 493 homes will be certified passive. The aforementioned Lulworth Tower – owing to its size and the high levels of embodied carbon in its concrete structure – will be stripped down and refurbished to a high (though not quite passive) standard.

58 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

This does not take away from the fact that this project is one of the most ambitious that we have covered in Passive House Plus to date.

Urban regeneration To go back to the beginning, the Agar Grove estate was built in the 1960s. As with much of the local authority housing of that era, the rooms were cold, draughty and expensive to heat. Cold bridges abounded, giving rise to significant damp and mould growth issues.

They were also too small.

“The three-bed units were 69 square metres,” says Christensen, “which is less than London design guide space standards for a two-bed now. Plus, they had odd-shaped, triangular kitchens that you could hardly fit a fridge into.”

If the interior layouts were strange, that went double for the external layouts. There were bedrooms at ground floor level and large empty spaces of uncertain function.

Surrounded on two sides by railway and

enclosed by a high fence, the whole layout felt defensive and uninviting.

“It was completely detached from the streets around it,” says James Woodward of design architects Hawkins Brown. “There was no logical hierarchy between private and public space. There was a huge ball court tucked into a corner of the site, but no one used it; it wasn’t overlooked and didn’t feel safe.”

The overall context for the project was Camden’s borough-wide community investment programme, which launched in 2010.

This was a systematic analysis of all councilowned assets with a view to building more affordable housing, schools and community facilities, and to invest in the existing housing stock.

At the outset, a variety of options were investigated for Agar Grove – including infill development, and partial as well as complete demolition. At the same time, because this would be Camden’s biggest development, the council was determined that it would be in

AGAR GROVE

some way exemplary. Architecture and urban design were key considerations of course, but so too was sustainability.

As the various options were explored, passive house became ever more popular, not least because it ticked a number of ancillary boxes. Agar Grove sits at the heart of the borough, close to Camden High Street and Kings Cross Station, and hemmed in by the aforementioned railway. So, it’s noisy. Triple glazing and whole house ventilation would probably be necessary regardless of design methodology. Moreover, fuel poverty is a significant issue for many of the estate’s fixed income residents. There was also the simple fact that quality assurance is intrinsic to the passive house standard.

Liveable spaces There were two central challenges on the site.

The first relates to density. The existing site had 249 units, which works out at 97 homes per hectare. The new development, once completed, will have almost twice the number of units – 493. As one of the most accessible sites in the borough, and in the context of a wider housing crisis, it was considered necessary to bring housing density more in line with the surrounding area.

Understandably this was a sensitive issue for residents. The fact there was – in the end – general acceptance of the idea that everyone would be getting a lot of new neighbours gives you some idea of the level of trust that had been built up during the consultation phase.

If this was a difficult pill for the residents to swallow, the second challenge that the design team set itself did a lot to balance things out: to ensure tenants would only have to move once during the build process.

The phasing of the scheme means that a new block is built and, once complete, residents move in and the old block is demolished. This ‘single decant’ process has been the guiding force in the sequencing of the project.

“It’s quite a complex puzzle,” says Christensen, “because some families get smaller while others get bigger [during the build]. You’re giving everyone this promise early on and you’ve got to make sure you can keep it.”

It’s also worth noting that rather than put the development out to tender, Camden Council decided to take on the role of developer. While this model does involve the local authority

There has been a free flow of ideas, expertise and feedback between everyone involved.

Photography: Jack Hobhouse/Architype

ph+ | agar grove case study | 59

AGAR GROVE

CASE STUDY

Solar thermal to meet a proportion of hot water and may generate revenue through the Renewable Heat Incentive

Living Green / Brown roofs provide natural biodiverse habitats for wildlife

Fresh air

Fresh air

Photovoltaic panels generate electricity and may generate revenue through feed-in-tariffs

Central or individual Mechnical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR) will continually provide fresh air in winter saving on heating energy

Extract air

Balconies and deep window reveals provide solar shading

A continuous airtightness barrier means no cold draughts and negligible heat lost through fresh air provision Fresh air

Fresh air

Extract air

Thick insulation to meet Passivhaus requirements Triple-glazed windows reduce heat loss and provide an acoustic barrier when windows are closed

Large windows provide plenty of daylight

above An illustration which succinctly sums up most of the key sustainability approaches adopted at Agar Grove.

taking on more risk, it facilitates the provision of a higher level of social housing. The planned breakdown is 50% affordable, 50% private, with the latter cross-subsidising the former.

The new Agar Grove masterplan is based upon the traditional concept of streets and squares, with an emphasis on buildings which have front doors at street level, creating liveable spaces between them, and allowing people to move across, through and within the site. The overarching desire is to create a place where people want to live, and which contributes positively to the surrounding area.

Roadways within the estate are pedestrian and bike-friendly, while parking is only provided for existing cars and is to be phased out over time.

“The design has a logical network of streets that you can find your way around without getting lost,” says James Woodward. In most blocks you have street frontage to one side with shared residents’ gardens at the back.

“There is now a legible hierarchy between those spaces.”

Achieving the desired layout for the site meant that it wasn’t always possible to orientate the dwellings southward for maximum solar gain, however.

“That’s been one of the tensions at the centre of the scheme,” he says. “I think if we had oriented everything in the same way, it wouldn’t have worked with the shape of the site and the context of the landscape.”

So, while some blocks have an ideal orientation, others do not. But while a southerly aspect lends itself to achieving the passive house standard in the simplest and most economical manner possible, it is technically possible to achieve the standard with any orientation. It can just mean compensating

60 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

in other areas — like, for example, using more insulation.

By happy chance, the first phase of the project had the north-south orientation favoured by passive house designers. This, says Woodward, has meant that the lessons learned can be applied to subsequent phases, where the orientations will not be quite so favourable. To the same end, the project teams will hold a ‘lessons learned workshop’ at the end of each phase, providing feedback to the designers on which elements of their plans are most challenging to deliver in practice.

Phase one Phase one at Agar Grove – now complete – involved the construction of a 38-unit passive certified apartment block, ranging between five and seven storeys high. This was built with a concrete frame with infill blockwork and a thermally broken masonry support system.

Ann-Marie Fallon and Robert White of sustainable design specialists Architype (recently worthy winners of the AJ100 Sustainable Architect of the Year) were appointed by the contractor, Hill Partnerships, as delivery architects on phase one. Fallon is also project lead on phase two, which is currently onsite.

The adopted nature of the design meant that several amendments had to be made at delivery.

At tender stage, Block A was specified to be masonry construction with a 300 mm cavity.

However more detailed analysis by Architype using PHPP, the passive house design software, concluded that this cavity could be reduced to 150 mm due to the optimised form factor of the block (very compact at 1.6).

“That was a significant optimisation of the design to revert to a more ‘industry accepted’

Forensic review of PHPP requirements is important for the development of passive house at scale. cavity width, and it typifies what we tried to do on the project,” says Fallon. Such forensic review and optimisation of PHPP requirements is important for enabling the development of passive house at scale, making it cheaper and easier to build.

For example, the walls on Block A have a U-value of 0.17, above the typical requirement criteria for passive house (0.15), but still comfortable and sufficient to meet the passive house standard when the building — with its optimum orientation and form factor — is taken as a whole.

Similarly, Fallon says that the original tender of intent had the airtightness layer on the inside of the wall construction, as would be the typical approach taken on passive house schemes in 2014 when the scheme was initially tendered.

“Moving that to the outside was another innovative move by the delivery team. This optimised the speed of the programme and also created a simpler airtightness layer.”

A wet plaster parge coat of 12-15 mm thickness was applied to the outer face of the inner leaf of blockwork. This was combined with what Fallon describes as a “robust taping strategy”. In addition, the thermally broken

CASE STUDY

AGAR GROVE

CONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 A wet plaster parge coat was applied to the outer face of the inner leaf of blockwork as airtightness layer; 2 thermally broken TeploTie cavity ties, post-fixed using an anchor resin in pre-drilled holes, 3 Halfen HIT insulated connections and 4 Schoeck Isokorb connectors all help to minimise thermal bridging; 5 Installation of the Idealcombi Futura+ timber alu-clad triple-glazed windows; 6 airtightness seals at services pipe outlet.

TeploTie cavity ties were post-fixed using an anchor resin in pre-drilled holes. Masonry supports (over 500 in total) were carefully placed and co-ordinated to avoid tears in taping or large penetrations through the parge coat.

As Fallon asserts, keeping all of this to the outside meant that the airtightness strategy was kept independent of internal works within the envelope. These elements could progress in parallel without scheduling issues and with the added advantage of reducing the risk of accidental penetrations by subcontractors. Which is not to say that subcontractors were kept out of the loop – far from it.

Odran McShane of contractors Hill Partnerships says that subcontractor buy-in was a challenge at first, but ultimately a key factor in the success of the scheme. Once again, it all came back to communication.

“Passive house principles were not initially understood by subcontractors,” he says.

“We took a number of steps to ensure the education of the workforce. This was achieved through inclusions within subcontractor orders, toolbox talks and physical samples of key airtightness details which were protected and maintained during the course of the build.

The physical samples were particularly useful in that they provided a constant reference and benchmark for the subcontractor to refer back to.”

Thermal bridging was also a significant challenge on the scheme. Aside from the TeploTies deployed in the cavity, a thermally broken masonry support system was used on the concrete frame. There were over 500 of these supports in total.

“On a building of this scale, between brackets for hanging soffits, brickslips and so on, and the masonry supports themselves, there’s more complex design and installation challenges than you would experience with, say, your standard two-storey cavity wall house,” McShane says. “It was a challenge to account for all of these junctions, however by considering these elements from the early stages of delivery they were part of the design considerations from the outset with the contractor and supplier.”

Embodied CO2 Fabric-first approaches like passive house may have largely done away with space heating loads, thereby drastically reducing operational energy use, but what about the energy used and carbon emitted in the construction of a building? As Ann-Marie Fallon explains, a study was carried out on a block from the current phase of Agar Grove using Eccolab, Architype’s new carbon cost and energy tool, comparing the tendered construction methodology – cross laminated timber – with the concrete frame and masonry-based approach used on phase one.

The tendered design, if developed as a net zero carbon building with future 2050 de-carbonised electric emission factors applied to energy, has an almost 95% improvement on its total carbon emissions over a 60-year life. This

ph+ | agar grove case study | 61

AGAR GROVE

CASE STUDY

The Daikin Specialists

At RTS we have the experience, expertise and sustainable engineering know-how to design innovative solutions for delivering comfortable, cost-effective, healthy and climate-friendly HVAC solutions.

Talk to us today for integrated or stand alone systems for heating, ventilation, cooling & hot water production - including hydronic heating and air-based systems.

Daikin since 2004 62 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

AGAR GROVE

Fuel poverty is a significant issue for many of the estate’s fixed income residents.

SELECTED PROJECT DETAILS

supports research elsewhere indicating that in 30 years’ time, the biggest carbon emissions in buildings will come from embodied rather than operational carbon emissions. “As designers we need to be assessing buildings in much more detail with this in mind for future life span adaptability,” says Fallon.

Summer comfort PHPP determined an overheating risk of 6% for Block A (meaning the indoor temperature is expected to be above 25C for 6% of the year).

All very well in average summer conditions, but 2018 and 2019 were two of the hottest summers on record in London.

Fallon says that some changes to the glazing specification were implemented to mitigate the risk of overheating, such as a planning amendment to reduce glazing areas, and the careful application of g-value (solar gain value) changes, to east and west façades in particular. The large balcony that runs the length of the south façade is also critical to the shading strategy.

A post occupancy survey carried out by Camden found that 75% of residents were either comfortable or mostly comfortable during the summer months of 2018. During the last three weeks of July 2019, when temperatures in central London averaged 24C and reached a high of 38C during an extreme heatwave, average internal temperatures across three monitored units — each with blinds and windows in different modes of operation — was 26C. It is not believed that internal temperatures peaked any higher than 28C when external temperatures were 38C, but this is currently undergoing thorough review by Camden, and more detailed information will be available in future. The project team is currently assessing data from the previous 15 months, and Camden will continue monitoring for the next two years.

An important part of the overheating criteria being met alongside the above measures was the agreement with the certifier WARM on a robust summer ventilation strategy (cross ventilation and purging heat by opening windows at night). This was included and

advised on in the home user guides circulated

by Camden to all occupants. Subsequent phases of the scheme are now undergoing more detailed modelling of future performance and comfort under different future climate warming scenarios, as now required by the Greater London Authority.

