BER Info

What is BER?

BER stands for Building Energy Rating, it is a European Directive which has come into effect on the first of January 2009. It is an indication of the energy performance of a home in sale.
It covers energy use for space heating, water heating, ventilation and lighting calculated on the basis of standard occupancy.
A BER certificate is accompanied by an advisory report which will identify how you might improve the energy performance of your home.

For the most upto date information go to www.seai.ie/Your_Building/BER

How is it rated?

A Qualified BER assessor will access your house based on the space heating, water heating, ventilation and lighting. The assessor will gather this information in a survey.
Then it is input into a software program (DEAP), and in turn a rating is produced. After this the assessor will come up with practical ways to improve your house, this is in the advisory report.

What are the ratings?

The ratings are from A1 to G.

An A1 rating means a house will usually cost less to heat per year than a house of G rating.
(see table on http://renewireland.ie/about-us.php)

A new home which meets the minimum standards as set out in Building Regulations 2008 is likely to score the following ratings:

Apartment: A3 House: B1

A existing/older home which meets the minimum standards as set out in Building Regulations 2005 is likely to score the following ratings:

Apartment: B3 House: C1

* About 80% of Home Buying Searches Begin on the Internet.

Tips when upgrading with the Insulation grant

If you are availing of the Better Homes Grant, you should try to buy the best quality Insulation you can buy.

Why you ask - for example, if your house is suitable for Cavity Wall Insulation, you only want to do the job once.
If substandard insulation is Installed, I'ts not easy to redo the Job.

The better quality Insulation will, in the main, be cost effective in the long term.
When availling of the grant, you should ask the installer what will be the u-value after the work is done.
You want between 0.27 and 0.35 , this can be achieved usually with the bonded bead insulation.

The best Price for the Cavity Wall Insulation may not be the best guide to decide what installer to go with.

Need some advice contact me bryan@renewireland.ie

* Whatever your Home Energy Rating is, More Exposure of Your House = More Enquiries about Your House.

Who needs a BER

A seller must provide a BER to prospective buyers or tenants when a home is constructed, sold or rented under the following circumstances:

New, Ireland homes where planning permission was applied for on or after the 1st of January 2007. A new dwelling (i.e. a dwelling that has never been sold or occupied) is exempt from the BER requirement if it had been the subject of a planning application submitted on or before 31 December 2006 and if it was substantially completed by 30 June 2008. "Substantially completed" means that the external walls have been erected.
All existing homes for sale or rent on or after the 1st of January 2009. An existing dwelling is a dwelling which has previously been sold and/or occupied.

All new homes (even when not for sale) must have a BER certificate.

Asset Rating

The DEAP calculation is concerned with the assessment of the dwelling itself, as used by standard, notional or typical occupants, and not affected by the way current occupants might use it.

Thus, for example, the living room is based on the original design concept and not on the room/rooms the current occupants actually heat. The DEAP methodology is therefore an asset rating.

For the most upto date information please see the SEAI website

http://www.seai.ie/Your_Building/BER/

If you are looking for a BER ASSESSMENT please contact me at bryan@renewireland.ie

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