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17th March 2011
10:10am GMT
The Irish construction industry is fast becoming a world leader in 'Passive House', an internationally recognised standard for extremely low energy building.
Passive House buildings are so energy efficient that they don’t need any heating systems. They rely on retaining heat gathered by occupants, appliances and the sun’s natural heat. Basically, no heat gets out.
"Embracing the Passive House concept gives the Irish construction industry a chance to show Ireland and the rest of the world that it can innovate, and that it can meet the most exacting energy performance standards known to man," the Construct Ireland editor, Jeff Colley, told Business World.
"Because Passive House has currency globally, it gives our industry a chance to do something it never properly managed during the tiger years - export. We're delighted to see such strong evidence that the industry is waking up to this opportunity. We can become the Passive House experts in the English speaking world."
We have the second highest number of certified designers in Passive House construction in the world. There seems to be a great opportunity in this type of construction for Ireland. So much so that FAS has launched the world’s first Passive House craftsman course at its Finglas training centre.
The vast majority of these efficient houses are built in (no money for guessing) German speaking countries and Scandinavia. So it will be good for Irish businesses to master the craft. Tomas O'Leary, founder of the Irish Passive House Academy, built Ireland's first Passive House back in 2004.
[Main image via Tõnu Mauring - Flicker Creative Commons]
