Sustainable Build: How Far Have We Come?

By John Ross, Research Lecturer, and MCS Heat Pump Inspector for Ireland

Sustainable build in Ireland has been ongoing now for a fair length of time, but just how far have we come?

The main guiding criteria for sustainable build have been the topics on materials, sustainable resources, sustainable sites, renewable energy technologies, effects on the atmosphere, indoor air quality, water efficiency reductions – and most importantly, increased costs. All of these issues have independent needs and, to a degree, have a correlation on each other. Having been involved directly over the past 15 years I’ve seen a lot of change – limited in nature, as the uptake, in my view, doesn’t mirror what was promised by successive governments, as they plod their way through meeting European directives. Sustainable build is a principled goal, but it can, and has been, a risky undertaking in our local challenging climates. My long-term fear is that the use of new, unproven, basically experimental materials can break down and deteriorate over time. Like most experiments, some tend to fail. If, in the case of airtight products, the experiment is the fabric of the building, behind wooden structures, then it would be one huge, expensive fail! Risks – some are obvious (modern airtight products as stated) but most are obscure and probably yet to come to the attention of the industry. Probable building problems may range from acute to catastrophic which may lead to prolonged performance failures.

Coming from a training background and along with my colleagues’ observations, the need for “Good Practice” is essential. The need for skilled and professional people in such key areas as design, technologies, material choice, waterproofing, climate criteria, humidity control, are perhaps not being well integrated into large scale green design and building practices. According to recent information from the scientific community, climate change is happening quicker than first thought and its effects will be severe for the global society and the environment. Reducing building energy is one of the most important ways to reduce the pending environmental impacts, but with the recent move by the Government to reduce funding for energy technologies and broad improvement strategies, I don’t see the impending environmental gloom shifting too far. I firmly believe we need senior academic and green-minded figures specialising in broad energy-based construction design to be those to inform government of possible policy, not, as it seems, civil servants with little knowledge and a cost-cutting wish list.  “I firmly believe we need senior academic and green-minded figures specialising in broad energy-based construction design to be those to inform government of possible policy, not, as it seems, civil servants with little knowledge and a cost-cutting wish list. “

You can contact John Ross at jross@serc.ac.uk