As an Irish engineer who spent over six years living in Australia and became a dual citizen, I have an appreciation of what both nations do well and areas where we could improve collaboration. For example, as a Waterford native, I strongly believe that the “Waterford Blaa” would be an excellent addition to an Australian...Read More

After 47 years in the industry, Jim Wheatley of McKeon Group has decided to step down and enjoy his retirement. Widely-known and respected both within McKeon Group and the industry at large, Jim is a keen advocate for continuous education, up-skilling and mentoring. More than anything else he believes that clear and honest communication is...Read More

Elections, elections, elections … Have you had enough yet? How many times have we heard this year that, across the world, there are more national and other elections in 2024 than ever before? Do these elections really matter? How do they impact the consulting engineering sector? The European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) thinks...Read More

The Energy Performance of Building Directive was enacted in 2002, which when transposed into Irish law, instigated the role of Building Energy Rating (BER) Assessor. Here, Stephen McGovern (right), Cork Energy Consultancy and Chair of the BER Assessors’ Association, reveals just how essential BER assessors are to the energy, carbon and sustainability goals set by...Read More

Earlier this year at a time when a plethora of requests were being published for an initiative to solve the imminent water emergency, the European Commission abandoned the Water Resilience Initiative. EFCA was only one of the Federations that was dismayed by this move, which was purely political. Sensitive to the timing in the run...Read More

How do we change the conversation around carbon, from being perceived as a global liability to a valuable resource? This is the question posed by Rachel A Meidl, Fellow in energy and sustainability at Rice University’s Baker Institute, in the latest issue of Building Services Engineering. The transformation of carbon is the life-blood of all...Read More

The Zero Emission Buildings (ZEB) Summit 2024 marked a historic milestone in the realm o sustainable construction, as it brought together industry leaders, innovators and stakeholders to delve into the latest advancements and challenges in achieving zero-emission buildings. Hosted by MosArt, a pioneering firm with over 30 years of experience in championing Passive House principles,...Read More

After a hiatus in the CIBSE Ireland Workshare Exchange Programme because of Covid, it has now been re-activated with Ethos Engineering and Designer Group being the participants for the first phase of 2024. The inaugural event in 2019 proved an enormous success and the intention is to build on that. The aim of the programme...Read More

In a world where climate change dominates headlines and increasingly impacts peoples’ lives, the call for urgent action is louder than ever. The real estate sector across Europe is attuned to the need for rapid change. In Ireland alone, the built environment is responsible for 37% of the country’s carbon emissions, according to the Irish...Read More

European legislators reached a deal in October last on a faster phase-out of fluorinated gases (F-gases). While the heat pump sector has always supported a phase-out by 2050, the new rules will be a significant burden in the short-term, according to the European Heat Pump Association (EHPA). The industry is already ramping up production in...Read More