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Jeff Colley

@jeffcolley.bsky.social
2.1K followers 3.3K following 145 posts

Green building 🤓 PassiveHouse+ mag Zero Ambitions podcast + consultancy Heat Pump Assoc 🇮🇪 🪑 TEDx talker World GBC #BuildingLife ambassador Mag: passivehouseplus.ie Pod: tinyurl.com/Zappod TEDx: tiny.cc/TEDJeff

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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 9h
If you want to shite on about green building, retrofit and the need to act in the face of the climate emergency on Zero Ambitions podcast, be my guest. Actually, your piece earlier this year on apocalypse porn would be interesting to expand upon.
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I just signed the petition to #stopthegame - will you add your name too? No to a change of venue. No to forcing players to play a game they don't want to play. No to sportswashing. No to bending for genocidal murderers. my.uplift.ie/petitions/pe... @uplift.ie
my.uplift.ie
Petition to #stopthegame
I just signed the petition to #stopthegame - will you add your name too? No to a change of venue. No to forcing players to play a game they don't want to play. No to sportswashing. No to bending for g...
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Richard Chambers @newschambers.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Breaking: In a potentially landmark decision, a major data centre project in Mayo has had planning permission overturned over climate concerns. More on @virginmedianews.bsky.social this evening.
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 25/08/2026
Surely there is no adaptation without mitigation? Both are essential but if mitigation is considered a subset of adaptation, it loses emphasis. Isn’t the truth that we need a lot of climate mitigation to give us a future that makes adaptation plausible?
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I’m mixed on this. But I think they can actually enhance safety in some ways, such as by feeding the cyclist directions on map apps, rather than the having to stop and pull a phone out of their pocket to check.
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 03/08/2026
Monster Movie, Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi by Can, without doubt
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
A song for where we are, by the late great David Berman youtu.be/ecV_zZ1ruh0?...
youtu.be
Margaritas at the Mall
YouTube video by Purple Mountains - Topic
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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 09/07/2026
Temperatures have exceeded 34°C today for the 8th day this year 🌡️ That makes it a record for the most number of 34°C or higher in a calendar year 👇 The record was previously set in 1976 and 2020 for 7 days
A map of the UK with 34.4C at Wisley
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National Emergency Briefing @nebriefing.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
We’re calling on government to stage a prime-time televised emergency briefing on the climate & nature crisis. Introduced by the Prime Minister to signal utmost seriousness, and delivered by independent experts. It’s time for a moonshot-scale mission to protect the public & improve lives. #PEBUK
nebriefing.org
National Emergency Briefing
Core principles that a government-led briefing should follow to ensure maximum effect
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Chris Baraniuk @chrisbaraniuk.com · 15/05/2026
"Samples from seven winters revealed associations between potassium and lead. When there were more wood burning particles in a daily sample, there was more lead in the air, with clear straight-line relationships in four of the five towns." www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
Wood burning is reintroducing lead pollution into the air, US scientists find
Study of samples from seven winters suggests neurotoxic metal coming from wood itself rather than old paint
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Passive House Plus @phplus.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Meet Passive House Plus at Futurebuild: 12-14 May, London Passive House Plus magazine will be at Futurebuild & if you’d like to visit and meet editor @jeffcolley.bsky.social, we’ll be at stand c66 in #Futurebuild, surrounded by magazines – while stocks last! Read more at mailchi.mp/passivehouse...
Graphic for an invitation to visit Passive House Plus at upcoming Futurebuild event.
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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 02/05/2026
Norway: close to 100% EV share. Near-zero carbon grid. Heat pumps everywhere. Also Norway: still exporting 2 million barrels of oil a day & gas exports have more than doubled since 2000. This chart shows the contradiction. Newsletter dropping soon 👇 substack.com/@janrosenow
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 01/05/2026
Nadine’s not a fan. But I think she may have helped me find a legitimate good use for AI. I asked AI: can you write me a passage of erotic literature in the style of Nadine Dorries that involves a critical depiction of heat pumps? And it came up with this.
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bf haver @gospel-sod.bsky.social · 03/04/2026
the amount of money that we have poured into making the automotive industry profitable is really staggering when you look at it
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 16/02/2026
Without question for me: And when I see her in the park It barely merits a remark How we stand the standard distance distant strangers stand apart Ridiculously clever and heartbreaking, by the late David Berman of the Silver Jews/Purple Mountains, written after he’d split up with his wife.
