Green Building Users' Group

Next meeting will be 28th October '08 from 6.00 - 7.30pm @ Cultivate Centre.

This group is for ÉASCA members and people working in the industry interested in sharing their experiences in green building and learning more about and discussing techniques, products, and services available in the sustainable construction sector.

Please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it if you would like to attend. Entry is free

Green Building Course – The Energy Efficient Home

Date: Wednesdays from 22nd Oct to 3rd Dec | 18.30 - 20.30 (PLACES AVAILABLE)

Location: Cultivate Centre, Essex St West, Temple Bar

Tutor: Patrick Waterfield

Cost: 6 week course - €180 - 20% discount for ÉASCA members

Booking: email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Tel: 01-6745773

This course uses Patrick’s popular book, The Energy Efficient Home, as the core reading. (book included with the course fee).  By the end of this series participants will have the confidence and knowledge to make the big decisions in managing a new build or renovation.

Session 1 | Wednesday 22nd Oct
Site and Built Form - Microclimate, Passive Solar Design

Session 2 | Wednesday 29th Oct
Construction and Renovation - Materials, Insulation and U Values

Session 3 | Wednesday 5th Nov
Features and Elements - Windows and doors, extensions, conservatories, sunrooms and attic conversions

Session 4 | Wednesday 12th Nov
Heating and Ventilation Systems - Hot Water, under floor heating, heat pumps and natural and mechanical ventilation

Session 5 | Wednesday 26th Nov
Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency - Solar thermal, solar PV, biomass, wind, lighting appliances and best use of daylight

Session 6 | Wednesday 3rd Dec
Energy Rating and Wider Environmental Issues - Water Saving, Recycling, Building Regulations and Energy Auditing

Please note there will be no session on Wednesday 19th Nov 

Basic Domestic Energy Auditing

Date: Sunday 19 October '08  10am – 5pm (FULL UP)

Date: Sunday 30 November '08  10am – 5pm (PLACES AVAILABLE)

Location: Cultivate Centre, Essex St West, Temple Bar

Tutor: Andy Wilson

Cost:  €120 (limited to 15 places) – 10% discount for EASCA members

Booking: email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Tel: 01-6745773

 
This comprehensive one day energy-auditing workshop will enable course participants to carry out their own energy audits up to the standard used in the Building Regulation Technical Guidance Document 'L'.

The workshop will cover a wide range of conventional and alternative building materials, and will examine the energy relationship between the different components of a building.

The workshop will also examine the influence of draughts/air leakage and look at ways to estimate the performance of a building when the standard of workmanship is less than best practice - something which is not addressed in the recently introduced and much hyped Building Energy Ratings.

The final part of the workshop looks at the use of electricity for lighting and for running appliances, and considers ways in which electricity consumption may be reduced. Off-grid power based on renewable sources of energy is also discussed in detail.

Introduction to Low Cost Design and Construction

Date: Sunday 7 December 08  10am – 5pm (FULL UP)

Location: Cultivate Centre, Essex St West, Temple Bar

Tutor: Andy Wilson

Cost:  €85 (limited to 15 places) – 10% discount for EASCA members

Booking: email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Tel: 01-6745773

This one day theoretical workshop will look at simple house design and construction, with the emphasis on very low cost construction using natural and recycled materials. The starting point is the premise that a home should be affordable, pleasant to live in, and should have the lowest possible environmental impact. This course is particularly aimed at young people who want to build an ultra-low cost mortgage-free home in a rural area.

The type of structures examined in the workshop will certainly not belong to   the soul-less 'vernacular' post seventies concrete block-based architecture which has blighted Ireland. In post-peak oil Ireland, it is assumed a more enlightened approached to low-impact structures will naturally evolve. It is encouraging to see that planners in West Wales have now granted favourable planning status to certain dwellings which meet their strict criteria for low environmental impact.

Participants will be shown how to produce scaled drawings and will be encouraged to design and draw their own simple structures during the workshop.

Green Infrastructure Conference

Connecting Nature, People and Places

Date: 4th and 5th November 2008

Location: Grand Hotel Malahide

Booking: If you would like to register initial interest, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it and a booking form and full details will be sent to you as soon as they're available in July.

Hosted by the Heritage Council and Fingal County Council, the conference will bring together practitioners from home and abroad to share experience in “green infrastructure” planning and development. The conference will also explore how the green infrastructure approach might be developed in Ireland.

Green infrastructure encompasses all aspects of our natural heritage including;

• networks of green areas around us (e.g. parks and urban green spaces)

• nature conservation areas

• river and canal corridors

• floodplains

• coastal lands

• uplands, wetlands

• hedgerows

• woodlands

• farmland managed in an environmentally friendly way

Each of these aspects provides multiple social, economic and environmental benefits to communities. The conference will draw on experience in greenways and green infrastructure development in North America, the rapidly developing green infrastructure agenda in the UK and the long experience in development and management of Ecological Networks in continental Europe. Internationally, it is being increasingly recognised that in order to create and sustain places which are good for people the provision of green infrastructure needs to be strategically planned, designed and managed in the same way as other infrastructure such as roads and water services. By developing green infrastructure in this way, real benefits can be delivered for people and for the environment in a cost effective manner.

Ireland has experienced rapid economic growth in the last 15 years and this has led to rapid urbanisation. Fingal is the most rapidly growing region in Ireland and one of the most rapidly growing areas in Europe. Given the rapid pace of urbanisation and consequent landscape change we need to begin planning strategically for the development of green infrastructure if we are to create a sustainable future for Fingal and for the Greater Dublin Area. It’s this context which has led to the idea for this Green Infrastructure conference.

The conference will appeal to a wide audience nationally and will be attended by planners, architects, ecologists, elected officials, community representatives, academics, parks professionals and all those interested in exploring the development of green infrastructure planning in Ireland. While Dublin is the largest growth area in the country similar challenges are being faced nationwide because of rapid land-use change driven by urbanisation and changes in farming.