Fallon says in future it’s important that critical rooms in dwellings are modelled individually, in addition to the more general overheating analysis in PHPP — and stresses that sensible glazing ratios are always the best line of defence.

Provisional findings by Architype on behalf of Hill, who carried out the first 12 months of monitoring, found an average winter temperature of 22C, average humidity of 40% and very low CO2 levels. Findings presented

by Architype at the London Future Build conference this year and at the Heidelberg Better Buildings conference suggests a 71% reduction in heating bills is possible for phase one residents (compared to 2018 Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics, see ‘In detail’ for more).

Camden are assessing the live metering data from the block currently to verify these findings for real.

Meanwhile, the UK Passivhaus Trust also recently completed a successful day of talks on Block A as a kick-off event for London Climate Action week at the start of July, giving perspectives and feedback from all the design and delivery stakeholders in the project.

Michelle Christensen says residents are very happy in their new homes. The fact that the council was dealing with an existing community from the very beginning meant that everyone had plenty of time to get used to the idea of passive house.

“We did home demonstrations when people moved in, and a week later we did some more.

After each season, we knocked on doors and handed out questionnaires and did quite a bit of trouble-shooting, making sure people knew how best to use their home.”

“I’ve been in 95% of homes on the estate,” she says, “you get to know people, and they know who to call if they have issues. It took a while to earn that trust, but having it makes a huge difference to everyone.”

Main client: London Borough of Camden Client: Hill Partnerships Ltd (in D&B contract with main client) Design architects: Hawkins Brown Delivery architects: Architype Engineers: Stantec (formerly Peter Brett Associates) Quantity surveyors: Arcadis Passive house design: Architype Passive house site support: Enhabit Passive house assessment: WARM Airtightness testing: Enhabit/Paul Jennings Energy rating assessment: NRG Consultants M&E engineering: Mark Robinson Associates & Max Fordham Cavity insulation: Knauf Service cavity insulation: Isover Additional wall insulation: Kingspan Foundation system: Jablite Windows: Idealcombi Doors & curtain walling: Schueco Fire-rated internal doors: Premier SSL Roof windows: LAMILUX UK Airtightness products (tapes and membranes): Ecological Building Systems Airtightness products (parge coat): Tarmac Building Products Cavity wall ties: Ancon Thermal breaks: Halfen, Schoeck, Armatherm Brick slips: Eurobrick Masonry supports: ACS AAC blocks: Forterra Fixings (soffits and walkways): Nvelope PV Panels: Ample Energy Heat recovery ventilation systems: Zehnder / Swegon Heating system design: SAV Heating & ventilation system installation: Morgan Cass Heat recovery ventilation (design): Mark Robinson Associates Solar shading: Contrasol

Read more about this project in detail

ph+ | agar grove case study | 63

AGAR GROVE

CASE STUDY

Insulating Wall Ties: Winner of the 2018 Queen’s Award for Innovation

Introducing The New Bond The Teplo-BF is a smart black tie with a thermal conductivity of 00.7W/mK. Featuring new moulded safety ends, mortar bond is improved by up to 80%.

All the thermal benefits of the original basalt-fibre plain bar TeploTie plus...

3 More robust mortar bond 3 Improved buildability 3 Ideal for use in slow-drying lime mortars

+44 (0)114 238 1 238

Vi

www.ancon.co.uk/Teplo

rt th ual er ly m e al lim br in id at ge es

Ideal for passive house construction

Did you know?

HIT insulated connections achieve a 2 hour fire resistance (REI 120 classification).

They also have third party approved thermal Ψ-values that can be used in detailed thermal analysis.

SIMPLE INSTALLATION: THE SYMMETRICAL BALCONY CONNECTION. Avoid installation errors with the new HIT-MVX insulated connection for cantilevered balconies.

The symmetrical, thermally insulated connection can be installed regardless of orientation of the main slab or the balcony. This ensures a more efficient, straightforward installation.

Find out more about our HIT Insulated connections at www.halfen.com/uk 64 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

AGAR GROVE

IN DETAIL Building type (Block A): 38-unit, seven-storey residential block. Concrete frame & infill blockwork cavity wall construction.

large scale multi-unit high-density approach, and good site placement for orientation compensates for this.

Location: Agar Grove, Camden, London

Thermal breaks: Armatherm FRR thermal break pads, Halfen HIT insulated connections, Schoeck Isokorb connectors, TeploTie cavity wall ties, Thermalite blocks.

Completion date: April 2018 Budget: Not disclosed Passive house certification: Certified (Block A certified as one building) Space heating demand (PHPP): 13 kWh/m2/yr Heat load (PHPP): 9 W/m2 Primary energy demand (PHPP): 118 kWh/m2/yr Heat loss form factor (PHPP): 1.6 Overheating (PHPP): 6% Environmental assessment method: Code for Sustainable Homes L4 Airtightness (at 50 Pascals): 0.6 ACH on certificate, 0.59 ACH reported final test Energy performance certificate (EPC): B 83 kWh/m2/yr Thermal bridging: Concrete frame with infill 200 mm AAC blockwork cavity wall using Ancon TeploTies, thermally broken masonry support system and series of thermal breaks within junctions on concrete frame. Thermal bridges in their totality make up 66% of the heat loss of the scheme. The optimised form,

Energy bills (measured or estimated): Projected average annual gas bill of £162 per year per unit (£47 p/a for space heating, £115 for domestic hot water), including standing charges & VAT (for 4,000 kWh per year for space & water heating, as per PHPP). This is approximately a 71% reduction on average relative to the reference 50-69 sqm apartment in the 2018 Annual Fuel Poverty Statistics (£560 for 13,793 kWh/m2/yr).

Ground floor: 150 mm compacted base followed above by 50 mm sand blinding, 250 mm concrete slab, RIW Gas Seal Blue DPM, 135 mm Jablite classic EPS, 75 mm screed, varies floor finishes.

U-value: 0.25W/m2k.

Walls: External leaf of, variously, brick or P-clad brick slip or followed inside by 150 mm cavity fully filled with Knauf Supafil insulation (includes height waiver for installation), 200 mm Thermalite Hi strength 7kN AAC block work with 10-15 mm parge coat to outer face as airtightness layer, internal stud lining (thickness varies).

U-value: 0.165W/m2k.

Roof: Bauder extensive biodiverse/brown seed roof with Flora 3 seed mix (mix of sedum and plug plants suitable for an urban

living roof as per planning requirements).

Bauder PIR insulation under growing medium varying from 140 mm to 270 mm thickness for drainage and falls and sitting on vapour control membrane and 250 mm concrete slab. U Value: 0.09W/m2k.

Windows & external doors: Idealcombi Futura + timber alu-clad range for domestic doors and windows, g-value modifications to windows to mitigate overheating risk where required. Reference overall U-value: 0.74 W/ m2k (European test size). Schueco communal entrance doors. Premier SSL fire doors for FD60 and FD90.

Roof windows: LAMILUX F100 smoke lift glass skylights. Overall U-value: 1.0 W/m2k for reference size.

Heating system: Communal heating system. 5 x Broag Remeha Quinta PRO gas boilers arranged in cascade feeding individual, insulated Danfoss Flatstation heat interface units (HIUs) in each apartment with fully insulated manifolds, pipework and connections. No hot water storage in dwellings, the HIUs provide a heat boost as demanded. Heating distribution per flat consists of 1 x radiator in the living room and 1 x towel radiator in the bathroom.

Ventilation: 28 units ventilated by centralised MVHR system (2 Swegon Gold RX units). Individual maisonettes on the ground floor ventilated by individual Zehnder Comfoair Q350 units.

Water: Restricted waterflow taps to satisfy Part G of the Building Regulations.

ph+ | agar grove case study | 65

EAST SUSSEX

CASE STUDY

WANT TO KNOW MORE? The digital version of this magazine includes access to exclusive galleries of architectural drawings.

The digital magazine is available to subscribers on www.passive.ie

66 66 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

CASE STUDY

EAST SUSSEX

STRO NG & STAB LE E AST S U S S E X H O M E WI T H A ST RIKIN G FA R M YA R D - I N S PI R E D D E S I G N

While this striking new larch-clad home in rural East Sussex ultimately received the backing of the local planners, there was just one catch: it had to meet the passive house standard before its owners could move in.

Words by David W Smith

A

1

109

B

C

109

109

2 B

Ridge +57460

A

Ridge +57460

C

C Eaves +55826

Eaves +55826

I

WF-03

WF-06

WF-02

FF FFL +53692

D

FF SSL +53667

FF SSL +53667

WF-05

F

F WF-01

WF-07

WF-04

A

J

A

J

FF FFL +53692

D E

WG-02

WG-03

WG-04

WG-05

E WG-13

F

F

A

G

ED-01

GF FFL +50940

WG-01

GF FFL +50940

GF SSL +50915

GF SSL +50915

Southwest Elevation

Southeast Elevation

1 : 50

1 : 50

2

C

B

109

109

A 109

1 A

Ridge +57460

B

Ridge +57460

C C Eaves +55826

Eaves +55826

WF-09

WF-12

WF-13

WF-10

WF-11

A

A H

FF SSL +53667

WF-08

C

£11.50 per month for space heating (estimate, see ‘In detail’ for more)

WG-07

A WG-06

D

ED-02

GF FFL +50940 GF SSL +50915

WG-08

Hit & Miss Vertical Poplar Platowood Platonium 05 Timber Cladding

B

Vertical Standing Seam Zinc Cladding

C

Vertical Poplar Platowood Platonium 05 Plank Timber Roof

D

Single Ply Membrane Flat Roof to Canopy

E

Galvanized Steel PFC Profile

F

Triple Glazed Composite Timber/PPC aluminium windows, RAL 9007

G

PPC Aluminium Door to Main Entrance, RAL 9007

H

PPC Aluminium Insulated Infill Panel, colour to match windows frame

I

PPC Aluminium Coping to Roof Gutter, colour to match window frame

J

Twin Wall Flue

WF-15 WF-14

A

F

ELEVATION KEY FF FFL +53692

J

D

FF FFL +53692 FF SSL +53667 WG-09

WG-10

WG-11

WG-12

E

B F

GF FFL +50940 GF SSL +50915

Northeast Elevation

Northwest Elevation

1 : 50

1 : 50

1:50 0 File Ref:

PLEASE NOTE FOR CONSTRUCTION PURPOSES USE ONLY FIGURED DIMENSIONS. THIS DRAWING MUST ALWAYS BE READ IN CONJUNCTION WITH ALL RELEVANT PROJECT DETAILS. ALL DIMENSIONS MUST BE CHECKED ON SITE PRIOR TO COMMENCEMENT. PLEASE REPORT ANY DISCREPANCY TO THE ARCHITECT OR CONTRACT ADMINISTRATOR © COPYRIGHT HMY 2014

Revisions P 1 01.09.17 P 2 25.10.17 P 3 16.11.17 P 4 30.11.17 P 5 01.12.17 P 6 19.02.18

RRM RRM RRM RRM RRM RRM

Preliminary Issue Issued for Information Revised door sizes and opening type.

Design Changes Added Twin Wall Flue. Amended Windows Sightlines.

Ammended window WF-01 position to accomodate lintel above.

1

2

3

1927_ 107_ P6

Drawing

Date

Proposed Elevations

Sep 2017

Project/ Client

Norlington Gate Farm Mr & Mrs A Cloke Job Reference

Drawing Number

1927_ 107

Scale @ A1

1 : 50

Revision

P6

Purpose of Issue

Construction

Hazle McCormack Young LLP/ Chartered Architects/ Leap House/ Frog Lane/ Tunbridge Wells/ Kent/ TN1 1YT/ T 01892 515311/ F 01892 515285

Building: 153 sqm structural insulated panel (SIPs) house Completed: September 2018 Location: Ringmer, East Sussex Budget: £400,000 Standard: Certified passive house

ph+ | east sussex case study | 67

EAST SUSSEX

CASE STUDY

O

pposition to their planning application led to delays and redesigns, but homeowners Adrian and Paula say their struggles were worth it once they moved into their new passive house in the village of Ringmer, in Sussex.