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Passive House Plus @phplus.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Peaky blinder - Energy specialist Es Tressider transforms '70s Highland home into one of the best #retrofits we've ever published, using a high skillset & #retrofit innovation to create a comfy, healthy family haven with breathtaking views of Ben Nevis. mailchi.mp/passivehouse... #passivehouse
Picture shows Es Tressider sitting on a window seat, reading a magazine. Through the window we can see the mountain regions of Ben Nevis in Scotland
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Juraj Mikurcik @jurajmikurcik.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
If you liked Guy Martin's House without bills, you'll like the latest @aecb.bsky.social webinar with Will South talking about his home retrofit project in Brighton This goes into a lot more detail of what it entails to do a whole house retrofit
youtube.com
AECB Webinar - Will South - Walking the Talk: My Home Retrofit
YouTube video by AECB:Association for Environment Conscious Building
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Ha. Not nothing anyway. That concrete slab would add a fair bit. The timber would be a bit, and apparently it came from Denmark - Bavarian Forest good for nothing? - so the road freight would add a bit too. And that super high ceiling wouldn’t help in terms of a kg/m2 based CO2e total.
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Passive House Plus @phplus.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
#Enerphit upgrade rejuvenates Rathgar redbrick In issue 17 we visited a Dublin semi-d, brilliantly and carefully brought into the 21st century in terms of #energyperformance & living space, yet protecting it's century-old façade with #breathablematerials. mailchi.mp/passivehouse... #passivehouse
Picture shows a semi detached red brick house in Dublin, that has been retrofitted to the Enerphit standard
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Jess McCabe @jessmccabe.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
We wanted to find out what the first days of Awaab’s Law have been like for social landlords - as Michael Edwards, director of reactive repairs at Southern Housing put it to Ellie Brown, “the biggest change in repairs I can remember” www.insidehousing.co.uk/insight/the-...
insidehousing.co.uk
The first days of Awaab’s Law: how are social landlords coping?
With Awaab’s Law now in effect, Ellie Brown finds out the initial impact on social landlords and how they prepared.
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Prof. Ian Walker @ianwalker.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Will I be the first to suggest the carbon offsets worked exactly as planned: they delayed real action for another 25 years
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Philip Boucher-Hayes @philipb-h.bsky.social · 11/10/2025
Global Warning now on Al Jazeera. Episode 1 broadcast this week. Or you can stream it here. 👉 www.aljazeera.com/video/featur... #Climate #ClimateCrisis hasn’t gone away.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 10/08/2025
Low-income and minority ethnic people in England most at risk from dangerously hot homes
theguardian.com
Low-income and minority ethnic people in England most at risk from dangerously hot homes
Exclusive: Homes are heating up as summers get hotter but least well-off are shouldering greatest risk, study finds * Why UK housing is dangerously unprepared for impact of climate crisis * From shutters to reflective paint: how to prevent UK homes overheating Lower-income householders, minority ethnic people and those with young children are more likely to live in homes at risk from dangerous overheating, research has found. The UK has baked in multiple heatwaves this summer, with many people sweltering in dangerously hot homes that were not designed to withstand extreme temperatures. June was the hottest on record and in general this summer England was an average of 1.58C above average temperatures. Continue reading...
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Mel Reynolds @maoiliosarey.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Interesting event coming up here “UK & Ireland Passivhaus Conference 2025” @jeffcolley.bsky.social @ipha.bsky.social @phplus.bsky.social share.google/f1FWeu1rJLWS...
share.google
UK Passivhaus Conference Programme
View the UK Passivhaus Conference programme
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Ciarán Cuffe @ciarancuffe.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
History will judge us on Gaza. My friend and long time colleague Phil Kearney who is on a 5 day hunger strike with Sieneke Hakvoort outside Dàil Éireann. Separately, an image from a UNICEF Ireland exhibition on Gaza opened by Peter Power this evening. www.unicef.org/sop/
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Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
52.8C Just another day on our overheating planet www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...
