Week 7 Airtightness Post Guest Lecture Resources

Many thanks to Tom O'Dwyer (in the photographs below) from SIGA who gave an excellent talk and demonstration of airtightness considerations when using different construction methods and materials to the M.Sc. students and final-year Architecture students.

Please refer to my previous blog post for some more detailed information on airtightness and SIGA products. Have a look at this article which discusses the importance of airtightness from a Passive House point of view. The Energy Saving Trust in the UK have produced nice guidelines on improving airtightness in dwellings that is worth a look and of course our own Department of the Environment, Local Community and Government has produced a document on air infiltration and thermal bridging as a supplement to the Building Regulations. Gavin O'Shea of GreenBuild has also produced an excellent document on blower door testing for passive houses. See below the video shown in class on how to carry out a blower door test.

Week 7 Passive House Airtightness and Windows Pre-Lecture Resources

I am really looking forward to having two guest lectures in this week: Tom O'Dwyer from SIGA and Thomas O'Reilly from SmartWin. SIGA have a host of resources on their website including a dedicated YouTube channel. I especially like the comic they produced 'Building Damage Horror..and how to prevent it'. They have also developed a 'construction feature' section where you can click into different applications that will link the product information to installation videos. SIGA were recently involved in the construction of the Irish Rail Train Drivers Building in Portlaoise. SmartWin have recently received their passive certification for their window products. For more information on Passive Windows check out Passipedia and the videos developed by Energyquarter in Ireland and the Green Building Store in the UK.

The 3D detail was produced by Gerard Nicholson as part of a REVIT Summer Competition in GMIT.

Week 6 Site Visit to Timbertech Homes and Ecological Building Systems

Yesterday, we had a fantastic day out visiting a Timbertech Homes development in Straffan, Co. Kildare and Ecological Building Systems in Athboy, Co. Meath. Fergal O'Malley of Timbertech Homes gave us an excellent talk and tour of a timber frame house development consisting of 3 different house types (photographs 1 & 2). He highlighted the main considerations that were taken into account when aiming for low energy construction on a competitive budget.

Photographs 1 and 2  Fergal O'Malley giving his talk to the M.Sc. Environmental System students

 Fergal was ably assisted by Peter Smyth of Ecological Building Systems who came out to the site to discuss the importance of airtightness on site and discuss some of the airtight details that were used on this project (Photographs 3, 4 and 5).

Photographs 3, 4, 5  Airtightness detailing on Timbertech Homes Development

This site visit was followed up by a visit to Ecological Building Systems new training centre, which is a fantastic addition to the knowledge base in Ireland. The centre is still under construction and is due for its official launch in the new year but we got a sneak preview. Niall Crossan, as always (photograph 6) gave us and excellent overview of the different materials and building systems currently available, particularly focusing on airtightness, thermal performance and the control of moisture both in new building and refurbishment projects.

Photograph 6  Niall Crossan of Ecological Building Systems giving his talk to the M.Sc. students

The learning centre has an excellent array of large (photographs 7 and 8) and small detail sections (photographs 9 and 10) as well as a fully kitted house to demonstrate a preliminary airtightness test using the Wincon apparatus (photographs 11 and 12). 

Photographs 7 and 8 showing the large detail sections on show in the Ecological Building Systems Training Centre

 

Photographs 9 and 10 showing the small detail sections on show in the Ecological Building Systems Training Centre

Photographs 11 and 12 showing the Wincon House

All-in-all, it was a great day out for all the students. Many thanks to Fergal, Peter and Niall for all their help.

Week 6 Airtightness and Thermal Imaging Pre-Lecture Resources

In preparation to our site visit to Timbertech Homes Ltd. and Ecological Building Systems on Wednesday, please have a look at the previous posts on airtightness from earlier in the module and from last year's visit by Peter Smyth of Ecological Building Systems. Also, Passipedia has a nice concise section on airtight construction. This article also gives a detailed overview of airtight construction and testing and don't forget the guidelines issued by the Department of the Environment, Communities and Local Government. Energyquarter have also put together a nice two-minute video of the basic principles involved starring Niall Crossan of Ecological Building Systems.

Week 3 Passive House Thermal Envelope Pre-Lecture Resources

This week, we will focus on appropriate thermal envelope design and construction options for a passive house. Passipedia, the excellent passive house wiki provides an overview of the important concept of energy balance.

Passive Development Ltd. provides a nice short overview presentation on the passive house principles in the following short video.

EnergyQuarter and Tomas O'Leary have produced an excellent series of videos including this one on thermal envelope.

Guest Lecture - Peter Smith of Ecological Building Systems

Many thanks to Peter Smith of Ecological Building Systems who gave a very informative talk to the students on Year 3 of the B.Sc. in Construction Management and B.Sc. in Quantity Surveying and the M.Sc. in Environmental Systems. He outlined the principles of building tight and ventilating right, highlighting the advantages of using the Pro Clima Intello Plus membranes as well as the various other airtight products available including Solitex Plus membrane, Tescon Profil tape, Orcon F adhesive, Contega PV sealing tape, Roflect grommets and Duplex tape. The WUFI software was used to illustrate the how it can be used to measure: the drying time of masonry with trapped construction moisture; the danger of interstitial condensation; the influence of driving rain on exterior building components; the effect of repair and retrofit measures and the hygrothermal performance of roof and wall assemblies under unanticipated use or in different climate zones.

He also outlined the advantages of natural insulation materials that are hydroscopic e.g. Gutex insulation products. He also discussed the difficulties on the ground of trying to refurbish to the passive standard. Ecological Building Systems have produced a series of videos providing a step-by-step walkthrough of the installation procedures of making a building airtight.

Again many thanks to Peter!