“The experience of living in the house is, frankly, amazing. I never thought it would perform as it does, as nothing ever seems to live up to expectations. The passive house consultant — Marine Sanchez, from Enhabit — said we wouldn’t realise how comfortable it was until we moved in and it’s absolutely true,” says homeowner Adrian.

A major benefit of living in a passive house for Paula is the constant temperature. She has Raynaud syndrome, which causes poor circulation, and can find sudden drops in temperature painful. The poor insulation and drafts in the couple’s old house, a converted long barn on the same plot of land, was hardly ideal.

“Our passive house maintains a temperature of 21 degrees during the winter,” says Adrian. “Even if the temperature outside is freezing and it drops overnight to 18 or 19C [inside], as soon as you get up and switch the kettle on, and other such day to day tasks that generate heat, it soon moves up to 21C. We put in a wood burner in the kitchen, but we barely need it. We only used the central heating for about 10 hours all last winter.”

He also says there has been no issue with overheating to date. “The house generally stays at quite a pleasant ambient temperature when it is hot outside.”

The couple first approached architect James Galpin, of Hazle McCormack Young in January 2017. Their original intention was to convert an old equestrian barn on their

68 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

disused dairy farm into a more ecological house than the one they were living in. That building had Class Q planning permission attached (which allows conversion of agricultural buildings to dwellings), and Adrian’s research had discovered identical barns that been converted to homes before.

But when the couple realised how much of the 153 square metre space would have to be lost to insulate it internally, they opted instead to replace the barn with a new house, using structural insulated panels (SIPs) within the same footprint.

There were strong objections to the new design from Ringmer Parish Council, but the planning committee at Lewes District Council took a different view. It ultimately gave its approval, but this was conditional on achieving passive house certification, as the council wanted the development to be a beacon of ecological design in the local area.

“It had to be certified by the Passive House Institute to be legally inhabitable, so that was a bit worrying, and we were all relieved when the final air tests were complete, exceeding the required levels significantly,” he says.

Work began on constructing the three-bed £400,000 development in February 2018, and was complete in September that year. The contractor, Nigel Jeffery of Rexstone Builders, had never worked on passive houses before, but by all accounts, mastered the art quickly.

According to Jeffery, while passive house is a significant advance on current practices in the industry, it also harks back to earlier times: “I think it’s reverting back to old building techniques. A lot more care is needed,” he says.

At the start of the process, Jeffery and his colleagues listened to the arguments being

Explained Structural insulated panels (SIPs) are prefabricated, structural building panels comprising insulation – typically polyurethane – sandwiched between two layers of OSB.

I think it’s reverting back to old building techniques. A lot more care is needed.

CASE STUDY

EAST SUSSEX

Photography: Andy Stagg / Dug Wilders

It had to be certified by the Passive House Institute to be legally inhabitable.

ph+ | east sussex case study | 69

EAST SUSSEX

CASE STUDY

CONSTRUCTION IN PROGRESS SELECTED PROJECT DETAILS

1

2

3

4

5

6

1 300 mm Isoquick insulated raft foundation; 2 the house was constructed using structural insulated panels comprising 175 mm polyurethane insulation sandwiched between two layers of OSB; 3 the pro clima Solitex Fronta WA membrane provides optimum protection for the roof structure; 4 aside from the insulation in the structural insulated panels, the wall build-up also features 100 mm Kingspan TW55 insulation boards; 5 insulated MVHR ductwork for both the supply air side and the extract air side; 6 pro clima DB+ vapour control membrane fitted to walls and roof, with airtightness taping at membrane overlaps and around window junctions.

70 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

Architect: Hazle McCormack Young (HMY) Contractor: Rexstone Builders Passive house consultant: Enhabit M&E design: HMY / Enhabit SIP building system: SIPCO External insulation: Kingspan Insulated raft system: Isoquick Windows & doors: Norrsken Airtightness products: Pro clima Heat recovery ventilation: Zehnder Cladding: Alsford Screeds: WoollyCrete Wood burning stove: Morso Lighting: Phillips Hue Heating controls: Nest

made about passive house with a pinch of salt. “To be honest, when we were at meetings about this project the passive house designer gave us all this information about passive house that we were a little bit skeptical about, but went along with,” he says. “But everything they said has come true.”

The toughest technical challenge on the build was to create a firm sub-structure, as the clay was highly shrinkable. “It was a bit of a head scratcher for a while, but we ended up pouring a slab of sacrificial concrete over the shrinkable clay that acted as a non-shrinkable ground layer, then we built the rest of the structure up from that,” says architect James Galpin.

The detailing of the larch cladding on the roof posed further technical challenges.

Galpin says it was important to get the detailing of the verge cladding and rainwater drainage integrated into one detail so there were no visible downpipes or drainage elements within the building. “It’s all detailed as part of the skin to keep one homogeneous volume without any attachments,” he says.

In designing the house, Galpin aimed for a visual connection between the interiors and the picturesque surrounding landscapes.

There are splendid views across the Sussex downs, near the town of Lewes and the village of Firle. “The key was to balance the views from the glazing layout with solar gain and the shading required for the avoidance of over-heating,” he says.

The big Norrsken windows at the front and back of the house are all floor-to-ceiling, flooding the rooms with light. “Almost every window in the house presents amazing views. We love it because it’s like having pictures hanging on the walls everywhere,” says Adrian. “In rooms with double and triple aspects, we are surrounded by countryside.”

Read more about this project in detail

CASE STUDY

EAST SUSSEX

IN DETAIL Building type: 153 sqm detached two-storey SIPs-built house Location: Ringmer, East Sussex Completion date: September 2018 Budget: £400k Passive house certification: Certified Space heating demand (PHPP): 14 kWh/m2/yr Heat load (PHPP): 10 W/m2 Primary energy demand (PHPP): 104 kWh/m2/yr Heat loss form factor (PHPP): 2.98 Overheating (PHPP): 9% No. of occupants: 3 (plus two dogs & a cat) Airtightness (at 50 Pascals): 0.42 air changes per hour or 00.28 m³/m2/hr Energy performance certificate (EPC): N/A Thermal bridging: SIPs supported at low

level on Compacfoam CF 400 to bring base level of SIPs to 150 mm above external ground without forming a cold bridge at the base of the structure. Support to external entrance canopy designed to cantilever with only minimal restraint ties to the main structure, preventing cold bridges.

Energy bills: Estimate of £138 per year (£11.50 per month) for space heating only, based on bulk LPG price of 5.8C per kWh (confusedaboutenergy.co.uk, July 2019), PHPP space heating demand projections & boiler efficiency of 90.1%.

Ground floor: 250 mm polished concrete reinforced slab, on 300 mm Isoquick insulated raft, on 200 mm in situ concrete, on Cellcore former to alleviate shrinkable clay ground conditions. U-value: 0.107 W/m2K Walls: Hit-and-miss larch cladding on battens, on Pro clima Solitex Fronta breather membrane with Tescon Invis tape at joints, on 100 mm Kingspan TW55 insulation, on 200 mm Sipco SIPs comprising 175 mm polyurethane insulation sandwiched between two layers of OSB, with Pro clima DB+ vapour control membrane and battened plasterboard internally. U-value: 0.096 W/m2K

Roof: Hit-and-miss larch cladding with spacer fixings on battens fixed through trapezoidal drainage layer, on battens and counterbattens, on Pro clima Solitex Plus breather membrane, on 120 mm Kingspan TP10 insulation, on 200 mm Sipco SIPs (as per wall spec) with Pro clima DB+ vapour control membrane and battened plasterboard internally. U-value: 0.090 W/m2K Windows & external doors: Norrsken P33A inward-opening alu-clad triple glazed timber windows. Low E glass, argon fill. Sealed with Pro clima tapes. Typical whole window U-value: 0.74 W/m2K Heating system: Viessmann Vitodens 200-W 19kW LPG-fed boiler system with client sourced radiators.

Ventilation: Zehnder Q350 MVHR system with passive house certified heat recovery efficiency of 90%.

Water: Restricted waterflow showerheads and tap outlets.

Shading: Delivered by inset of windows and the modelling of the verge detailing to minimise solar gain in summer.

ph+ | east sussex case study | 71

LONG TERM PH

INSIGHT

PASSIVE RESISTANCE HOW A R E TH E F IRST PAS S IVE H O US E S FARING TO DAY ?

Photo by Peter Cook

One of the most common questions asked of passive buildings is how they will perform in the long-term — will the building still be airtight in 20 years, and will the heat recovery ventilation still be working? Recent testing and evaluation of passive houses built in the 1990s and 2000s sheds new and convincing light on these questions.

Words by John Cradden

E

ver since the first passive houses were built over 25 years ago, passive design principles have very slowly but surely entered the mainstream. But despite the well-documented and proven advantages of the passive house standard and its growing influence on mainstream construction, its widespread adoption still seems some way off.

There are probably various reasons for this, despite the passive house advocacy toolkit

72 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

being well stocked with proven benefits: better air quality, superior comfort, low running costs and reduced environmental impact. But now this toolkit looks set to gain a critical new weapon in its arsenal: long-term durability.

Up to relatively recently, it has not strictly been possible to confidently answer questions about how passive house performance holds up over time.

Given that there are a number of essential

elements to a typical certified building (well-insulated building fabric, airtight and thermal bridge-free constructions, triple glazed windows and mechanical ventilation) that all need to perform within a narrow margin of efficiency, a deterioration in the performance of any single element would be a bit of a slap in the face to the standard.

Of course passive houses don’t require much in the way of mechanical systems — bar heat recovery ventilation, at least in cooler climates — so there’s not really much to go wrong. Where things could go awry, in theory, is if essential building fabric components, such as airtightness tape, prove to be poor quality, or if less than suitable component choices are made, or if there is poor attention to detail when the building is constructed – although the requirements to provide evidence of how the building is built for certified passive houses, and the scrutiny of the stringent airtightness test requirements should provide less scope for poor quality.

INSIGHT

with EPS, in 2005, and has since upgraded the heating system from a wood pellet boiler to an air source heat pump, and put in solar PV panels.

The house was tested in 2017 by energy-efficiency consultant, academic and passive house expert Dr Shane Colclough, who measured the performance of the house against key passive house benchmarks, including primary energy, space heating demand, domestic hot water, winter indoor temperature, overheating, C02 levels and humidity. Colclough found that the house was still performing very close to all benchmarks and in some cases better — and all without factoring in the solar PV inputs, as they were

not included in the house’s original PHPP (passive house software) calculations.

“What was really fascinating was that all the numbers came in pretty much on the button,” says O’Leary. “I was delighted to see it out because I felt myself over the years that the house was performing very well but I had no quantitative data to back that up... basically Shane was able to prove that the house was sort of doing exactly as it had been specified to do.”

Tirimani, meanwhile, has kept an extensive record of the long-term performance of Y Foel, completed in 2009, which he has documented on his blog Passivebuild.co.uk, but it has also been independently airtightness tested, and

60 50 40 30 20

Final energy for heating (average)

10 0 Re fe

re 19 nce 91 / 19 1992 92 / 19 1993 93 / 19 1994 94 / 19 1995 95 / 19 1996 96 / 19 1997 97 / 19 1998 98 19 /199 99 9 / 20 200 00 0 20 /200 01 1 20 /200 02 2 20 /200 03 3 20 /200 04 4 20 /200 05 5 20 /200 06 6 20 /200 07 7 20 /200 08 8 / 20 200 09 9 /2 20 010 10 / 20 2011 11/ 20 2012 12 / 20 2013 13 / 20 2014 14 / 20 2015 15 /2 01 6

Final energy consumption for heating kWh/(m2a)

Nonetheless, recent efforts have sought to fill in this last piece of the puzzle by assessing the performance and durability of some of the earliest passive houses.

Among them are the homes of Tomas O’Leary in Wicklow and Mark Tirimani in Wales, the first certified passive houses in Ireland and the UK respectively. O’Leary is the leading passive house expert behind MosArt Architects and the Passive House Academy, while Tirimani is a self-builder and regular speaker at conferences on his long-term monitoring of Y Foel, a charming timberframed two-storey house in Machynlleth.

