Ireland-based construction company Cairn Homes is building the largest passive apartment development in Europe with nearly 600 units, helping to revolutionize housing standards in our changing climate.
As the magazine Irish Construction News reported, the Pipers Square complex is being built in Charlestown, Dublin, providing comfortable, energy-efficient living while helping to address the housing shortage. Cairn is the first major homebuilder in Europe to build homes that meet the rigorous international Passive House Standard certification criteria.
Charlestown is a bustling neighborhood in Dublin, so high-density housing is necessary to support the population. The complex will have 598 units and save residents potentially up to 40% on their heating bills, as Cairn explained in the magazine.
And that's if they even need to turn on the heat. Since passive homes are equipped with energy-efficient features such as extra insulation, high-quality ventilation systems, and triple-paned windows, heat loss is minimized compared to a traditional home. That translates to much lower utility bills thanks to reduced energy usage from heating and cooling systems.
According to The Zebra, passive housing can lead to energy savings of up to 90% compared to older construction. For many people, that would be a huge sigh of relief, especially since energy prices are climbing throughout the U.S., as NerdWallet reported.
In addition to keeping your wallet happy, passive homes are more comfortable than standard homes since they maintain a steady temperature of 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit) throughout the day, per Irish Construction News. They also tend to have better air quality since Passive House standards require buildings to use high-performing ventilation systems.
Passive homes benefit the planet since they use much less energy than some newer, non-passive houses and cut down on planet-heating pollution. Plus, with more extreme weather events happening because of rising temperatures, residents can feel secure knowing their homes will keep them well-protected in a power outage or natural disaster.
Net-zero and passive houses are popping up left and right all over the globe as homebuilders aim to solve the housing crisis and build more resilient homes that can withstand our warming world. In Dublin, Cairn is leading the way in sustainable construction, with plans to develop 1,700 more Passive-House Standard apartments by 2025 throughout the city, per Irish Construction News.
"While passive houses traditionally may have been viewed as a slower, more expensive way to develop homes, we have been working hard to understand how we can build to this standard while bringing Cairn's typical approach of delivering high-quality homes at scale and pace and that offer value," Gavin Whelan, Cairn's director of construction and operations, told the magazine.
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"By adopting the Passive-House Standard for major projects like Pipers Square, we're showing our commitment to building sustainable, comfortable homes with lower energy bills and reduced emissions," said Cairn's sustainable construction lead, Stephen O'Shea.
"Like the entire construction industry, we know we are on a sustainability journey, but steps like passive house show how we can contribute to climate action and improve the quality of people's lives."
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