Issue 12, Vol 5 Out Now
The first issue of Passive House Plus is out now and available now from Easons and all good newsagents
nationwide. Click here to subscribe online and have the first issue of Passive House Plus delivered to your doorstep
Featured Article
| EnerPHit |
While the principles of low energy building apply equally for new build and upgrades, the reality is that htting passive levels becomes much trickier when retrofitting. The Passive House Institute have taken this on board and created a retrofit standard that is ambitious but achievable.
|
|
Read More >>
|
Latest Blog Comments
Official magazine of Easca  |
|
EnerPHit |
|
|
Wednesday, 01 February 2012 |
|
Page 1 of 10
While the principles of low energy building apply equally for new build and upgrades, the reality is that hitting passive levels becomes much trickier when retrofitting. The Passive House Institute have taken this on board and created a retrofit standard that is ambitious but achievable
Some of the estimates of the numbers of empty houses in Ireland are frightening. The RIAI reported last year that the figure could be anything up to 352,000. With so many resources invested in the existing housing stock, and with the banking system still dysfunctional, we’re unlikely to see any recovery in new build for some time. We now know too that large swathes of the housing stock built in the last decade is of very poor quality. If there’s going to be any revival in the building industry in Ireland, retrofitting is going to form a big part of its future. Tomás O’Leary of MosArt looks at it from another angle: “The existing housing stock is the elephant in the room as far as energy consumption worldwide is concerned.”
The Passive House Institute has been working on a way of dealing with this elephant for the past number of years. Finally, at last year’s Passive House Conference, founder of the institute, Dr Wolfgang Feist, launched EnerPHit, a passive house certificate for the modernisation of old buildings.
Passive House Institute founder Dr Wolfgang Feis, who launched the EnerPHit standard at last year’s Passive House Conference
Speaking at the launch, Dr Feist pointed out that the energy consumption of old buildings can’t usually be brought to the level of new build passive house standard, because among other things, some unavoidable thermal bridges remain. "But the same components as for new passive house buildings can be used, and the building substance can thus be protected and sustainability can be improved significantly. In numerous projects, a reduction of 90% in the heating demand could be achieved.” As Feist implies, the institute recognises the multiplicity of building forms faced by retrofitters and as a result has stitched a significant level flexibility into the EnerPHit standard. The thresholds are looser, and nor are there as many of them. Moreover, a form of certification is achievable even if these minimum values are not.
“EnerPHit reflects the fact that when you’re retrofitting, the challenges are much greater,” says Tomás O’Leary. “With new build passive house, the space heat demand is 15kw/m2/yr. It’s 25 kw/m2/yr for EnerPHit.” The other key parameter is airtightness. The 0.6 air changes per hour required by passive new build is retained as a target only, with a rate of under one deemed satisfactory for refurbishment. Those figures, O’Leary is keen to point out, are not plucked from the air, and nor are they solely arrived at through building physics. The pilot programme undertaken prior to the launch of EnerPHit included extensive economic modelling which fed into the designation of the thresholds.
At Grove Road specific heat energy requirements will be reduced by 95%, while also minimising primary energy use. The project – which included stripping back and airtightening the roof – is still due to have its final air test and so has not yet been submitted for EnerPHit certification
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>
|
|
Building or upgrading?
If you’re pricing, designing or constructing a building – whether
it's an energy upgrade of a small house, or a sustainable new
build home, office or multi unit scheme – we can help.
Click here to get in contact with the companies you need, and receive a copy of the first issue of Passive House Plus for free!
Twitter feed
|