O’Leary built his 4,000 square foot house, essentially a concrete shell externally insulated

LONG TERM PH

Monitoring years in 1st Passive House Darmstadt

above Y Foel, Mark Tirimani’s Welsh passive house was built in 2009; bottom left monitoring of energy consumption over 24 years from the first ever passive houses in Darmstadt; bottom right Tomas O’Leary’s passive house in Wicklow was Ireland’s first, finished in 2005; facing page the world’s first passive house scheme, a four-unit residential building in Darmstadt built in 1990

ph+ | long term ph insight | 73

LONG TERM PH

INSIGHT

Sc

M me ulti nZ s n Un EB ow it RE on AD Sit he

Y

e

Insulated Concrete Forms - A Rated Structures

• High Performance REINFORCED CONCRETE Homes • A One Stop Solution that Easily Meets or Exceeds Building Regulations for Structure, Insulation, Sound Resistance, Fire, Airtightness and Thermal Bridging - all as standard, at no extra cost • New Amvic ICF 300 Form available now, offering o U-Value: 0.20W/m²K, o Y-Value: 0.02, o Air Permeability: <2m³/h.m² • Sound Resistance + 58DnTw. • Fully Certified and Approved • Cost Competitive, Rapid Build • For Self Build, Housing Schemes, Apartments, Commercial, etc.

Amvic Ireland

Unit 11 Rosemount Business Park Ballycoolin, Dublin 15 01 899 1883 www.amvicireland.com I Made in Ireland

74 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31 PASSIVE HOUSE PERFORMANCE - TRADITIONAL BUILD COSTS

INSIGHT

LONG TERM PH

The integrity of the airtightness and insulation also remained unaffected even by several small earthquakes.

1

2

3

4

5

6

Images from the recent re-testing & evaluation of the first ever passive houses in Darmstadt, including: 1, 2 & 3 removing EPS insulation and plaster from the walls to examine their condition after 28 years; 4 200 litres of air was collected on gelatin filters at air supply outlets by means of a filtration sampler; 5 heat-flow measurement device for evaluation of the thermal performance of the windows; 6 visual inspection inside the MVHR ductwork.

also found to be performing just as well as it did when first certified.

Tirimani and his wife are often asked to give their views about having lived in their house for well over ten years, and he says: “we just sum it up in one sentence and we say the same thing again and again: it’s far exceeded our expectations and it’s incredibly stable and I think the stability of living in our passive house is something we weren’t prepared for.”

The world’s first passive houses But probably the most significant and extensive of all these recent re-tests is that of the very first passive house development in Kranichstein, a district in the city of Darmstadt, Germany, which was built in 1990. It’s a three-storey, four-unit terraced house, and one of the four units is owned and occupied by the family of Prof. Wolfgang Feist, a physicist and one of the co-originators of the

passive house concept as well as the founder of the Passive House Institute.

Being essentially a prototype building and the first showcase for the passive house concept, Feist clearly foresaw the need to monitor the performance of the building over time, so it was fitted with a comprehensive array of some 200 sensors, including temperature sensors, pyranometers, a pyrgeometer, hygrometers, heat flow sensors, heat meters and electricity meters.

With data logged over 25 years, Feist reports that the energy consumption of all four units (which have natural gas heating systems) has remained stable at an average of 8.4 kWh per metre square per year. “The overall efficiency of the building is thus not deteriorating, nor are there palpable changes in user behaviour,” say Feist and fellow researchers Rainer Pfluger and Wolfgang Hasper, who recently published research on the long-term

Photography by Passive House Institute, Mark Tirimani, Shane Colclough, Tomas O’Leary

performance and durability of the dwellings.

The building itself is of a straightforward design, a simple box with masonry walls made of lime sandstone, with gypsum plaster on the inside. This is widely regarded as a very robust combination, so the testers chose not to test it.

The two layers of EPS external insulation are topped by a mineral plaster exterior, which tends to be regarded as having a shorter shelf life, according to the authors. A visual inspection showed the plaster had turned grey in colour but remained intact everywhere, requiring no more than a cosmetic touch-up.

But just to be sure, they cut out a sample of the plaster for lab testing. This showed “no indications of fissures or any imperfect adhesion of the plaster to the insulation layer”.

They concluded: “Highly insulated wall structures can be built in masonry construction with a lot of wall materials; these are inexpensive with EIFS [external insulation and finish systems]. The systems remain effective, dry and weatherproof using an exterior mineral plaster reinforced with a fibreglass tissue. Such plaster can be expected to remain in use for more than 50 years even in areas with harsh climatic conditions; the insulation layers are robust for even longer.”

In terms of the roof structure, one potential issue was that Kranichstein local building regulations called for a green roof, i.e. a roof covered with vegetation. Lloyd Alter, design editor and writer for Treehugger.com, commented that with polyethylene vapour barriers and practically no ventilation of the roof structure, he would have expected the testers to find a “bunch of soggy insulation” after 25 years, but instead the insulation was still in excellent condition thanks to it being highly airtight and well insulated. Ensuring precipitation drains off the roof is also crucial to protect it, the authors say.

Having said that, they would recommend a ventilated cover of some kind if they were undertaking the same project again, but all the same they say that “there are practically no limits to the durability of such a highly insulated structure”.

Meanwhile the researchers couldn’t trace any new thermal bridges or heat losses, while a repeat of the airtightness test showed only the window lip seals to have deteriorated; when these were renewed the exact original airtightness result (0.21 ACH at 50 Pascals pressure) was once again achieved. All the other critical connection points proved to be still as airtight as they were 25 years ago.

The integrity of the airtightness and insula-

ph+ | long term ph insight | 75

LONG TERM PH

INSIGHT

Just like us our walls need to breathe

ecological BUILDING SYSTEMS

Naturally Better â&#x20AC;¢ A world first in paint innovation â&#x20AC;¢ The largest range of natural paint

colours in Ireland

â&#x20AC;¢ Highly breathable: sd-value 0.015

Upper Bridge Street, Athboy, Co. Meath, Republic of Ireland T. +353 (0) 46 9432104 E. info@auropaints.ie

w w w. e c o l o g i c a l b u i l d i n g s y s t e m s . c o m

Design

Manufacture

Install

Fabric First Approach Standardised Components nZEB Compliant

Glavloc products are manufactured in a state of the art, fully automated facility

Fast Installa on Reduced Labour Build 3x Faster Not Weather Dependant

Powerful BEAM Central Vacuum Systems Energy efficient Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery Clean, healthy indoor air Guaranteed value & quality Call us for project advice, survey and quotation

INFO GLAVLOC.COM

CALL NOW! UK: 0800 78 38 231 ROI 1800 20 10 67

www.beamcentralsystems.com 76 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

+353 0 21 439 5344

WWW.GLAVLOC.COM UNIT C, COLLINS BUILDINGS, IDA KILBARRY BUSINESS PARK,DUBLIN HILL, CORK.

INSIGHT

tion also remained unaffected even by several small earthquakes in the area, including a magnitude 4.2 one in May 2014.

Looking at the triple glazed windows, the loss of insulating krypton gas was negligible and the insulation value of the windows was still intact. This is all the more remarkable because the windows were custom-made during construction, given the lack of triple glazing on the market at the time. But the authors note that sensitivity to gas losses drops considerably if argon is used instead of krypton, and the distance between panes is increased to from 8 mm to 15 mm.

The project was one of the first where the windows were mounted in the building’s insulation layer, and being triple glazed they were always going to be warm on the inside, so unlikely to be affected by condensation-related rot.

On the ventilation side – and certainly one area that might be expected to show some noticeable deterioration — an examination showed that, with the exception of the moving parts such as filters and fans, nothing needed replacing and the duct system was clean after 25 years of constant use.

“There is no reason why the basic components (ducts, cases, filter boxes and counter-flow heat exchangers) could not be used for 50 years. Only the ventilators have a service life of 15 to 20 years; replacing them costs around €500,” the authors write. The filters can be changed easily and the ducts only needed cleaning once every ten years.

“In the past, every now and then the passive house concept has been challenged according to a theme: ‘it’s all very well, but it will not last!’”, Wolfgang Hasper wrote in an email to Passive House Plus. “The research and continual monitoring in Kranichstein

1600 1500 1400

now proves this clearly wrong and we can consider this issue settled.” And of course, long-term durability means reduced life cycle and maintenance costs too.

Part of the key to the success of this particular project was the careful choice of commonly available building materials. “This will probably hold true for other times and regions where passive house may be new, but careful design and construction will yield reliable and lasting results,” says Hasper.

So what state does Hasper expect the building to be in 25 years from now? “We expect the building fabric to be as found after 25 years; a new coat of paint might be desirable for aesthetical reasons. The windowpanes will probably want replacement. MVHR fans operating now are a very early generation of EC-motor driven devices and might need replacement in a few years. Ducting, heat exchanger etc will still be useful and, as far as we found now, probably need no cleaning either.”

Tomas O’Leary is among the many visitors who have visited Feist’s house since 1991, and he praises the physicist’s generosity in allowing testers to dismantle and cut bits out of the building on the 25th anniversary test.

“I think in a very modest way it was kind of like fingers up to the cynics who thought the airtightness wouldn’t last, or the ventilation system would pack up and die or whatever.”

O’Leary says that any deterioration in the condition of his house after 15 years is down to the same normal interior wear and tear you’d expect a young family of five to inflict.

On the outside, his oak windows don’t have an aluminium finish so they have needed some re-oiling and varnishing, while the building’s strong external colours have faded a little, but this is not something a new visitor would pick up on. Even with a cat and a dog sharing the

LONG TERM PH

house with three young girls, the ventilation ducts were found to be free of dirt or dust.

There was an issue with airtightness around the bottom of one floor-to-ceiling window that was discovered about two years after moving in, but a quick investigation found that a builder had applied household ducting tape rather than airtightness tape around a third of the window frame.

“It proves the point that if you don’t use good materials and they’re not applied correctly....like we visit passive house projects under construction and people are trying to apply tape to dusty floors, and at the risk of embarrassing the contractor you’re going along and you’re pulling at the tape and it’s coming away from the floor in places.”

Tirimani has also studied the paper on the re-testing and evaluation of Wolfgang Feist’s house. Indeed, having previously lived in Germany for some 13 years, he was able to educate himself back in the noughties about PHPP using information from the Passive House Institute at a time when there were few English translations available.

He admits it took a while to fully comprehend exactly why he had to spend such a high proportion of his fabric budget on the windows. “But I had faith in it...and we ended up with a solid building fabric and high-quality components, but nothing exotic.”

While describing the integrity of his cellulose-insulated, timber-frame building structure, which is finished externally with a mixture of cladding and render, he says the “things that will let go first will be slates that are damaged either through trees falling on them or the weather”. Barring a tornado or an earthquake, he says, “you’d measure the lifespan of this building in hundreds of years, not 40 or 50.”

C02 IDA4 “low”

Rel. Humidity %

100%

1300 90%

1200

900

IDA3 “satisfactory” IDA2 “good”

800 700 600 500 400 300

IDA1 “high”

80%

200

70% 60%

Rel. Humidity %

C02 ppm

1000

Ventilation switched “off” presuurisation tests performed

1100

50% 40%

100 30%

12 -0 1 13 -20 -0 16 1 14 -201 -0 6 1 15 -20 -0 16 1 16 -20 -0 16 1 17- -201 01 6 18 -20 -0 16 1 19 -20 -0 16 20 1-20 -0 16 1 21 -20 -0 16 22 1-20 -0 16 23 1-20 -0 16 24 1-20 -0 16 25 1-20 -0 16 26 1-20 -0 16 27 1-20 -0 16 28 1-20 -0 16 29 1-20 -0 16 30 1-20 -0 16 1 31 -20 -0 16 01 1-20 -0 16 02 2-20 -0 16 03 2-20 -0 16 04 2-20 -0 16 05 2-20 -0 16 06 2-20 -0 16 07 2-20 -0 16 08 2-20 -0 16 09 2-20 -0 16 2 10 -20 -0 16 2 11- -20 02 16 12 -20 -0 16 2 13 -20 -0 16 2 14 -20 -0 16 220 16

0

left Analysis of the Krannichstein passive house reveals indoor levels of carbon dioxide and relative humidity are in the healthy range 28 years after completion; testing of Tomas O Leary’s passive house from 2009 including top right and bottom right a thermal camera image during airtightness testing revealing an area of heat loss.

ph+ | long term ph insight | 77

PA R T L & F

INSIGHT

NZEB REGS ANALYSIS

WH AT T H E C H A N G E S TO PART L & F F O R DW E LLING S ME AN New building regulations for energy efficiency and ventilation in dwellings come into force later this year and are designed to bring Ireland in line with European rules that all new homes be nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs). But while the new versions of TGD F and L represent a step forward, many industry experts still have major worries over key aspects of the regulations.

