Zero Ambitions Podcast

This week we're with Marion Baeli, an architect who is a retrofit pioneer, a partner at PDP London, a board member of the Passive House Trust, and the author of seminal retrofit-related text Residential Retrofit: 20 Case Studies. Some time ago we saw her posting about the impact DPEs are having on the property market in France and we realised that we had to have her on.We talk about the imminent reprise of her book, a look back at ten of those case studies and the lessons learned since (that's how we justified the clickbaity "mistakes" in the title, it's more about lessons than mistakes, that's why we added the question mark). We also discuss progress and the significant changes that the retrofit industry has seen since the book was first published in 2012 (air source heat pumps, as it turns out).Obviously, we talk about EPCs and DPEs too.Notes from the episodeMarion Baeli on LinkedIn and on the PDP websiteLe Monde Sans Fin - the french comic book aboutPrincedale Road retrofit project in Passive House Plus and on PDP's own websiteThe Scottish Housing News podcast we guested on, about the impact of passive house policy there, where we met Andrew Kubski who we reference; it's worth a listenSara's podcast Accelerate to Zero, produced at BE-ST, on Apple or Spotify **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCEmail Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

In this episode, we had the pleasure of Dr. Barry McCarron's company, from his car, during a break in the conference he was attending. If you’re looking for an inspiring journey into academia and leadership in low-energy building, Barry’s story has you covered. We also talk about how passive house certification appears to mitigate risk from radon, the impact of further education (as opposed to academia), and how proper systems design is essential to making even passive houses work properly.Barry earned his doctorate at Queens University Belfast in a piece of academic research of real consequence: comparing the levels of the deadly cancer-causing gas radon in passive houses to other dwellings. Radon, the radioactive gas which kills roughly as many people as road deaths in Ireland, can increase in low-energy buildings. Barry's research covered why passive houses appear to buck the trend, itself something of a proxy for the wider ventilation conversation.Now at South West College in Enniskillen - who recently developed the groundbreaking passive house premium-certified Erne Campus - he is the chair of the Passive House Association of Ireland and is doing powerful work to bridge the gap between academia and the construction industry.Notes from the episodePassive House Association of IrelandSouth West College  Crest Centre (Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology)**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Join the IGBCEmail Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

Our guest on this episode is Helena Fitzgerald, a passive house designer, and architect whose experience of building her own passive house led her to move beyond architecture.Taking a stance on passive house - as an attempt to be green - prompted self-reflection in Helena, which took her career off on what might seem a wild tangent. Now a research fellow in the Department of Economics at the University of Limerick, Helena's new direction is focused on equitable, community-centric, scalable sustainability. Helena's home is a striking, architect-designed, one-off passive house. It's a home beyond reproach in terms of energy efficiency, although we might query the stove today, knowing what we now know about biomass. That said, its rural location bakes in car dependency and renders it a home that couldn't be for everyone - criticisms that are addressed directly, and thematically, in the course of our conversation.As ever, it was a roving conversation with familiar themes: the importance of acting in a manner that is results-driven to guarantee desirable outcomes; technology on its own isn't enough, systemic solutions and localised community engagement are just as integral. We even start nudging at revolution.Notes from the episodeHelena's passive homeCitizen Innovation Lab - LimerickSmart Lab Limerick**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

This week we’re talking space heating, with John Morehead of Wain Morehead Architects. Last week Jeff had hoped to talk about the absurd space heating assumptions in the standardised calculations that go into things like EPCs and BERs, so we decided to dedicate this week's episode to it. Jeff's been keen to get John on for a while, so it seemed like a prim opportunity to tempt him to join us, and it worked.That said, we didn't talk much about those assumptions and, unexpectedly, we started with a discussion of Feng shui. Don't worry though, we quickly segue into the discussion about space heating and the use of infrared heating as a complementary heating system. It should be said that with the appropriate design strategies and post-occupancy assessment in place, there are massive opportunities to create spaces that better suit a user’s comfort needs, as well as making them more energy efficient, which will save money.There's not much by way of show notes, we kept it mainly anecdotal. However, he did ask us to plug TUD's Master of Science in Building Performance (Energy Efficiency in Design).**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Email us about websites, branding, and communications - Everything is User Experience; zap@eiux.agencyJoin ACANJoin the AECB **END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

