Green Building Forum with Duncan Stewart

dublin | environment | event notice Tuesday September 11, 2007 13:45 by Alice Ryan - Cultivate Centre info at easca dot ie Cultivate Centre, 15-19 Essex Street West, Dublin 8 01 6745773

Energy Proofing Your Home - Protect you Investment Now!

A Cultivate Green Building Forum with Duncan Stewart

A daylong forum bringing together the design professional, homeowner and the self-builder to explore building materials, sustainable construction, energy systems and methods for retrofitting or building energy efficient homes.

This event will feature demonstrations of new products, materials and building technologies and examine our options for insulation, heat and power systems, eco-retrofitting and more. With inspiring presentations from experts in the field of green building, energy saving and resource efficiency, this event will demystify green building and help you to make the right choices.

EASCA are offering 10 complementary tickets to this event. Send an e-mail to info@easca.ie with Green Build Draw in the subject line to enter a draw for these tickets.

Timetable

09.00 - 10.00 Registration

10.00 - 10.05 Davie Philip Cultivate Centre - Welcome

10.05 – 10.15 Duncan Stewart - Introduction

10.15 - 10.25 Opening address by Minister Eamon Ryan, DCENR

10.25 – 10.40 Duncan Stewart and Minister Ryan on Energy Efficiency

10.40 – 11.00 Duncan Stewart - The Energy Context
Why is there a growing interest in Green Building? Climate Change, Peak Oil, Energy Prices, Regulation – the need to reduce energy use and minimise green house gas emissions.

11.00 – 11.20 Break

11.20 – 12.30 Dr Patrick Waterfield - Improving the Energy Performance of our Homes
This session will be introduced and chaired by Duncan Stewart. Patrick Waterfield is the author of ‘The Energy Efficient Home’ and is an independent energy in buildings consultant. He is a visiting lecturer at Queen's University Belfast and editor of the International Journal of Ambient Energy. He is also a member of the NI Building Regulations Advisory Committee, regularly contributing to Building Regulations information seminars in Northern Ireland.

12.30 – 14.00 Networking lunch and market place

14.00 – 15.30 Workshops (Details Below)

1. Saving energy and money by making our homes more energy efficient.
With Dr. Patrick Waterfield – Author of ‘The Energy Efficient Home’

2. Low Energy Construction – Airtightness, Moisture Management and Ventilation
With Niall Crosson - Ecological Building Systems

3. Energy-saving improvements in houses with character
With Colm Murray. Architecture officer of the Heritage Council.

4. Passive Homes – A standard for ultra low energy buildings
With Tomas O Leary, MOSART and Lars Pettersson, SCANHOMES

5. Renewable Energy Options
With Quentin Gargan – Ecologics

6. EASCA Members Workshop
With Paul Leech, Duncan Stewart and Deputy Ciarán Cuffe

15.30 – 16.00 Break

16.00 – 17.00 The EASCA Green Building Clinic
Bring your queries and questions to be answered by a panel including Dr Patrick Waterfield, Duncan Stewart and Paul Leech. This session will be facilitated by Patrick Daly, Energy / Environment Consultant Founder BESRaC and co Founder of RiSE Research Unit DIT.

17.00 - Close

17.45 – 19.00 EASCA Members Wine Reception

Workshops

Saving energy and money by making our homes more energy efficient.
With Patrick Waterfield – Author/ Energy in Building Consultant
This workshop will be a deeper exploration into increasing the energy performance of our homes, covering insulation options, lighting, appliances, and running costs. Dr Patrick Waterfield is a Chartered Engineer and a Fellow of the Energy Institute. He is the author of ‘The Energy Efficient Home’, as well as 14 conference and journal papers and numerous periodical/magazine articles.

Low Energy Construction – Airtightness, Moisture Management and Ventilation
Niall Crosson - Ecological Building Systems
A practical approach to planning and achieving Intelligent Airtightness on site with vapour diffusion open constructions. This presentation will clarify why airtightness is so important in the context of low energy structural design. However as we construct buildings more “tightly” than ever before, the issue of intelligent moisture management in structural elements is of increasing significance. Therefore the “breathability” of the structure and material selection is also a critical part of how we build. This presentation will also clarify how airtightness is practically achieved and highlights some of the key advantages and characteristics of selecting natural materials to insulate our homes.

Energy-saving improvements in houses with character
Colm Murray. Architecture officer of the Heritage Council.
It is an acknowledged fact that 'the most environmentally benign building is the one that does not have to be built because it already exists. But existing buildings are being asked to perform better from an energy point-of-view. What strategies should be adopted to keep more heat in whilst respecting the character of these buildings?'

Passive Homes - A standard for ultra low energy buildings
With Tomas O Leary, MOSART and Lars Peterson, SCANHOMES
Passive houses use just a tiny fraction of the heating requirement of a typical house and provide very high levels of comfort and health. The Passive House building concept is gaining a strong foothold in Ireland as evidenced by Sustainable Energy Ireland’s plans to publish guidelines on the subject in October of this year. Tomás O’Leary has been living in the well known ‘Out of the Blue’ Passive House for over two years now and is co-drafting the above national guidelines along with ERG UCD. He will reflect on his personal experiences of living in what is perhaps the most energy efficient building method available in Ireland and give a preview the content of the Passive House guidelines. Lars Pettersson of Galway based Scandinavian Homes Ltd, will explore the emerging shift towards energy efficiency and the improved comfort standards reached with Passive homes.

Renewable Energy Options
Quentin Gargan - Ecologics
Quentin Gargan and his partner Clare Watson live in a strawbale house on a smallholding in West Cork where they produce most of their own food. Electricity is provided by a wind turbine and solar PVs, while hot water is provided by solar panels. They are currently installing a micro-hydro system.
Quentin will outline their experience with various renewable energy technologies as well as dispelling some myths and claimed benefits. The workshop will also cover in detail the design and installation of safe and effective solar water heating. Quentin is a BPEC certified solar installer and a founding director of Ecologics Solar Solutions Ltd

EASCA Members Workshop
With Duncan Stewart, Paul Leech and Deputy Ciarán Cuffe