Words by John Hearne | Additional reporting by Jeff Colley

J

ohn Morehead is worried. The managing director of Cork-based architects Wain Morehead has been reviewing the just-published technical guidance documents (TGDs) for Parts L (conservation of fuel and energy) and F (ventilation) of the building regulations. The latest iteration of the regulations is designed to bring Ireland in line with EU requirements that new homes be nearly zero energy buildings from the end of 2020.

78 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

Morehead has a list of concerns about these regulations. First and foremost is overheating.

“I’m really concerned about it,” he says, “It’s potentially a disaster waiting to happen.”

Like much of the text, clause 1.3.5 of Part L cites DEAP, which is the Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure, the software used by BER assessors to work out energy consumption in a building. The text says that if the software indicates that there is an overheating

risk, you then refer to CIBSE TM59, which gives a design methodology for the assessment of overheating risk in homes, and to TM37, which provides guidance for improved solar shading control.

The problem, says Morehead, lies in the first link in this chain.

“I’m concerned because they issued the latest version of DEAP – which is DEAP 4.2.0 – and an updated Excel spreadsheet, but there

INSIGHT

are sections in the example projects not fully populated.” As a result, solar overheating is simply not being flagged, regardless of the actual risk of it occurring.

“People are very aware of leaving a child in a single glazed car on a hot day, but they have no comprehension of what can happen in a triple glazed and highly insulated space.”

Morehead maintains that unless these spreadsheets are modified, the industry could sleepwalk into building homes with very significant overheating risk. The reduced hot water allowance significantly reduces internal gains already. If the spreadsheets are adjusted to prevent the overheating, reducing solar gains will have a significant negative impact on the example project’s energy performance and ability to meet NZEB. “We spent a lot of time helping to flag things like this in the consultation period. Some got picked up, but others did not.”

NZEB and the requirements of both TGD L & F 2019 apply to new dwellings which begin construction from 1 November. Transitional arrangements allow TGD L 2011 to continue to apply where planning permission has been applied for before 31 October, and there is substantial completion by the end of October next year.

TGD L calls for a 70% improvement on the 2005 regs, reducing the maximum permitted energy performance coefficient (MPEPC) to 0.3 and the maximum permitted carbon performance coefficient (MPCPC) to 0.35. A dwelling with an EPC of 0.3 should in theory consume 30% of the energy of one built to the 2005 regs.

The required renewable energy ratio (RER) changes from a flat threshold of 10 kWh/ m2/yr to a minimum percentage of 20%.

The air permeability backstop is reduced from 7 m3/hr/m2 at 50 Pascals of pressure to 5 m3/hr/m2, and airtightness tests are now finally mandatory for all new homes. The 2011 version of TGD L permitted developers to test a proportion of each house type in schemes – and apply the backstop value of 7 in case of untested homes. Consequently 16.7% of homes built between 2016 and 2019

with published BERs did not have airtightness tests done. Backstop roof U-values are unchanged, but there has been a tightening up of backstop U-values for walls, floors, and for the combined target for windows, doors and roof lights as outlined in table 1.

Beware relying on backstops As with previous versions of TGD L, it’s worth remembering that merely meeting the backstops won’t be sufficient to achieve the overall MPEPC and MPCPC targets. To prove the point, Passive House Plus looked at the specs for the sum total of new homes with published BERs built between 2016 and 2019 – and subject to the relevant (2011) version of TGD L. As table 1 shows, the average results for homes built in this period went beyond not only the 2011 backstops, but the 2019 backstops too. It wasn’t possible to assess average renewable energy contributions, due to limitations within the data source used for this exercise – SEAI’s National BER Research Tool. Similarly, as the EPC scores for each building aren’t currently included in the data source, it’s not possible to determine what the averages were, but our guess is a score of roughly 0.37, at a time when the required MPEPC target was 0.4.

Clearly – as the department has shown in the example house specs in Appendix E of TGD L – the moral is not to sail too close to the backstops in general. It may be possible – albeit unadvisable, due to potential adverse impacts in terms of condensation risk and thermal discomfort – to build to the bare minimum with one or two of the backstops, but it may mean having to go far beyond with the others to make up the difference.

Despite some worries and disappointments that the new regs have generated, there has been a broad welcome in the industry for the general improvement in standards which they require.

Mark Shirley of energy consultants 2eva.ie welcomes the tightening of the airtightness backstop. “I think it will keep everybody more focused on airtight-

PA R T L & F

ness. All buildings will have to be tested and that’s going to encourage far greater consistency of workmanship across sites.”

Renewable energy ratio Like many others in the industry, Gavin O Sé of building testing services company Greenbuild welcomes the fact that the renewable energy ratio is now a 20% target rather than a flat 10 kWh/m2/yr. Under the old regime, highly energy efficient homes were being forced to over-specify renewable technologies or end up non-compliant. O Sé has already seen several houses which would have failed under earlier regs emerge fully compliant from DEAP 4.2.0.

For the first time, there are now targets for major renovations in the regs too. Under TGD L 2019, where more than 25% of the building envelope undergoes renovation, the energy performance of the building, or the renovated part of it, must achieve what’s being termed a ‘cost optimal performance level’ of 125 kWh/ m2/yr.

John Morehead welcomes the fact that dwellings will now need to undergo both pressurisation and depressurisation during airtightness tests. Performing one of these and not the other can give inaccurate results depending on whether windows are inward or outward opening, the direction of prevailing winds and which side of the house they’re on.

Climate data He’s less enamoured however with the lack of detailed climate data in the latest version of DEAP. “We’re still calculating based on Dublin Airport climate data, and that is becoming a joke for low energy homes,” he says.

He points out that the Irish climate varies by as much as 45%, and that defaulting to Dublin data for, say, a coastal site in the south west, is nonsensical. Given the low energy requirements of passive buildings, marginal distinctions can have significant impacts. Inappropriate climate data gives us houses ill-suited to their locations.

At the heart of this issue, says Morehead, is the fact that DEAP is an asset-rating system

TABLE 1: COMPARISON OF BUILDING FABRIC BACKSTOPS TO ACTUAL LEVELS 2019 Backstops

2011 Backstops

Pitched roof (insulated ceiling)

0.16

0.16

Pitched roof (insulated slope)

0.16

0.16

Flat roof

0.2

0.2

0.18

0.21

Ground floors

0.18

0.21

Other exposed floors

0.18

0.21

External doors, windows & rooflights U-value (W/m2K)

1.4

1.6

Air permeability (m3/hr/m2 @50 Pa)

7

10

Roof U-value (W/m2K) Walls U-value (W/m2K) Floors U-value (W/m2K)

As Built (2016-19) 0.12

0.176 0.125 1.215 (windows) 1.445 (doors) 2.85

ph+ | part L&F insight | 79

PA R T L & F

INSIGHT

This is the amount of waste generated when you choose Bonded Bead Cavity Wall Insulation.

That's right. None.

Working together on Climate Action

80 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

Contact us www.kore-system.com +353 49 433 6998 info@koresystem.com

INSIGHT

PA R T L & F

We’re still calculating based on Dublin Airport climate data.

Standard Deviation

-2 - -1 Std. Dev.

0 - 1 Std. Dev.

< -3 Std. Dev.

-1 - 0 Std. Dev.

1 - 2 Std. Dev.

-3 - -2 Std. Dev.

Mean

2 - 3 Std. Dev.

above A graph from Rowan Fealy of NUI Maynooth’s paper, ‘The spatial variation in degree days derived from locational attributes for the 1961-1990 period’, showing annual accumulated degree day variation by location.

and not a design tool. Because it is inextricably linked with the technical guidance documents however, it frequently strays into design territory and it is then that problems arise.

Andy Lundberg of low energy building practice Passivate agrees. While he’s pleased to see the reduction in backstop U-values, and the fact that we now have a more sensible way of treating unconditioned spaces in apartment blocks, there are deficiencies in form factor that were not addressed in the new regs.

“We have a good fabric spec requirement now, but we still don’t necessarily have a fabric first approach. If you have poor form, you can compensate to get the overall CPC and EPC by using renewables. In the UK, they have a target fabric efficiency value which means

that regardless of the extent of renewables you use to demonstrate compliance, you still have to have an efficient fabric.”

The one mitigating factor is that most builders tend to build in a compact form anyway. As Lundberg points out, your average three or four-bed semi-d tends to inhabit a tight footprint.

Thermal bridging As far as thermal bridging is concerned, the continuing use of a default Y factor of 0.08 in the acceptable construction details (ACDs) is another issue.

“I’ve calculated that for most dwellings, the Y-value is actually better than the 0.08 – typically 0.06 – so there’s a benefit in taking the time to do that calculation,” says Lundberg.

“Applying a blanket value that in reality has no relevance to the dwelling you’re working on doesn’t make sense.”

He points out that thermal bridging is an easy place to win points for your EPC and CPC because in nearly every case, the Y-factor is better than the 2005 reference value of 0.11 anyway.

“The lower you get relative to that value, the more you can relax on other things that might be more costly. Typically, junctions these days are quite well-detailed compared to how they used to be – and often better than the ACDs – so why not benefit from that? The problem is they’re building things very well in many cases, and then not reaping the benefit of that because the 0.08 Y factor is being assigned.”

The key point here is that we’re trying to improve on the energy performance of the reference dwelling by 70%, so in theory we should be targeting Y-values of around 0.033 W/m2K, which is entirely doable in many cases.

“If you’re not hitting that kind of value, or maybe you are but don’t have the benefit of it because of the use of the 0.08 ACD value, then it will cost you by having to compensate elsewhere. On larger developments, that additional cost will far outweigh the cost of having the analysis done.”

The fact that you can still get away with a Y factor of 0.15 so long as you compensate with U-values or airtightness or even renewables is being seen, says Lundberg, as a get out of jail free card by some designers. He points out however that Part L clearly requires that no junction comprise a risk of surface or interstitial condensation. The required analysis to demonstrate compliance in that regard is not being undertaken by designers or builders.

What this means is that on many projects the risk of condensation is simply unknown.

Developers will almost always choose the cheapest path to compliance. But this collection of quirks and weaknesses makes it almost impossible to guess how the industry will interpret the new regulations. The risk then is that we end up with a housing stock which falls well short of acceptable energy, comfort and health standards. The alternative? Build passive. This guarantees both compliance and acceptable standards. Moreover, passive house is so well established at this stage that it represents the most risk-free means of ensuring that we get the building stock we aspire to.

ph+ | part L&F insight | 81

PA R T L & F

INSIGHT

VENTHEAT PKOM4 HEAT PUMP COMBINATION UNIT COMPLETE AND COMPACT • Passive house certified compact unit • SAP Appendix Q listed MHRV unit • Ventilation, heating, cooling, and warm water treatment in one device • Space-saving (installation space <0.75 m²) • Compressors working in parallel for heating hot water and fresh air • Interior installation (without outdoor unit)

COMFORTABLE AND RELIABLE • Austrian quality product • Provides for comfort at the touch of a button • Quiet and reliable during operation • Customer service with remote access (maintenance-friendly technology)

FLEXIBLY USABLE AND COMBINABLE • Suitability for new construction EFFICIENT AND SIMPLE • Low operating costs and renovation (passive house standard) • High heat recovery rate (extract air) • Easy and cost-efficient installation • Use in single-family houses or in multi-storey housing • Intuitive operation via touch screen • Available with enthalpy or app heat exchangers for moisture recovery CLEAN AND ENVIRONMENTALLY • ECO-Mode for integration FRIENDLY • Utilization of renewable energy with photovoltaic systems (optimized power consumption (modern heat pump technology) with SG-Ready) with air as heat source • Decentralized solution with simple energy billing (cold water meter, electricity meter)

VENTHEAT - PICHLER PHI CERTIFIED DOMESTIC AND COMMERICAL HRV SYSTEMS IN A RANGE OF CAPACITIES FROM 30-5550 m³/h To find out more visit WWW.VENTHEAT.IE

E: mail@VentHeat.ie

NATURALLY FEELING GOOD...

