Report on
Conference

Rethinking Energy Use

Friday 21 April 2006

Cultivate
Centre, Temple Bar

Overall
this was a very useful and worthwhile conference, covering energy issues both
at a general overall level and with good presentations on building energy
demand.

At
the overall level, it is clear that significant changes will happen in energy
production and use

09.30-10.15
Putting Our Energy Issues into Context

Gerard O’Neil – Chief Executive, Amárach
Consulting. ‘ The Business Implications of Peak Oil’

Good
overview of current energy situation and public attitudes in Ireland
towards energy including nuclear energy.

Richard Douthwaite -Economist
with FEASTA – ‘Envisioning a sustainable Ireland from an energy
availability perspective.’

Local
ownership of energy/electricity.

Local
credit unions as owners of ESCOs ( Energy Suply Companies)

11.00-11.15
Introduction from the chair of the 2nd session Dorothy Maxwell,
Environment Unit of Enterprise Ireland

Relevant
contact for Green Public Procurement as referred to at Environment SCP –
refer as contact to Paul Smyth

11.15-11.45
Reducing Our Use of Energy

Declan Meally – Head of Industry Sustainable Energy Ireland,
Reducing the energy intensity of the enterprise sector

Investment
decisions taken now are very imporant as they will constitute either lock-in
or lock-out for future energy demand and expenditure.

Raymond McEvoy – Director of Manufacturing
Excellence,   ‘Clean & Lean Manufacturing cleanerproduction.ie

14.30-14.45
Introduction by Emer O’Siochru from EOS Architects the chair of the
third session

Enliven
case study.

14.45-15.30
Reducing our energy usage in the built environment – Case studies

Pauric Davis – Director Davis Associates – Emerald
Project, Dublin

Solearth, Davis
Associates, Dundalk IT

Social and affordable
housing development in Ballymun,

• District heating
• Solar shared hot water,
• passive solar,
• photovoltaic,
• Real-time energy consumption indications –
  “building management system”
• Greywater reuse
• Wind cowl and heat ecovery.
• Access/service/utilities duct
• Pantry cupboard in it cooled by outside air
  stream
• Also ventilation duct
• Bathroom vents to it,  replacement air comes in in pipe
  around outgoing air, picking up heat from it

Challenges

Costs

Each dwelling 7200 kWh
/year total, most is wood or solar

Heating and Hot water,
current irish consumption is 250 kWh/m2/year

Building regs, 150
kWh/m2/yr heating and hot water

Emerald 60 kWh/m2/year
heating and hot water

Tomas O’Leary – Director MosArt Landscape –
Architecture – Research

Passive house 10% more
expensive than well-built house

International experience 10
to 15% more expensive

This is not a comparison to
a badly built house, which would require a 25% premium.

• Student Residence in Vienna, passive house standard
• Apartment blocks in Vienna
• Office building Mödling, Austria
• Passive house church, Wels, Austria,
  produces net energy
• Restaurant
• Factory

Pichling Solar City (1,500 Passive
house units)

Winter -15 / -20*

See pictures

Obstacles

• Skepticism
• Costs, but:

Saving €3,000 a
year…

Principles are common
sense, detailing is difficult

15.30-16.00
Break

16.00-16.10
Introduction Eamon Ryan TD

Reference
to Al Gore article in Vanity Fair. 
Need to work from hearts as well as minds.

16.10-16.30 Policy pathways to a low energy world              

Dr David Fleming – UK Energy Consultant

Very
powerful presentation on the need to face up to the severity of the crisis we
face.  We mustn’t let our optimism
slide into wishful thinking.