If a heat recovery system is designed correctly, with a correctly sized unit that matches the size of your house, it will not be noisy. The most common reason I’ve come across for noisy systems is that there are not enough outlets to spread the air flow throughout the house. Another reason might be that […] More
Episode 41 – Rodger O’Connor explains how he designed his home to be super energy efficient, including his insulation and airtightness strategy, choice of heating systems, photovoltaic panels and how he managed the build. Read the full article and see the images here. Favourite More
Episode 37 – Solar panels come in many forms: those that generate hot water, electricity or both. The way energy is collected from daylight, through collectors in the panel, will depend on the type of system you have. Here Richard White of LVP Renewables chats through how thermodynamic panels work, along with how they are […] More
Episode 36 – Mark Coleman explains how he renovated a tired old bungalow into a stylish family home. His choices were guided by the budget and achieving an affordable home to heat. He chats about:-Wall and roof insulation, and why he didn’t need external wall insulation.-Why he chose an LPG boiler based on payback times.-Turning […] More
The latest Standard Recommendation (S.R.) from the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) in relation to building services has just been published (26th April 2021), and it deals with the design and installation of heat pumps in homes. This new Standard Recommendation (S.R. 50-4:2021) is one of a suite of measures developed by the NSAI […] More
The challenge for architects is to get the houses they design in the countryside to blend into the landscape. When it came to his own home, Andrew O’Brien came up with an ingenious solution by incorporating concrete interiors. In this article we cover: How did the project come about? The process was the same as […] More
How to choose heating and ventilation systems – Self-build advisor John Corless runs through the main things to consider when choosing how to heat your house (space heating including choice of radiators v underfloor), how to heat hot water, and how to bring fresh air into the house. Favourite More
Episode 3: We have a chat with Belfast-based energy advisor Patrick Waterfield about how you will generate heat and hot water in the home. Some of the main points we cover are: Boilers vs heat pumps Underfloor heating vs radiators Fabric first approach How the building regulations affect system choice The situation in NI ROI […] More
The modern solution to having a fire in the home without the massive heat loss of an open fire. Wood-burning and other fuelled home stoves have become very popular in our houses in recent years, as people realise the problems with open fires and the associated ventilation heat losses, even when not in use. Home […] More
Air source heat pumps are the most common in Ireland today. But ground source is well worth considering for your new build, even though it’s more expensive to install. In this article we cover: Why choose a heat pump? As the ROI government plans to ban oil and gas boilers from new builds, in 2022 […] More
Changes to the ventilation and energy efficiency requirements come into force on the 1st of November 2019 in ROI for new and existing homes; here’s what you need to know. In this article we cover: There has been a continuing ramping up of minimum energy standards in buildings over the past 15 years as a […] More
The NI Department for the Economy launched a Call for Evidence to inform the development of a new Energy Strategy for Northern Ireland, in December 2019, to reach the target of net zero emissions. In June 2019 the UK passed laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. This ‘net zero’ emissions target […] More
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