Green Building

Making sense of energy efficiency requirements should be made easier for Ireland's designers and builders by new guidance published by environment minister Dick Roche recently. For buildings constructed in Ireland after 1 July, new regulations require carbon emissions from heating, hot water and lighting to be limited "as far as is reasonably practicable." In practice, this will mean that designers and builders must measure the energy performance of new buildings - calculated as annual CO2 emissions in kg CO2 /m2/per annum - against a "reference dwelling" of a similar shape and size. The 2006 Edition of Technical Guidance Document L outline how designers and builders are to satisfy these requirements.