public road
Low Energy…
and Low Cost in the Longer Term
buffer planting
There is a significant saving to be made by using
alternative sources of energy in the home. The savings
gardens
can be considered to be financial and environmental,
but in today’s climate of decreasing supply and hence
increased cost of fossil fuels (oil, peat, coal, natural
gas) saving environmentally means saving money.
eco block
parking
area
BLOCK C
gardens
Baile Glas houses are expected to achieve an
estimated 60% reduction on energy usage compared
against the current building regulations standard. This
entry courts
means that energy bills will be cut down accordingly.
BLOCK B
To install systems that will use alternative energy
common area
sources means making an initial investment at the
time of construction. The total capital cost for Baile
back gardens
Glas compared with the capital cost of another
housing scheme similar in scale and in location for
Cork County Council indicates an estimated 9.5%
buffer planting
entry courts
increase on construction cost for the low energy
eco block
parking area
design in Baile Glas.
This 9.5% initial investment will reap benefits in the
longer term and will be negated over time by savings
BLOCK C
back gardens
made in energy consumption.
buffer planting
railway embankment
PRP ZED FACTOR
Baile
Glas
Cool air is heated, hot air rises
and is extracted to be recycled
and re-used in heat pump
Winter Garden
60% Energy
Reduction
Winter
Garden
Cool air in through
permavents in windows
In Baile Glas, Blackwater Resource Development, in partnership
with Cork County Council, is pioneering a sustainable approach
Cool air is heated
by solar gain
Hot
Water
to community housing that is environmentally sustainable and
insulation keeps internal
rooms cool in summer
encourages responsible, low-energy usage by the residents.
Winter
Garden
Cool air in through
permavents
In the current climate, energy and water
Heat
Pump
*
Under Floor heating
powered by heat pump
Cool air pulled
in through permavent
Site Layout:
supply are becoming real concerns for many
The challenge for the designers, MCO Architecture with
The houses are either terraced or semi-detached in order
north side of the house. This layout provides a buffer
people. Issues such as air pollution, resource
PRP Zedfactor, in meeting the aims of the Baile Glas
to minimise the building footprint on the landscape. The
zone between the living spaces and the external
depletion and waste consumption are also
project was to integrate low energy design principles from
houses are simple rectangles in plan to keep the surface
yard to minimise the cooling effect from the north.
concept, through the planning and construction stage,
area minimal and therefore reduce heat loss through the
and into the eventual operation and maintenance of
building fabric. Positioning the houses to face south is a
the homes by the residents and Cork County Council.
key aspect of the design for Baile Glas as it is the direction
high on the environmental agenda. This
we receive most sunlight from throughout the day. The
Providing Heating and Hot Water
Demands Through Passive Solar Gain
attitudes to alternative energy sources, as
The house design is informed by two principle sets of
glass walled ‘wintergarden’ in each house is positioned in
When the sun shines on the glass walls of the
encouraged by Sustainable Energy Ireland.
guidelines: The Cork Rural Design Guide and CEPHEUS
order to trap heat generated on the south façade which is
wintergarden the air inside this area is heated. This hot
Passive House Targets. The houses provide generous,
used to heat the rest of the house through a heat recovery
air is harnessed by a heat pump which extracts the hot
In the future, new legislation will require that
flexible living spaces protected by buffer spaces to
system. To conserve heat, glazing is minimised in the
air from the winter garden and converts it into energy
building projects meet higher environmental
the north and sun spaces to the south. The houses
north elevation and all windows are argon filled double
to run the heating system and hot water supply.
are of highly insulated timber framed construction
glazed units in timber frames using low emissivity glass.
concern is resulting in a change in people’s
standards which will undoubtedly have
an impact on the traditional design and
construction process.
with maximum use of prefabricated elements.
This system works best in well insulated homes where the
heat supplied to the home does not easily escape through
The three key innovative aspects of this development
Layout of the Houses:
are: the design of the site lay-out to maximise solar
The living areas are positioned in the centre of the
and airtightness. Thermal mass is provided by the concrete
gain from orientation; in the low energy design of the
houses opening out on to the wintergardens. The
floor, this means that the floor has the ability to conduct
residential units; and in the construction techniques and
rooms requiring lower temperatures such as store
and store energy, both heat and cold, and to release that
materials used, that demonstrates the latest European
rooms, porches, and bedrooms are located to the
energy back into the living space when it’s needed.
walls and windows. Baile Glas has high levels of insulation
thinking on sustainability. Through this approach to
design and incorporation of alternative energy sources it
is predicted that Baile Glas will achieve a 60% reduction
Communal
green space
Hoggin foot path
& cycle path
Planted
Border
Entry
Court
Service
Spaces
Living
Space
Winter
Garden
in energy usage. The project has also been awarded
a Sustainable Energy Ireland grant under the House of
Utility/WC
Tomorrow Scheme. Blackwater Resource Development,
Cork County Council, with the Baile Glas residents, will be
working together in monitoring the actual energy savings
Kitchen
achieved in line with these targets over the coming years.
Store/porch
Bin
Bin
Living
Back
Garden