Here we go, part two of last week's recording with returning guests, Bill Bordass and Adrian Leaman. This continues our response to that Times article that was doing the rounds last week, now looking at what we should be doing, in lieu of appropriate and demanding guidance from the institutions that dictate terms.We pick up where we left off. Enjoy.Notes from the episodeThe Usable Buildings websiteThe article that sparked the episode - EPCs are a national scandal, from The Times Newly Restored: E.F. Schumacher on Film (1977)Energy Performance of Non-Domestic Buildings: Closing the Credibility GapEnergy Performance in Use Government PolicyBuilding performance evaluation in the UK: So many false dawnsBuildings the Key to Energy Conservation (1979) How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors Behind Every Successful Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration (2023), by the unpronouncable Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner  - 'Would have been better if they had not eulogised Gehry and toned down the hyperbole', as reviewed by AdrianThe chart that Jeff refers to again from The Energy Performance Survey of Irish HousingSleepwalking into unsustainability, a presentationThe National Retrofit Hub LinkedIn page**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

This week we've got a two-parter for you with returning guests, Bill Bordass and Adrian Leaman. At first, we thought we'd do an episode in response to that Times article that was doing the rounds last week, and we did. It just didn't turn out as we expected.At the last minute, we asked Bill Bordass and Adrian Leaman if they'd like to join us. Jeff had remembered just how deeply those guys had been involved in the subject of energy performance assessment, so we asked them, they were free, and we were delighted.Bill and Adrian were really generous with their time, hence us having enough for two episodes this week. The first part (this one) was mainly spent looking into the past while Bill regaled us with a tale of what might have been, how EPCs came to be what they are, and where it all went wrong. Part two is more focused on how we might do better in the future.It has a particular UK focus but the themes are universal. There are lots of lessons that we can learn from the tension between modeling and estimation, and the reality of how buildings perform in use. We start the episode proper about seven or eight minutes in, so you can jump ahead, but you may miss Adrian's story about his energy efficiency tour behind the Iron Curtain and Albanian refugee defectors.Notes from the episodeThe Usable Buildings websiteThe article that sparked the episode - EPCs are a national scandal, from The Times CIBSE TM 22 Buildings the Key to Energy Conservation (1979) The chart that Jeff starts talking about from The Energy Performance Survey of Irish HousingEnergy Performance of Non-Domestic Buildings: Closing the Credibility Gap**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

With the EU closing in on a major revision to perhaps the single most important legislative driver for decarbonisation of buildings, the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD), we spoke to the architect of the proposed changes, Ciarán Cuffe, who gave us some fascinating insights. It was a chance to talk about thinking big and the challenges associated with instituting large-scale change.A veritable sustainability, built environment, and political polymath, Ciarán is the Green Party MEP for Dublin and rapporteur for the European Parliament on the next recast of the EPBD.Originally published in 2002, the EPBD is the reason we have EPCs/BERs/DPEs, for all their flaws and benefits. It’s also the reason we have the nearly zero energy building (NZEB) standard as a mandatory requirement for new buildings across Europe since 2019.But the original directive and previous recasts have left certain problems unresolved, and Ciarán told us about work to update the directive to ensure it can help to drive meaningful change in decarbonising the European building stock.It's worth noting that Ciarán's not just a politician too. He’s a qualified planner, architect, lecturer at Technological University Dublin, and a former Minister for Planning in the Irish government.**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