theguardian.com
Iranians asked to limit water use as temperatures hit 50C and reservoirs are depleted
Public holiday announced in Tehran as government tries to grapple with deepening water crisis
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Doccy B 🌿🌿🐝🌿🦔🌿 @merylbatchelder.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
Today I'm writing to my MP to support a ban on fossil fuel advertising which is being discussed in Parliament following a successful petition started by @chrisgpackham.bsky.social. This ban must include the sponsorship of educational materials and any #greenwashing in schools.
gov.uk
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Mel Reynolds @maoiliosarey.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
Interesting @irishtimes read pointing towards the Passive standard and micro-generation as the way forward to ‘climate-proof’ dwellings @phplus.bsky.social @passivhaustrust.bsky.social @jeffcolley.bsky.social
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
That’ll make for an interesting article. Thanks Stephen!
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Jonathan Fertig @rightlegpegged.bsky.social · 17/02/2022
Interesting development in the #MarshallFire rebuilding process that I learned about today on a @the_phnetwork call: Xcel is proposing a $30,000 direct to consumer payment for rebuilding to the passive house...
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Passive House Plus @phplus.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Issue 49 of Passive House Plus is available to read online now! Featuring a remarkable Enerphit in Gloucestershire, a tenement retrofit in Glasgow and a Cavan passive house that proved powercut proof in the recent storms. Plus the usual columns and news. mailchi.mp/passivehouse...
Magazine covers for Passive House Plus magazine, showing a kitchen interior, and a living room interior
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Passive House Plus @phplus.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
A starter pack for #InternationalWomensDay. The construction industry has been disproportionately male, but that’s changing. We’ve curated a starter pack of some of the amazing women leading the way on climate action in buildings. #HappyInternationalWomensDay go.bsky.app/Badwi8
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Passive House Plus @phplus.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Is a green home more than a house? What about outside? Ranking 13th, 36.6% of respondents to our #SMARTER4EU Green Homes Sentiments Survey said #biodiversity was essential. That seems low, given a manicured lawn is a desert for insects & animals. Have your say: www.surveymonkey.com/r/BYPQVJH
Illustration promoting green homes and supporting biodiversity. The image features a child sitting outdoors with a hedgehog and a bee nearby, surrounded by trees and plants. Text reads: 'Supporting biodiversity. Precious natural habitats are lost when land is used for building homes. Improving the ecological value of an area encourages native plants and animals to flourish. This sustains healthy ecosystems that improve human health and adds delight to your family's life.' The image is part of the 'Green Homes Essentials Countdown' campaign by Smarter Finance for EU.
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Passive House Plus @phplus.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Do people really get what makes a green home? 🚗 🤔 Ranking 14th and last in our green homes essentials countdown, only 20.6% of respondents to the #Smarter4EU Green Homes Sentiment Survey said reduced car use is essential. Have your say in this two-minute survey www.surveymonkey.com/r/BYPQVJH
"Illustration promoting green homes and reduced car dependency. The image features a bus with two passengers, a person walking with a shopping bag, and a cyclist. Text reads: 'Reduced car dependency. Green homes enable and encourage car-free living by tapping into networks of schools, shops, public transport, and amenities nearby. If you can easily walk, cycle, or take public transport to work or school, it gives you more time for other things – improving the quality of your life.' The image is part of the 'Green Homes Essentials Countdown' campaign by Smarter Finance for EU."
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Michael Burchert @michaelburchert.bsky.social · 18/01/2025
It's so hardcore at the beginning, yet obvious and subtle in the end? I had to modernize my house like that as well. Haus Susch, a regenerative 🌾 #deeprenovation by Atelier Werner Schmidt 👏 Photos: Lucia Degonda / AWS www.atelierschmidt.ch/sanierung-su... #strawhouse #strawbuilding #carbonstorage
Wooden boxes with angles for more light attached to the existing wall, windows moved forward to the insulation layer.Really tight and overly thick; I guess 48cm straw bales, attached firmly on the wall,standing on a new foundatuon of gabions filled with crushed lime stone.Finished rough lime plaster on the straw bale retrofitted house with metal roof and angled window openings looking gorgeous.
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 11/01/2025
Totally agreed on sufficiency Annie - a subject we write about in the mag. Isolated, overly large statement homes aren’t the answer - even if passive and bio-based. But we live car free in a modestly sized low energy apartment, so my daughter sometimes daydreams of houses like this.
