One of the Irish Fit-to-nZEB case studies (St. Bricin’s park by Dublin City Council) was fully modelled in the Passive House Planning Package, PHPP. With a space heating demand of just 21 kWh/m2.year this project exceeded the stringent Passive House EnerPHit standard of 25 kWh/m2.year by almost 20%. As worth noting, the EnerPHit level of airtightness required is 1.0 h-1, whereas the project achieved an impressive result of 0.6 h-1. An adjacent apartment block, identical to the Fit-to-nZEB pilot, was refurbished a year previously. Primarily due to lack of training, they did not achieve a good level of airtightness on that earlier project, with an average between upstairs and downstairs of 4 air changes per hour @ 50 Pa. The implications for the space heating demand of this lesser level of airtightness are the staggering 50%: from 21 kWh/m2.year to 31 kWh/m2.year. And the improvements are visible – here’s want some of the stakeholders’ had to say:
Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Nial Ring:
“what they’ve achieved here in St. Bricin’s is the gold standard in Passive Housing, but to do it in retrofit is even more extraordinary… it’s an indication of what we should be doing”
Dublin City Council Clerk of Works, Karl Payne:
The training “took a little bit of the mystery out of the idea of Passive House… each trade could see how it would be influencing another trade in terms of workmanship... the training was invaluable in meeting the quality goals of the project”
Dublin City Council Executive Architect, Cecilia Naughton:
The training centred on “trying to solve the problems together… it became a team effort… we know you can do it, maybe we can help… it was very useful…I’m pleased that everyone is back living in their home again…that’s what the project is about really… “
With a network of Building Knowledge Hubs currently active in 9 European countries – Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Turkey and Ukraine – the project team is willing and capable to replicate this success and to position itself as one of the most recognized NZEB training establishments, offering world-class upskilling courses sourced customized to the local needs and in collaboration with the construction industry. This, in no doubt, is a complex task requiring common efforts by policy makers, industrial and market actors, and the civil society, but in all cases, the BKH network will be an active part of the process, as our mission remains intact: to constantly increase the competence and skills of the building professional to deliver high quality nearly zero-energy buildings.
