Monasterboice Inn smash carbon waste to win EXCEED approval from SEAI

THIS latest development at Monasterboice Inn has challenged all barriers to secure a reduced carbon footprint for a property which has grown to twice its original size.

This property is now a stunning example of how a building can grow and develop without impacting the environment, using natural resources on site to replace the tradition of burning fossil fuels and applying control mechanisms to ensure the result is delivered every year into the future.

Managing director Roseanne Donegan has certainly achieved what looked like an impossible goal by transforming Monasterboice Inn into a sustainable building and using nature to help deliver the resource to create an environment where patrons can enjoy themselves knowing their visit has a positive impact on the environment in a time of un-certainty and climate change.

This outstanding achievement, was expedited by the willingness of Mc Kevitt Architects, the design team, to embrace the use of renewable energy and buying into the concept of sustainable development in the absence of Government guidelines and regulation. They did this by co-ordinating design/build meetings with all of the relevant companies involved in order to achieve the most efficient overall results regardless of climbing mountains to get there.

Eurotech’s Renewable energy design was approved by GNCE Consultants. This involves using a natural stream diverted during the construction work to provide 100Kw of heating and cooling simultaneously, effectively achieving efficiencies of 700% while replacing modern gas boilers that operate at 95% efficiency. Humidity in the atmosphere is being used as a second energy source for heating and cooling on high demand adding an additional 50Kw of natural energy using a specially designed energy table fitted outside the building loaded by nature on a daily basis.

Extraction from the large restaurant kitchen is processed to provide hot water at 65°c for washing and food preparation. This system transfers energy which is normally blown away by the extraction fan into useful energy to replace burning gas in a boiler. The extracted air passes over the horizontal collector and releases its energy which is then moved into the hot water tank. Nothing gets wasted and boilers that ran constantly at 200°c remain cold.

Lighting inside the building was also upgraded taking advantage of the latest LED technology. BY setting precise lighting levels in each area, maximising natural light in the new build design combined with some artificial light, delivers the desired light levels and the lowest energy consumption possible.

External lighting was extended to cover additional car parking and pedestrian areas with up-grading of existing lighting systems. This demonstrates how modern technology, when embraced in this way delivers superb results.

The overall lighting effect is clearly superior, shining a light on the reducing operating cost, the reducing power consumption and the impact on the environment while enhancing the experience for the visitor.

Controls play a huge part in preventing energy waste and increasing comfort as part of the Energy Efficient Design.

Jim Reilly of Full View focused on control from the very beginning to ensure control systems were easy to use and capable of multi functions by using logic to simplify the task and achieve better results.

Heating and cooling for example is controlled from one single smart sensor in the space allowing the system to automatically select which is required without manually switching devices on or off. This intelligent control strategy extends into lighting control and contributes to significant energy reductions on a daily basis.

Mc Kevitt Architects kept a tight rein on all aspects of the new