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Søren Have @sorenhave.dk · 01/01/2025
I’m not into football, but understand many are. So David has a great point here.
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Lloyd Alter @lloydalter.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
I called this the most important article of the year (in 2021) It still is.
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Michael Burchert @michaelburchert.bsky.social · 29/12/2024
Resolution for 2025: I will bug you harder about climate-ready low-tech deep renovations. Even if it hardly gets through because it seems most of you still believe new construction is possible in todays quantities.
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Mass timber has a place, and arguably it should only be for taller buildings, which are beyond the reach of regular timber frame, or particularly lean approaches like larsen truss or I-beams. This article by Lenny Antonelli + @moreourselves.bsky.social explains why. 14) @lloydalter.bsky.social
passivehouseplus.ie
Seeing the wood for the trees - Placing ecology at the heart of construction - passivehouseplus.ie
All construction is likely to warm the climate - how to utilise ecology
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Ant Brown @brownest-ant.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
MineCraft is very easy to get into for a very wide age range. Unfortunately Mojang doesn't allow you to generate XP through providing the most low carbon dwelling possible 😔 I'm also not too sure what the carbon output is of an exploding Creeper. They're DEFINITELY not environmentally friendly.
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Lots of trees were harmed in the making of this movie: it’s mass timber on steroids. For the ceiling Sadie used stripped pale oak wood (1m thick again). We didn’t bother with joists. It was late. We were tired. This sits on a 1m thick timber superstructure. And 1m thick timber cladding. 13)
A stripped pale oak ceiling. I don’t know what’s holding it up, as we didn’t think to build it on top of the timber superstructure.
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
We might have lost the run of ourselves with the front door. In the absence of a way to convey and insulated door, we added three of them. Overkill? Certainly. But at least there’s little or no chance of any heat loss from opening the door. 12)
Three front doors in a row to open before you get in or out of the house. Just because.
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Triple glazing is par for the course in passive houses in most climate zones, and again we had to improvise, adding three layers of glazing. And don’t be asking questions about thermal bridging from those mullions and transoms. The windows sit in the insulation layer, of course. 11)
Custom-built triple glazing, shown here for the big feature window with the sea view.

The windows sit in the strawbale insulation layer to avoid thermal bridging
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
This also meant that finishing materials had to be 1m thick too. So when you add in the timber cladding Sadie chose inside and outside, we ended up with a 3m thick wall. This is only, say, six times or so thicker than you’d normally see in a passive house. 10)
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
This also meant that finishing materials had to be 1m thick too. So when you add in the timber cladding Sadie chose inside and outside, we ended up with a 3m thick wall. This is only, say, six times or so thicker than you’d normally see in a passive house. 10)
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
For the walls, Minecraft offered a great material to radically reduce embodied carbon: strawbale. As all blocks in Minecraft = 1m2, our insulation layer is 1m thick everywhere - massively over-specified, even for a passive house. 9) @michaelburchert.bsky.social @jurajmikurcik.bsky.social
A first course of strawbales on top of the perimeter of the insulated foundations. This really should be lifted up off the ground, to keep the straw dry. But give us a break. Sadie’s nine. And I was tired and distracted. First storey nearing completion, with strawbale blocks and timber blocks inside and out
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
We could have looked at a lower embodied carbon foundation —possibly put a building on some form of wood pile @kellyalvarezdoran.bsky.social. But the insulated foundation system we used is lower embodied carbon than standard strip foundations, and has excellent thermal performance properties. 8)
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Next the concrete slab was installed. Minecraft doesn’t enable concrete pours, so we put in blocks. We chose white concrete, because GGBS - a low carbon cement substitute - makes a lighter colour concrete than Portland cement. 7)
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Jeff Colley @jeffcolley.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
With a level base, the next job was to lay the insulated foundations. This is supposed to be a tub of high density polystyrene — either expanded or extruded — but Minecraft doesn’t have those materials, shockingly, so we made do with something visually similar, thermal conductivity be damned. 6)
A level, rectangular base for the foundationsInsulation layer being addedAll of the hardcore base is now insulatedPerimeter insulation added to each side of the building. The above ground wall insulation layer will sit on this. Though with hindsight we should have brought this insulation up to damp proof course level.
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