• 4 October 2018

Sligo County Council is committed to social housing developments that are designed to a high standard, sustainable and innovative. The Council’s development of 22 houses at Fr O Flanagan Tce has a designed BER A3 energy rating.

The use of Photovoltaic panels, air to water heat pumps and triple glazing and well detailed air tightness measures together with quality ventilation, on site quality control from inspections by the Council’s Clerk of Works and a proactive approach by the contractor have all contributed to the completion of  homes for future clients that are of a very high design quality, yielding sustainable communities through close proximity to public transport and access to local amenities. 

PHOTOVOLTAIC PANELS

Photovoltaic panels have also been used in a rural house at Culleens, Co. Sligo which is being delivered this month.

Photovoltaic panels on single rural dwelling

PILOT PROJECT AT ST JOSEPHS TCE.

At our development at St Josephs Tce., we have engaged in a pilot project which will examine an innovative construction technique, which will allow faster construction and greater energy efficiency, with the following benefits:

• Appropriate to local climate – rapid build solution to achieve completed watertight shell creating a controlled environment in which to carry out critical air tightness and insulation work.
• Construction skill-set already available in the region to execute this simple method of construction – no specialist contractors required.
• Ease of availability of “standard” materials through local suppliers.
• Fewer crossovers of trades on site resulting in higher quality finish.
• Provision of service cavity allows for ease of services installations and for future changes if required.
• Key elements of the construction are readily accessible for inspection during the course of construction.
• Readily adaptable to respond to future building standard changes or to achieve the more onerous PassiveHaus Standard.

Executive Architect Terence Cosgrove said “we are delighted to have the support of the Department of Housing Planning and Local Government in developing this Pilot development which will be a bench mark for future housing schemes in the County. It is hoped that the same innovative construction technique will be used in a larger scheme which is being developed at Dromore West.

NEAR ZERO-ENERGY RATING STANDARDS

From 2020, domestic dwellings provided by Sligo County Council will have been designed to Near Zero Energy Rating (NZEB) standards. Near zero-energy building’ means a building that has a very high energy performance, as determined in accordance with Annex I. The nearly zero or very low amount of energy required should be covered to a very significant extent by energy from renewable sources, including energy from renewable sources produced on-site or nearby, such as neat pumps or solar panels or other  sustainable energy source such as geo thermal or wind.

This approach will bring future social housing stock to a higher standard of energy efficiency which will in turn result in a lower carbon foot print for developments together with lower fuel bills for future tenants.

Smart Metering

ESB SMART metering will allow clients to access their heating systems remotely, where heat setting can be changed and monitored via an app on their mobile phone, adding to greater energy efficiency and cost certainty in relation to fuel bills. It is proposed to introduce this type of metering in our refurbishment project at Cranmore