Buying a building is the biggest investment most people will ever make, so it's critical that build quality isn't compromised. 

The average new home in Ireland has to hit a mid A3 BER to comply with building regulations, but a good BER doesn't always mean a good building in terms of real energy performance, indoor air quality or overall durability. The passive house standard, backed up by 25 years of detailed monitoring studies, actually works, delivering buildings that are healthy, comfortable, and cheap to heat. Passive houses can be built using Irish designers, tradespeople and materials for little or no extra cost compared to the required A3 standard. It's rather a question of spending the money the right way.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has displayed great vision in stating that all new buildings in the county must meet the passive house standard (while leaving the door open for alternative low energy approaches too, such as nearly zero energy buildings). By honouring this pledge, the council will...

...establish Ireland as a global centre of expertise on passive house, the world's leading low energy building standard;

...help to ensure that the recovery of Ireland's construction industry is based on quality-assured, innovative construction excellence, thereby restoring consumer confidence in the industry's capabilities;

...support the creation of jobs to deliver energy efficiency products and services for use domestically and for export. The list of Irish manufacturers who are already playing a key role in passive house projects domestically and internationally includes a vibrant mix of major companies, SMEs and start ups manufacturing everything from various kinds of insulation, triple glazed windows, airtight OSB, timber frame build systems, insulating concrete formwork, heat recovery ventilation systems, thermal building blocks, thermal breaks and even airtightness testing equipment. These companies and many more besides could become world-renowned passive house specialists;

...ensure that people who buy or lease new buildings in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown have the benefit of low energy bills, higher comfort levels, and better indoor air quality than in less considered energy efficiency attempts;

...send a decisive message out on climate change mitigation to the rest of the world, showing that ambitious efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions don't always mean sacrifice - they can actually make people healthier, comfier, and with more money in their pockets;

...eliminate fuel poverty risk for any occupants of new homes in the county.

...reduce Ireland's exposure to energy imports, simultaneously cutting Ireland's carbon emissions and improving our balance of trade.

NB: there are lots of misconceptions about passive house, in terms of effects on construction costs and house prices, and its impacts on everything from occupant health to job creation. Click here to read an FAQ article to learn more about the impacts of making passive house mandatory.