The Council of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown intend on all new houses and commercial buildings have to be built to passive house standards.
Passive House is the world‘s leading standard in energy efficient construction. any property built to this standard will assure buyers and owners they are getting a quality, comfortable and an energy efficient building. The passive house standard which is to cover all new developments in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, will most likely consist of SIGA Airtightness membrane, top rated levels of insulation and almost certainly triple-glazed windows, which will make the buildings virtually air tight.
The Passive House standard is considerably more demanding than current standards required in Part L. I have seen some people on social networking sites saying this will increase the cost of building in this area of Dublin, and condemning the idea. The truth is any cost increase will be returned to the occupier in very little time, as passive houses require minimal energy to attain a comfortable temperature year round, making traditional heating systems redundant. While providing exceptional levels of comfort.
Passive houses not alone make big savings over the long term, particularly with rising energy costs, but they are remarkably cost effective from the beginning. The financial investment in higher quality building materials essential for Passive House standard is reduced with the removing of expensive heating and cooling systems.
The decision to call for the passive house standard on all buildings in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown (Dublin) came about after The Passive House Association of Ireland, of which Irish Energy Assessors are affiliated with, invited the councillors to visit a local passive house which is designed to a conventional neighbourhood style house.
The proposal was approved by 23 votes to 14 and will now be subject to public consultation prior to the development plan been formally adopted next month (June 2015).
If you would like to read more about the passive house standard Click Here To View The SEAI Information Booklet.