Endura Delta®

Demand controlled ventilation system with heat recovery • • • • •

For residential buildings Controlled via the Endura Delta app Integrated humidity, CO2 & volatile organic compounds sensor Quiet and energy-efficient system Endura Delta 330 and 380 are Passive House certified, certificate for 450 pending

AerHaus Ltd

058 20005 info@aerhaus.com

82 | passivehouseplus.ie |www.aerhaus.com issue 31

www.renson.eu

INSIGHT

PA R T L & F

VENTILATION CHANGES: THE DEATH KNELL OF NATURAL VENTILATION?

S

witching the focus to Part F, several key changes have been made. The bad news is that natural ventilation is still permitted – albeit a souped-up version, and only within a specific, narrow airtightness parameter. The good news is that a rigorous-looking system is being introduced for system design, installation, commissioning and inspection – a system that may turn the industry away from natural ventilation for good.

While the regs appear to turn a blind eye to the weight of monitoring studies demonstrating the unreliability of natural ventilation – that is, either the familiar ‘hit-and-miss’ hole-in-the-wall vents or trickle vents in windows, along with intermittent extract fans in bathrooms and kitchens – this method is now only permitted if the airtightness in the dwelling is between 3 and 5 m3/hr/m2 @50Pa. Below this level, mechanical ventilation becomes an absolute requirement – barring an undefined allowance for “appropriate additional measures” for homes which had a design target q50 of between 3-5 but ended up achieving a tested score of under 3 – which presumably could mean knocking even more holes in walls.

Passive House Plus has previously reported that the vast majority of naturally ventilated new builds have likely failed to comply with Part F in recent years – because the requirement in the 2009 TGD F to increase the area of background ventilators by 40% for homes with an airtightness of less than 5 m3/hr/m2 was routinely ignored.

Those requirements are now essentially the minimum compliance specs for natural ventilation under the new regulations, which also stipulate that natural ventilation isn’t permitted for buildings with an air permeability (Q50) of less than 3 m3/hr/m2.

Gavin O Sé isn’t alone in believing that compliance with Part F has been a problem.

“I’m seeing plenty of places with nothing more than four-inch holes and then maybe some kind of extraction in the bathroom,” says O Sé. “These houses are reasonably airtight, and I’d find it hard to believe that there is sufficient ventilation first of all to be sanitary, and secondly to pass regulations.”

Nor is he confident that all the mechanical heat recovery ventilation (MVHR) systems being installed are adequately balanced and commissioned.

But concerns such as these may become ancient history, thanks to a landmark change in approach: under the new rules, all ventilation systems will have to be designed, installed and commissioned by competent persons, and then ultimately validated by a certified third party assessor to ensure design flow rates are achieved in reality.

Aside from offering huge scope to

ensure mechanical ventilation systems work properly as a general rule, this may ultimately serve as the death knell for natural ventilation – simply by ensuring that anyone thinking of using natural ventilation has to put in the remarkably large area of vents required to comply.

To prove the point, Passive House Plus asked Colum Foley, technical manager with Aereco, to work out the area of background vents required to make the example 130 square metre semi-detached house in TGD F comply. The answer: an equivalent area of 84,000 mm2, with an extra 25% if the free area of the vents is used for the calculation instead of equivalent area. That translates to in the region of 16 to 20 hit-and-miss vents – and that’s assuming 5-inch rather than the more common 4-inch vent. There’s much talk in the industry of developers, when presented with the reality of this change and the aesthetic implications of pock-marking buildings with so many vents, realising natural ventilation is not a viable option.

That said, with the new regs coming in for all new planning applications from 1 November on, the pressure is on now to develop and run training courses to ensure sufficient ventilation system designers, installers and inspectors are in place to deliver on the new regs. Currently, there are no competent persons training courses set up, though the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board is aiming to have a course running by October – designed with input from key officials in the building standards section of the Department of Housing, NSAI and industry stakeholders.

These details that have emerged so far however generate more questions than answers. How, for example, are natural ventilation systems to be commissioned?

Exactly what will be certified? Will it be flow rates alone? Will duct leakage be considered?

Gavin O Sé points out that the narrow airtightness window for natural ventilation could generate significant tension between testers and contractors. Suppose a developer is hell bent on using natural ventilation, but airtightness test results come in at 2.9 m3/hr/m2.

“In his ventilation strategy, he’s now not allowed to use his slippy-slidey hole-inthe-wall. So, what happens? Particularly on a multiple unit site with a contractor who’s giving you a good bit of work. If he’s not getting the results he wants, there’s going to be hassle.”

Passive House Plus raised this issue last year during the consultation phase that preceded the introduction of the new regs.

We talked to industry sources who pointed to the risk of deliberate damage to the airtightness layer in order to worsen the

result, which would in turn lead to localised air infiltration and potentially condensation within the building structure.

In the main though, the changes to TGD F offer promise, to the extent that they’re implemented, and to the extent that the implications of the changes are understood by the construction industry. As Passive House Plus has previously reported, 2018 was the first year where mechanical ventilation systems of one kind or another were likely installed in the majority of new homes in Ireland, as awareness spreads that claims of efficacy for natural ventilation are largely pseudo-scientific, and with the chaotic assistance of accidental ventilation via infiltration ebbing away as airtightness standards continue to improve.

above The ubiquitous hole-in-the-wall vent is no longer deemed adequate enough by many experts to provide healthy levels of fresh air, particularly as standards of airtightness increase.

I’d find it hard to believe that there is sufficient ventilation to be sanitary.

ph+ | part L&F insight | 83

MARKETPLACE

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

Marketplace News Low carbon concrete blocks now available in Ireland

L

ow carbon concrete blocks are now widely available on the Irish market – bringing up to 50% reductions in embodied CO2 – and Passive House Plus helped make it happen.

Innovative Galway-based concrete product manufacturer Coshla Quarries has recently started making blockwork with Ecocem’s green cement, replacing carbon-intensive portland cement with ground granulated blastfurnace slag (GGBS) in blockwork manufacturing at quantities of up to 50% replacement – creating a stronger block at no extra costs, and with no production delays. Consequently Ecocem are now offering specification clauses for GGBS blocks.

For several years Passive House Plus editor Jeff Colley had enquired as to why GGBS wasn’t being used in blockwork manufacturing at anything other than negligible percentages. The answer? Timing.

Concrete products made with portland cement at a typical open air blockwork manufacturing plant typically take 2-3 days to dry, subject to weather conditions – or 4-5 days with GGBS at 50% substitution, and higher still as GGBS percentages increase. With time-sensitive applications like blockwork – where the onus is on reaching early stage strength to enable the blocks to be banded, lifted and stacked quickly – GGBS blocks had been ruled out. But Colley heard via sustainability consultant Jay Stuart that Darragh Lynch, an architect working on the Ballymun Regeneration project, had persuaded Kilsaran to make blocks using GGBS in 2012 for the project’s last phase. With little activity on in the industry at the time, Kilsaran had the time to experiment, and blockwork for the scheme was made at 50% GGBS without a hitch.

84 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

When airtightness tester Wayne Hession approached Passive House Plus about his own cavity wall passive house project last year, Jeff Colley told Hession about the GGBS blockwork option, and after speaking to Darragh Lynch, Hession approached Martin Collins, general manager of Coshla Quarries about making GGBS blocks for his house. Collins engaged with Ecocem’s technical development manager John Reddy, who then developed an accelerant to enable blocks with 50% GGBS to be manufactured without increasing production time or costs.

According to Collins, experiments with the ratios of cement, accelerant and aggregate established that 1% accelerant was the optimum amount.

Ecocem’s GGBS, which is a steel industry byproduct, offers a 96% reduction in CO2 compared to portland cement, according to the company’s Environmental Product Declaration for the Irish market.

According to Martin Collins, this initiative has been so successful, Coshla Quarries have switched over to GGBS wholesale.

“All my blocks now have 50% GGBS in them,” says Collins.

Coshla are now manufacturing to an average compressive strength of roughly 12.5 newtons, taking account of severe west of Ireland conditions. Other than a slightly lighter colour, there’s no apparent difference in the blocks, other than a slightly smoother finish than conventional blocks, due to GGBS being finer than cement. Wayne Hession – a seasoned airtightness tester – believes the precision finish of the blocks will provide an inherent airtightness benefit – potentially giving the product a thermal performance benefit to compliment its embodied energy reductions. Ecocem are planning to conduct testing in that regard. •

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

WWHR an easy & costeffective route to Part L compliance — Showersave

A

ntrim-based company Showersave say that the imminent inclusion of wastewater heat recovery in the new DEAP 4.2.0 software, set to be launched on 16 September, will provide developers, designers and builders with a simple and cost-effective new way to help ensure Part L compliance and achieve better building energy ratings.

“The Showersave system helps you to gain compliance at the lowest possible cost. For a relatively simple product, it achieves great things in terms of energy efficiency,” said Tony Gordon of Showersave. Gordon said that for around €450, a Showersave system will save about as much energy as a 1 kWP solar PV array generates, and that in a typical four-person house, the system can recover between 800 and 1,000 kWh per year.

The Showersave product itself is manufactured in the Netherlands, and over 70,000 have been installed to date, including close to 20,000 units in the UK. The system is also now regarded as a renewable energy system by the EU’s recast renewable energy directive.

Showersave supply a range of wastewater heat recovery systems to the UK and Irish markets, for both domestic and commercial applications. These systems capture waste heat that goes down the shower drain and use it to provide free extra heating for domestic hot water.

“It’s a wonderfully simple system,” Gordon added. “It works under gravity and there are no moving parts at all. It really is a fit and forget system.”

While it is already included in the product characteristics database for SAP, the UK’s dwelling energy assessment software, wastewater heat recovery will now finally be added as a category to Ireland’s equivalent assessment software, DEAP. “Now if you go directly under the showers tab, wastewater heat recovery will be included,” Gordon said.

“In the near future around one quarter of a typical houses’ energy consumption will be for showering. Even if you build to the passive house standard, you’re just chucking that energy away. Once your building fabric is insulated as well as it can be, looking to save energy on domestic hot water production is the next logical step.” For more information see www.showersave.com. •

(above) The Showersave wastewater heat recovery system, a low tech, low cost solution to reducing hot water demand and easing NZEB compliance.

MARKETPLACE

VentHeat launch compact heat pump & MVHR systems to Ireland

V

entHeat, a new Irish company specialising in heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for passive house and low energy buildings, has launched the Pichler PKOM4 compact heat pump system to the Irish market. The system combines heating, cooling, ventilation and domestic hot water in one passive house certified unit with a footprint of less than 0.75 m2.

One stand-out feature of the PKOM4 is that in combi mode, both compressors work in parallel to deliver space heating and domestic hot water. Stephen Young of VentHeat told Passive House Plus that the PKOM4 – which can also deliver cooling – is smart-grid ready and can use smart grid electricity or on-site renewable energy to boost domestic hot water to a higher temperature via an immersion heater.

Integration and control of additional electrical heating sources (underfloor heating for bathroom, or infra-red panels) is also possible. The system can also be linked into smart home and central building management systems, with control by a smart phone or tablet app.

Meanwhile, VentHeat is also supplying the Pichler range of standalone MVHR systems, including its LG 1000 unit with VAV box for sound absorption and volume flow control, which won first place in the 2016 Passive House Institute component awards.

Stephen Young also said that VentHeat undertake the service and support of installed units over remote access. For more information see www.ventheat.ie. •

(above) The PKOM4 compact heat pump system provides heating, cooling, ventilation and hot water.

ph+ | marketplace | 85

MARKETPLACE

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

A1 Dublin & Kildare homes move towards zero energy

T

owards Zero Energy Ltd has just completed eight months monitoring of five dwellings in the Dublin region that it upgraded to A1 BERs last year under SEAI’s Deep Retrofit Pilot Programme. The dwellings were typical suburban 1950s to 1970s two-storey, semi-detached/terraced houses and all were three or four bedrooms in size.

The works carried out on each of the five dwellings included insulation of external walls, attics and floors; replacement of all windows and doors with triple glazed units; major improvements in airtightness and cold bridging; removal of all open fires, wall vents and fans; as well as replacement of all existing lights with LED units. Fresh air and extraction was provided using whole house mechanical heat recovery systems, PV systems with battery back-up were installed and energy monitoring devices were fitted to provide on-going usage data.

