BER: building energy rating
Paddy Jordan explains in the article below the requirements and general details regarding the new Building Energy Rating System (BER).
From the 1st of January 2009, all residential properties for sale or for rent will require a Building Energy Rating (BER) Certificate.
The Building Energy Rating Certificate (BER) is part of the Energy Performance of Buildings EU Directive. The aim of the Directive is to make the energy performance of a building transparent and available to potential purchasers or tenants.
The BER is simply a check to see how good your house is at using energy and will measure how much energy and carbon your house will use or produce over a given year.
The certificate will most likely be similar to the energy label for domestic electrical appliances, which rates the energy performance of the appliance from A to G.
The BER will cover energy use for space heating, water heating, ventilation and lighting, calculated on the basis of standard occupancy and will be valid for 10 years from the date of its being issued.
The certificate will be required at the point of sale or rental of a building, or on completion of a new building. At this time the BER is only a rating of a home's energy efficiency. The homeowner looking to sell or rent is under no obligation to make any recommended improvements.
The Building Energy Rating is an indication of the energy performance of a specific dwelling. It covers energy use for space heating, water heating, ventilation and lighting, calculated on the basis of standard occupancy. It is expressed as primary energy use per unit floor area per year. A Rated properties will tend to be the most energy efficient and will have the lowest energy bills.
You are only required to have an energy rating carried out if you are selling or renting your house. Exemptions apply to listed buildings of outstanding architectural or historical importance.
BERs will be carried out by specially trained BER assessors who will issue the BER by using various calculation methods and software.
The BER assessor will inspect the energy use for space heating, water heating, ventilation, lighting, materials used for construction and size, geometry and exposure of the building.
A building energy rating certificate will be issued after the BER has been carried out.The certificate uses a coloured scale to how energy efficient the building is. The BER scale ranges from “A1” (most efficient) to “G” (least efficient).
The detailed report accompanies the BER certificate detailing whether or not the house is compliant in terms of energy efficiency.
You will also be issued with an advisory report which will detail the steps you can take to improve the energy performance of your house.
New homes will most likely be rated off the plans during the design stage by a certified assessor. The person or organisation building the new dwelling will engage a BER assessor to carry out the BER.
A BER is valid for up to 10 years provided that there is no material change to the dwelling that could effect its energy performance.
The implementation dates for BER assessment in Ireland are as follows:
New Residential: Since 1st January 2007 all new residential buildings for which planning permission was applied will require a BER certificate when they are offered for sale or for rent.
New Non-Residential: Since 1st of July 2008 BER certificates are required for all new non-residential buildings.
Existing Buildings: (residential and other buildings) when offered for sale or letting on or after 1st January 2009.