All new homes in Scotland are set to be built to a Scottish equivalent of the passive house standard, under plans announced by the government recently. But at what cost? A recent article in Project Scotland, while describing the aim of the policy as “admirable”, warned that it will “undoubtedly lead, at least in the short to medium term, to greater expense in a construction industry already suffering from spiraling costs and, ultimately, the price of housing rising.”But does this concern stand up to scrutiny? To find out, we spoke with Dr. Shane Colclough, an academic and energy consultant who co-authored two papers comparing fully costed breakdowns of building to the passive house standard versus building regulations in Ireland and Northern Ireland, respectively. But even if construction costs increase, that doesn’t mean development costs or house prices increase by a single penny, as construction economist Prof Tom Dunne argued in the progenitor of Passive House Plus magazine way back in 2007 (link below: Safe as Houses).Notes from the episodeDr. Shane Colclough on LinkedInThe article that prompted this episode: Will the Scottish Government's move towards 'Passivhaus' support zero carbon ambitions?Ulster University paper Cost Optimal UK Deployment of the Passive House StandardShane's Investigation of nZEB social housing built to the Passive House standardAnd that 2007 article on why higher energy performance specs don’t mean higher development costs: Safe as HousesShane in Passive House PlusPassive House Association of Ireland (PHAI) **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications - zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

We sat down with Ele George and Emily Braham to talk about all things Energiesprong and how they're making things happen for other people in the retrofit industry. They don't have all the answers, but they're determinedly seeking them with the right questions.Energiesprong UK is a project that's finding ways to mitigate the myriad barriers to improving people's homes, reducing maintenance costs, and developing robust supply chains. From finance to manufacturing, managing relationship-between tenants and landlords, they're prototyping ideas and developing processes that are catalysing a nascent retrofit industry.Importantly, a fascinating outcome of the novel approach that they're taking is how it supports inclusion and diversity, without even having to make an additional effort. They are full of ideas. We learned a lot and were imbued with a massive sense of hope after speaking with them, enjoy.Notes from the episodeEnergiesprong UK websiteThe passive house that Raphael built**SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications (zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**

For almost two decades transatlantic commentator  Lloyd Alter has been the rarest of creatures: a popular writer of insightful articles about green building, mainly via the pioneering green living website Treehugger.com. The day before our interview, Lloyd and the rest of the editorial team at Treehugger were told to clear their desks, due to a change in business model that focused more on search engine algorithms, and less on the kind of nuanced, considered pieces that have made Lloyd so renowned. We caught up with Lloyd to reflect on his time at Treehugger. We set out to talk about the state of reporting and publishing in the green building sector but the discussion ended up covering a lot of other ground, ranging from perhaps the most boneheaded culture war of all – the gas cooker variety - to the shortsighted lack of design consideration for aging populations.Roaming cross-cultural perspectives on the built environment, sufficiency, consumption, change, the language of green building, gas stove outrage, transport, adaptation for aging populations, and plenty more.Notes from the episodeLloyd Alter on Treehugger Up Front Carbon, Lloyd Alter on Substack"Caledon homes come laden with luxury" the article about McMansions that Lloyd decries early onThat Observer article about retrofit with our very own Sara Edmonds in itGeorge Monbiot's wood-burning confessionalLloyd Alter on LinkedInFanchea Kelly was the lady from the CIH podcast; she's CEO Blackwood Homes and Care, a charity that deals with retrofit in terms of accessibility rather than energy efficiencySanctuary magazine The Heat is On, Ryan Philp's SubstackGoldsmith Street social housing **SOME SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**We don't actually earn anything from this, and it's quite a lot of work, so we have to promote the day jobs.Zero Ambitions Partners email address - zap@eiux.agencySubscribe and advertise with Passive House Plus (UK edition here too)Join ACANJoin the AECB Email Alex and Dan about websites, branding, and communications (zap@eiux.agency; Everything is User Experience)**END OF SELF-PROMOTING CALLS TO ACTION**