At the heart of these upgrades was the new Daikin Altherma 3 heat pump with either 6 or 8 Kilowatt systems being fitted in each of

the five dwellings. The Altherma 3 has the advantage of providing both heating and hot water needs in a single internal unit about the size of your average fridge and included in the unit is a 230-litre hot water storage cylinder which eliminates the need for a hot press. Heating distribution was provided by a mixture of underfloor piping and low temperature radiators with full zone controls, and the systems were set to provide a constant temperature of 20C, 24 hours a day across the heating season.

Each of the five homes upgraded achieved an A1 in the post-works BER test with an average of 7.02 kWh/m2/yr for energy use and 1.24 KgCO2/m2/yr for carbon emissions, a reduction of over 95% from their pre-works BER results.

The post-works airtightness tests were all below 3 m3/hr/m2 at 50 Pascals. At the time of writing, eight months data (Nov 18 to June 19) has been collected and this data shows that an average of 2,224Kw of energy was used to provide all heating, hot water and ventilation needs, with an average cost of €355 per home. •

(below) The indoor/outdoor units for the new Daikin Altherma 3 heat pumps installed in deep retrofit projects by Towards Zero Energy Ltd.

Ecological announce thermal modelling service

Ecological Building Systems’ technical team member & NSAI-approved thermal modeller Joe Fitzgerald, speaking about heat loss and mould growth through thermal bridges at a CPD event on nearly zero energy building earlier this year.

E

cological Building Systems have announced the addition of a new thermal modelling service to their existing array of technical services. Ecological technical team member Joe Fitzgerald recently successfully completed the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) approved thermal modellers examination in Dublin Technological University. Fitzgerald is now listed on the NSAI thermal modellers register.

Niall Crosson, group technical manager

86 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

at Ecological Building Systems commented: “With the introduction of NZEB, limiting thermal bridging is pivotal to attain compliance in domestic and non-domestic buildings. Ecological can now model and calculate U-values of complex 3D building elements in accordance with EN ISO 6946, as well as modelling and calculating the linear thermal transmittance of thermal bridges at building junctions in accordance with EN ISO 10211-1 and BR 497.”

He continued: “Ecological also provide

recommendations on what measures can be taken to improve the thermal bridging performance of key junctions in order to achieve ACD status utilising our suite of thermal bridge solution products including BOSIG PHONOTHERM, GUTEX woodfibre and DIASEN thermal plasters to name a few. This compliments our market leading technical support service which extends to hygrothermal and U-value assessments, as well as our extensive suite of CPD presentations promoting better building putting the fabric first.”

On receiving his qualification, Joe Fitzgerald noted: “This service allows us to work closely with designers looking to value engineer building details and complex junctions. By optimising these junctions through thermal modelling at the design stage we can offer true value to a project, greatly reducing the likelihood of a performance gap by accounting for a true reflection of heat loss in buildings.”

Ecological Building Systems are available to help guide building professionals through design detailing, products and advice on installation. Further information on the full range of products and services can be found on www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com. •

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

MARKETPLACE

LIDAN COMPLETE ECOLOGICAL NZEB RAPID BUILD FOR DLR

(above) 60 sqm rapid-build dwelling completed by Lidan Designs for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council.

A

highly sustainable rapid-build dwelling built for Dún LaoghaireRathdown County Council may be one of the first, if not the first ever dwelling, completely finished off-site in Ireland.

The 60 square metre, two-bedroom house was fully designed, built and finished in the Roscommon factory of off-site building specialist Lidan Designs, before being delivered to site. “What is unusual is that a fully fitted kitchen, plus bathroom, bedrooms, plumbing, electrics and energy systems were all done off-site,” Dan O’Brien of Lidan Designs told Passive House Plus.

The dwelling was then installed using a ground screw system, negating the need for concrete foundations, significantly reducing delivery time. The project took just a few weeks to complete from design to handover, O’Brien told Passive House Plus, and was delivered for a budget of €120,000.

The hand-built, timber frame structure was completely insulated in the factory with Ecocel cellulose insulation filling the walls, floor and roof, and Dupont Tyvek

airtightness products. It also features a Mitsubishi air-to-air heat pump for space heating, heat recovery ventilation from Soler & Palau and an Ecovolt H2o exhaust air heat pump for domestic hot water production. There’s also a solar PV array (installed by Lidan), and a vacuum toilet featuring composting and greywater recycling systems.

Externally the dwelling is finished with hardwood windows made by local firm Sean Doyle Windows with Carey Glass glazed units, western red cedar cladding and a zinc roof. It boasts an A2 BER and meets the new nearly zero energy building (NZEB) standard for dwellings, as well as achieving an excellent airtightness test result of 0.66 m3/hr/m2 @ 50 Pa – roughly four times tighter than the average new home built in Ireland at present. O’Brien credits Mark Shirley of 2eva.ie – who played a key role in the energy efficiency design and carried out the airtightness tests, BER and Part L compliance calculations – as playing a key role in the project’s success.

The unit is located on a tight site within

Fernhill Park and Gardens, a recently opened public park on the Enniskerry Road near Stepaside. “Almost 90% of our buildings are now modularly built and transported to site,” Dan O’Brien told Passive House Plus. “Apart from the natural advantages of modular building in terms of ensuring factory-controlled quality and speed, this allows us to create highly skilled sustainable jobs in the west of Ireland, which is core to our strategy.”

“Our buildings are growing in both size and complexity, in line with increasing demand from a combination of both public and private sector clients for a sustainable and rapid build solution. In tandem with that, people are beginning to see the potential different uses of our buildings, which range from larger offices to community centres, schools and now rapid build housing.”

Lidan also recently completed executive offices for the Castle Leslie Estate and have produced a number of buildings for the OPW, including at the world heritage site at Newgrange. •

ph+ | marketplace | 87

MARKETPLACE

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

Blowerproof used to seal Sandycove passive house

A

new Dublin passive house is aiming to achieve the required standard of airtightness using using an innovative new application of Blowerproof liquid airtight membrane. Blowerproof liquid airtight membrane is a BBA certified product with Class C fire rating, which has been used widely on passive house projects across Europe for the last 10 years.

The externally insulated, aerated blockwork passive house is currently under construction in Dún Laoghaire, and is designed by architect and Passive House Plus columnist Mel Reynolds.

Reynolds explained to Passive House Plus that he had planned to use a standard 15mm thick wet plaster finish internally for airtightness, with tapes and membranes at key junctions.

However, he said that one issue with using aerated blocks is that the plaster can dry too quickly and potentially lead to cracking.

He considered applying a sealant to the blocks internally, but after reading about Blowerproof in Passive House Plus, wondered if this would work instead.

“The more I looked into Blowerproof the more interested I became,” he said. Reynolds did not want to batten out his walls internally and loose any internal floor space. When installed directly onto walls Blowerproof typically recommend mechanical fixings as well as adhesive to ensure the build-up achieves the required fire-rating. But piercing the airtightness layer seemed counterintuitive to Reynolds. After some further

digging, he realised that aerated blockwork can deliver up to six hour fire resistance, meaning he no longer needed to screw-fix the plasterboard for fire reasons — meaning it can now be installed using a dab-and-slab or adhesive. Standard plasterboard on dabs removes a significant source of moisture during the construction phase and also requires little or no drying-out time. Reynolds believes this method of building could make it significantly easier for contractors to undertake airtightness work. “If you have a situation where you can build a block wall, spray it with Blowerproof, and then stick or dab-and-slab your plasterboard onto the wall, you have a really easy and mainstream way of achieving high levels of airtightness.”

In addition reduced thickness means less internal space is lost during construction.

Reynolds says that he was so impressed by the simplicity of the process that he has now decided to use the product on the retrofit of a 1930s property he is currently undertaking, and aim for the Enerphit standard with it.

“You can even spray over an existing wall that joists are going into,” Reynolds said.

“There are conservation applications for this where it would allow for far less intrusive interventions. It makes a really difficult thing incredibly simple. It allows you access to all sorts of difficult junctions — if you can get a nozzle in there, you can make it airtight.” • (right) Application of Blowerproof at a doubleheight space and wall chase at Mel Reynolds’ passive house mews in Sandycove.

KORE on the road this September with CPD tour

K Lindab open North Dublin trade counter

L

eading construction product supplier Lindab Ireland have launched a new trade counter on Dublin’s northside.

Situated at Unit 6B Stadium Business Park, Ballycoolin, Dublin 15, the company has opened the new facility to bring its customers convenience and easy access to Lindab’s range of construction products, including a broad range of ventilation systems and components, rainwater goods, roofing and other construction products.

For more information visit www.lindab.ie. •

88 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

ORE will be touring Ireland this September offering an NZEB CPD course in Dublin, Wexford and Sligo.

The company is partnering with Daikin Ireland and Sto on select dates to explore the benefits of achieving NZEB requirements using KORE expanded polystyrene, Daikin heat pumps and Sto external wall insulation.

The event is free of charge and tickets are available on Eventbrite. Those interested can register their interest at www.tinyurl.com/korecpd.

Meanwhile, KORE Retrofit is currently seeking commercial and domestic projects for a 2020 Better Energy Communities Scheme. Businesses are eligible for up to 30% grant funding when upgrading energy efficiency measures including insulation, renewable energy technologies and LED lighting upgrades.

Domestic projects are eligible for grant funding for up to 35% for measures like insulation, windows and door upgrades, and heating systems. For more information see www.tinyurl.com/korebetter. •

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

MARKETPLACE

ISOVER launches new fire-rated laminated board

T

his August saw ISOVER Ireland launching an innovative new thermal laminate board, ISOVER InLiner F. ISOVER said that the product, which has been developed specifically for the Irish market, represents a great improvement in the options available to the Irish construction industry in terms of suitable materials for pitched roof applications, particularly for pitched roofs in three-storey buildings that require a 30-minute resistance-to-fire rating.

The mineral wool component of the board is dense and rigid, meaning that it is perfect for pitched roof applications on rafters, where rigidity and strength is needed the most. ISOVER InLiner F has been independently tested for fire, gives excellent acoustic and thermal performance, and can be relied upon as a solid base where a perfect plaster finish is needed.

According to ISOVER Ireland marketing director Kieran Holohan: “We are delighted to celebrate the launch of ISOVER InLiner F. This product has been developed taking into account the needs of Irish building designers and contractors, who provided us with feedback that they needed a one board fire rated solution that offers robust thermal and acoustic performance.”

For thermal calculations for pitched roof applications using ISOVER InLiner F the ISOVER technical team are available for advice and support.

ISOVER InLiner Board has been tested in conjunction with the Vario complete solution of airtightness membranes, tapes and sealant.

The ISOVER website includes a wealth of resources on ISOVER InLiner Board and the company’s broad range of products. To watch installation movies or download ISOVER guides pertaining to this or other products, or for more details on ISOVER support services, visit www. isover.ie. •

(above and right) Installation of the new ISOVER InLiner F fire-rated thermal laminate board.

ph+ | marketplace | 89

MARKETPLACE

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

Tyvek® and AirGuard®

CE certification on all products

• Aggregates EN 13242 • Blocks EN 771 • Concrete EN 206

Fully certified concrete, blocks & stone

INNER STRENGTH • Low carbon, eco friendly concrete • Keenest prices, professional service • All material to NRA specifications • NSAI approved 1.63.260 Coshla Quarries Ltd. Cashla, Athenry, Co Galway

Tel: 091 389 020

THE ULTIMATE ENERGY EFFICIENCY SOLUTION For superior performance and reliability, Tyvek® is the name you can trust.

At the heart of building solutions for decades and with a global network.

Email: info@coshlaquarries.ie

Greenbuild test

testing & consultancy

Airtightness, Heat Loss, Ventilation Rate Testing

Tyvek® and AirGuard® your guarantee of unbeatable energy efficiency.

energy-efficiency.dupont.com

Certified airtightness testing

Thermal imaging PCN Level 2 certified

Greenbuild can assist you in the design and decision making process to achieve even the most onerous airtightness targets, including Passive House. We are also very experienced in testing buildings and enclosures from tiny houses to large commercial buildings.

We are also PCN Level 2 certified for Building Thermography - ideal for checking items such as heat loss and insulation continuity, air infiltration, leaky roofs or leaky pipes.

New Part F - Domestic Ventilation Rate Testing Soon, domestic ventilation rates will have to be assessed for all new dwellings.

