Green Building Press

An eco-home at Shankill, Co Dublin, recently sold for over €1.3m. The auctioneers did not expect the house to make that price, which is seen as a sign of a growing trend in the Republic of Ireland for people to invest in contemporary, sustainable building. The typical Irish household spends well over €1,000 a year on heating, but it should be possible to heat a house for €100, or €150, according to green builders such as John Goulding, who's more modestly priced eco-house was among the main attractions at the Spring House and Garden Show in the RDS, Dublin. Goulding said he made particular use of solar energy to cater for most of the space heating and hot water heating through active systems. "The form of the building and the orientation of the building are crucially important," he said "On the south facing side, there are large areas of glass. The building was designed in such a way to capture as much solar heat for free as possible, to retain that within the building and distribute it so that the house remains comfortably warm day and night.