The Department of the Environment has written to Dublin’s local authorities warning against adopting higher quality housing standards – and threatened to overrule Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown’s proposal to mandate the passive house standard – in correspondence obtained by Passive House Plus magazine.

Dublin City Council has passed a motion so that new buildings in the city must be constructed to the passive house standard. The measure was agreed at a council meeting on Tuesday to discuss the drafting of the new Dublin City Development Plan for 2016-2022. 

Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s proposal that all new buildings in the county must be passive houses or nearly zero energy buildings (NZEBs) is currently out to public consultation till 11 May. But what is this proposal all about, and what are the implications?

At this year's International Passive House Conference in Germany, the Pioneer Award will recognise early Canadian landmarks in energy effiicent building, and in particular the groundbreaking Saskatchewan Conservation House. 

The government has announced that it plans to invest over €1.5 billion in local authority housing up until the end of 2017.

The first delivery of the QualiBuild Foundation Energy Skills training will start later this month, and the course is open to all building construction workers to apply.

The Passive House Institute has announcd the launch of its two new certification categories, Passive House Plus and Passive House Premium, which recognise on-site renewable energy generation. 

Highway Wholesalers, the Waterford-based supplier of kitchen, bathroom and water treatment appliances, will have the Recoup wastewater heat recovery system on display at the Energy Show in Dublin next week.

Irish minister for energy Alex White has announced a boost in the level of grants available to householders who want to undertake energy efficiency improvements. The cash value of every grant available to householders under the Better Energy Homes Scheme has been increased by between 25 to 50%. In addition, a bonus payment has been introduced which will see householders receive bonus payments if they complete three or more energy efficiency improvements.

Saint-Gobain has launched its ‘Multi Comfort’ building concept at Ecobuild in London. Click here to see a short video outlining the idea, which is based on passive house principles.

Passive House Plus analyses Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council's plan to make the passive house standard mandatory for all new buildings in the district. 

Specifications for new homes which fall short of energy performance targets in the Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure software may nonetheless comply with Part L of the Irish Building Regulations, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland has said. This is potentially a significant development for passive house, a proven ultra low energy building strategy which is often undermined by the relatively crude assumptions in the Irish regulatory guidance and Deap software.

Saint Gobain, the global building materials supplier, has announced that it will donate €100,000 to the Peter McVerry Trust. The money will be used to refurbish six apartments in a disused building on Pim Street in Dublin 8. The project will be complete by February 2015.

The combined floor area of certified passive buildings worldwide has reached the one million metre mark with the certification of a retrofit project in Santa Cruz, California. 

 The passive house standard may be acceptable as an alternative method of compliance with Ireland’s stringent energy efficiency regulations, according to a leading expert in energy and construction law, leaving the door open to a similar approach in the UK.

Last week, the German-Irish Chamber of Commerce showcased five Irish low energy building projects that incorporated German energy effiiciency technology. The projects include a certified passive house, a radiant heating ceiling system, and two CHP units. 

Following a successful World Green Building Week series of seminars and demonstrations in September, Ecological Building Systems has announced a series of new training courses and seminars. 

The Burnham Overy Staithe development in North Norfolk picked up a prestigious UK Passivhaus Award in October, and is profiled in depth on page 28 of the new issue of Passive House Plus.

The line-up for the self-contained outdoor units now boasts 5kW, 8.5kW, 11.2kW and 14kW units, to make Ecodan suitable for almost any situation.

Hastoe Housing Association has released the findings of a two year study on its first passive house housing development, Wimbish in Essex. The study found that the development performs as designed and delivers very low heating bills for residents.