Greenbuild is already undertaking testing of domestic ventilation rates for mechanical systems and can assist you with ensuring compliance with the new rules.

Greenbuild DuPont™, the DuPont Oval Logo, AirGuard®, Typar® and Tyvek® are trademarks or registered trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates. Copyright © 2019 DuPont de Nemours Inc.

Inch, Gorey, Co Wexford. t: 087 252 1032 e: contact@greenbuild.ie

www.greenbuild.ie 90 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

MARKETPLACE

Kingspan up for green manufacturing award

Apartments can meet NZEB with centralised heating — Glenergy L

eading renewable heating specialists Glenergy say that despite perceptions to the contrary, it is possible to meet new NZEB regulations in apartment buildings using centralised heating systems.

Frank Daly of Glenergy told Passive House Plus that the company already has extensive experience bringing apartment schemes into compliance with Part L 2008 and 2011 using the now well-known Dachs micro CHP system, as part of a centralised heating solution for apartments. “The challenge is now meeting Part L 2019,” he said.

“There is a common misconception out there that centralised heating for apartments is no longer an option for meeting Part L 2019,” Daly said. “We set ourselves a task of coming up with a solution that is a bolt-on to what we are all used to at present, namely CHP plus boilers, and we’ve cracked it. We’re working with consultants on the design of a number of schemes now that get NZEB quite easily using a very simple but innovative mix of technologies, including CHP.” However, Daly said he recognises that not all clients wish to go with centralised heating schemes, and some want stand-alone solutions for individual apartments. “The challenge for many designers and developers is meeting NZEB without PV, because in many cases roof-space can be at a premium in apartment blocks,” Daly said.

“However, there is a greater emphasis on hot water generation in DEAP 4. This makes sense because this is often the biggest demand in new builds. We have a renewable solution that targets hot water generation in particular.

Building fabric needs to be better than before and there are a few other things to consider which we can share with consultants and developers if they wish to contact us, but NZEB is not difficult to achieve for individual apartments, and the same applies to individual houses of course.”

Daly said that Glenergy is ready to assist developers and consultants in finding solutions to meeting NZEB. The company’s range of sustainable heating technologies also includes a variety of heat pump solutions, solar PV and solar thermal, along with both standard and electric underfloor heating. For more information see www.glenergy.ie. •

(above) Glenergy installation of air source heat pumps at the Theatre Lane Apartments in Greystones, Co Wicklow.

K

ingspan Insulated Panels and Kingspan Insulation have jointly been shortlisted for the sustainable manufacturing award at the prestigious The Manufacturer MX Awards, recognising the company’s “commitment to sustainable practice at all levels of their business”.

Almost 50 of Britain’s top manufacturing companies have made it through to the finals of one of the UK’s largest and most rigorous manufacturing industry awards programme. The awards ceremony will take place on 14 November at the Exhibition Centre in Liverpool, rounding off Digital Manufacturing Week.

A statement from Kingspan read: “In the UK, both Kingspan Insulation and Kingspan Insulated Panels work hard to implement clear sustainable and responsible business practices, from reducing the environmental impact of their manufacturing processes to engaging with external stakeholders to ensure their passion is translated into industry-wide action.

“Central to this strategy is also its commitment to become a net-zero energy (NZE) company by 2020. NZE means that in a given year, it must be energy neutral on an aggregate basis across its entire estate. It is a global effort, covering 129 sites and over 14,000 employees. It has now reached over 75% NZE and is well on course to achieve the NZE goal by 2020.”

“Of course, sustainability is not just about looking inwardly. Both divisions take an active role in the communities surrounding their sites, proactively communicating their actions, consulting with them on local issues and helping them to improve the local area through various division-run schemes.” •

(above) Kingspan’s global head office and innovation centre at Kingscourt, Co. Cavan – a 1969 building which the company has deep retrofitted to net zero energy levels.

ph+ | marketplace | 91

MARKETPLACE

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

Advertise with us.

To enquire about advertising, contact Jeff Colley on +353 (0)1 2107513 or email jeff@passivehouseplus.ie

www.passivehouseplus.ie

• BER A Rated • Certiied Near Zero Energy Building • Passiv Level Buildings • Sustainable Buildings • Bespoke Design • Turnkey Solution 92 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

• Modular housing and large offices • Home working offices • Community centre’s and amenity facilities • Leisure spaces • Extra space accommodation TEL: 0906 630583 / 01 9011680 E: INFO@LIDANDESIGNS.COM

Find us on Facebook at Lidan Designs or visit www.lidandesigns.com

PA S S I V E H O U S E +

MARKETPLACE

New retrofit finance available in Waterford

(clockwise from bottom left) Encon managing director Conor Walsh; the company’s projects include external insulation with architectural flashings at the ArcLabs research & innovation centre in Waterford; the distinctive grey facade of the Tipperary County Council building in Carrick-on-Suir, featuring a mix of Tegral rainscreen cladding; and a certified passive house in Waterford.

L

eading low energy retrofit contractor Encon has teamed up with Waterford Credit Union to offer low interest loans to anyone thinking undertaking of a home energy upgrade, in a bid to help develop the retrofit market in the region.

“We’ve partnered up with our local credit union to offer people finance packages to retrofit their homes,” Encon managing director and Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur award finalist Conor Walsh told Passive House Plus. “There have been people talking for years in the industry about retrofit finance, but nothing much has ever really happened. I suppose the entrepreneur in me said, right, it’s time to do something ourselves to make finance available.”

As part of this package, the credit union is offering 3.99% finance to homeowners who fully own their property, and 7.99% to those who are still paying off a mortgage. “People can come to us to discuss the work they’re looking to get done and get a quote, and then approach the credit union for finance under normal lending criteria. Homeowners can also get independent advice on the works that need to be carried out before coming to us. Once the finance is in place, we’ll

project manage the retrofit right through to the end.”

Walsh said he believes that most market demand right now is for retrofits that deliver about a 30-40% energy efficiency improvement, as opposed to truly deep retrofits. “A deep retrofit tends to appeal to a more specific type of homeowner, one who buys an older house with the intention of renovating it,” he said.

Encon have also been working under SEAI’s deep retrofit scheme, completing the retrofit of 12 Wexford County Council dwellings last year, with further applications in for the scheme this year. However, Walsh expressed his concern that the recent disruption to the scheme could knock contractor and homeowner confidence, and said it was crucial that a follow up scheme is put in place quickly after the pilot programme is finished.

Encon has been active in the retrofit market since 2009. “We started out as a BER assessor and then quickly moved into retrofit. Initially we were undertaking shallow retrofits, moving houses from the G BER bracket up to Ds, but after that we moved into deeper retrofits.”

This includes an energy upgrade to his own house on the Dunmore Road in Waterford City, completed in 2015 and previously profiled in Passive House Plus, that came very close to achieving the Enerphit standard (it missed the airtightness by just 0.1 ACH). The company also served as main contractor on a certified passive house using the Amvic ICF system, designed by passive house consultant Jeff O’Toole.

Encon’s work is currently focused in the south region. As well as its retrofit work, the company also works as an airtightness and insulation contractor on new build housing developments, and as an external insulation contractor for larger commercial projects.

Walsh told Passive House Plus that the company has 15 qualified tradespeople working directly for it, as well as working with a number of regular sub-contractors.

Conor Walsh is a finalist in Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur award, having won in the Cork-Waterford region, with the awards ceremony taking place on 15 September.

Follow Encon’s projects at www.facebook. com/www.encon.ie/ or visit www.encon.ie for more information. •

ph+ | marketplace | 93

T O BY C A M B R AY

COLUMN

What can space travel tell us about building science?

In the first instalment of his new column on building physics, Toby Cambray, co-founder of Greengauge Building Energy Consultants, takes a look at some similarities and differences between rocket science and building science.

I

n case you have been living under a lunar rock, this summer marked the 50th anniversary of the moon landings. As an engineer it’s difficult not to get excited about anything to do with space, and I’ve been thinking about what space travel has to tell us about building science.

We’re often reminded that the space programme has spawned a variety of technologies that have found their way into everyday use, such as the humble post-it-note and memory foam. Some NASA technology has of course found its way into the construction industry, but dig a little deeper and the topic of space travel has some useful things to teach us about building science.

It’s cold in space, right? Colder than anywhere on earth, as most articles on how astronauts stay comfortable insist. So why are the walls of various rockets and modules only 50 mm thick? The answer is counterintuitive and depends on what we mean by ‘cold’. Temperature is a quantity invented by humans to represent the average kinetic energy of a bunch of molecules. In space, no one can hear you scream, because there are no air molecules to vibrate, which also creates a conundrum when it comes to temperature, because we can’t measure or define the kinetic energy in a vacuum.

If you think back to classroom physics, heat can move via convection, conduc-

is for the hot cup to radiate heat to the cold one. In space there’s mostly no objects to exchange radiation with, so it just flies away forever, and your radiative heat losses aren’t offset by gains from nearby objects at a similar temperature, as they are on earth.

To solve this problem, NASA invented metalised plastic films to create a radiative barrier, and hence the ‘space blankets’ commonly distributed at mass sporting events or disaster relief situations. This technology has also been deployed with debateable efficacy in the construction industry in the form of multi-foil insulation.

Unfortunately, while this works really well in a vacuum, in the presence of air convection and conduction come back into play, and the most practical solution to that is a good thickness of something fluffy.

One relatively recent innovation that attempts to banish convection and conduction is that most space-age of insulation materials, the vacuum insulation panel (VIP). You’d be forgiven for thinking the VIP was a classic NASA spinout, but you would still be wrong. The main challenge with VIPs is maintaining a vacuum — one thing that, it turns out, is easier in space than on earth.

This fact underpins the way the windows of the lunar and command modules work.

Although the shuttle has triple glazing with some incredibly thick and special-

But what about Aerogel, I hear you cry, wasn’t that invented by NASA? Alas no, Aerogel was in fact invented in the 1930s, although it is used by NASA as a high-tech crumple zone for catching micrometeoroids undamaged for study back on earth.

Indeed, as far as I know, NASA have not made any major contributions to building insulation, simply because it’s not a problem they had to solve. NASA engineers are rightly revered for their amazing accomplishments, but their impact on earth-bound low energy building is less than you might think. As they say, building physics isn’t rocket science – it’s harder! n

It’s cold in space, so why are the walls of various rockets only 50 mm thick?

tion and radiation. As counterintuitive as it might seem, in space, objects don’t lose heat via convection or conduction, because there isn’t any matter adjacent to them.

Radiation on the other hand is a big deal, you’re either losing huge amounts to deep space, or gaining huge amounts of solar gain.

Radiative heat loss or gain in terrestrial situations is mostly down to the net difference in radiation between two objects. Any object above absolute zero will emit some radiation, so if you have a cup of room temperature water next to a hot cup of tea, they both radiate heat to each other, but the hot one radiates more, so the net effect

94 | passivehouseplus.ie | issue 31

ised glass, this is mainly necessary to deal with re-entry. The Apollo modules just had boring old double glazing. There wasn’t even an exotic noble gas in the cavity, it was just left open to the atmosphere, or more to the point, the vacuum — because, well, those expensive gasses we use on earth are to reduce the convection and conduction, which we don’t have to worry about in a vacuum.

Of course, people have tried vacuum glazing, and it sort of works, but the fused glass edges that help maintain the vacuum create a serious thermal bridge, and the little dots to stop the glass bending don’t look very pretty.

Toby Cambray is a founding director at Greengauge and leads the building physics team. He is an engineer intrigued by how buildings work and how they fail, and uses a variety of methods to understand these processes.

Close-R A high performance EN fire-rated cavity closer Providing compliance with structural and thermal regulations in Ireland.

Achieved in excess of 4 hour fire rating in a 150mm cavity when tested to EN1366-4

TESTED TO

BS EN 1366-4

Provides template for wall ties placement Ensures continuity of insulation Suitable for door, window, eaves openings and for use at expansion joints TGD A - Requirements for additional wall ties at openings & movement joints

A Structure

Building Regulations 2012

Te c h n i c a l Guidance Document

Comhshaol, Pobal agus Rialtas Áitiúil Environment, Community and Local Government

For more information contact our Technical Team

T. 046 906 6050 xtratherm.ie ph+ | editor’s letter | 95

96 | passivehouseplus.ie | Issue 21