Families energised as they move into first passive houses

TWO Enniscorthy families proudly took possession of the first ever passive local authority houses in Ireland at a special ceremony in the Madeira Oaks housing estate last week.

The beautiful three-bedroom homes at Numbers 141 and 142 were built by Bennett Construction on behalf of Wexford County Council at a cost of €190,000 each which was funded by the Department of the Environment.

The delighted families were presented with the keys to their shiny new properties at a hand-over ceremony attended by County Council chairman Paddy Kavanagh, Enniscorthy Municipal District chairman Oliver Walsh, Enniscorthy District Manager Liz Hore, Tenant Liaison Officer Eddie Doyle, Michael Bennett of Bennett Construction and site foreman Willie Burke.

Energy consumption for space heating, water heating, lighting and ventilation in the NZEB (Nearly Zero Energy Building) houses, is kept to a minimum and comes from a renewable source.

The houses are economical to heat which means lower heating bills for the tenants and they are well ventilated with less condensation and lower risk of mould growth. The tenants will enjoy improved air quality and quieter buildings in houses that are easy to maintain.

It is considered that the extra cost involved in building is good value for money over the lifetime of the house.

The Madeira Oaks houses have been certified as passive by Mosart, the Passive House Designers and Certifiers.

Wexford County Council is committed to the building of passive homes and wants to lead by example to show the private sector what is possible, according to a spokesman.

The local authority is due to take delivery of six more passive houses in the same Enniscorthy estate which were also built by Bennett Construction.

‘ This small scheme provides us with very good houses for our tenants and the construction has given us a really good understanding of the construction principles that are required. We will monitor these houses and re-visit them to see how they are performing,’ the spokesman added.

Residents Amy Furlong and Brian Nolan and sons Lee and Alex pictured with thier neighbours, Alan Lambert, Denise Redmond and son Jack as they are handed the keys to their new local authority passive houses at Madeira Oaks in Enniscorthy.