BER is a must now for your new home
BER is compulsory according the regulations now in force. On the Builders and Property Dealers side it
is mandatory under severe penalties for non compliance. On the buyers or tenants side it gives a preview of the family energy budget and how to manage it should you take occupancy in a particular building.
Are you aware of the responsibilities it entrust you with?
BER is Building Energy Rating Certificate that will be generated through the application of approved software. In simple terms it is a measure of the energy performance of the building and how green and sustainable it is as far as energy is concerned.
Almost all are now familiar with the energy rating scheme that you find in your washing machine or the refrigerator as adopted by the EU countries. The energy efficiency is rated on a scale “A” to “G”. A color code too is assigned for each of these ratings enabling one to get an idea how much energy it could save over a differently rated unit. In a likewise manner BER too assigns a rating on a scale of “A” to “G” and a color code for each rating.
Unlike the appliance energy rating here there is a difference in that some grades are sub divided further. For example as;
• A =====? A1,A2,A3 (Dark Green)
• B =====? B1, B2, B3 (Light Green)
• C =====? C1,C2, C3 (Pale Green)
• D =====? D1,D2, (Yellow)
• E =====?E1,E2 (Light Orange)
• F =====? F (Dark Orange)
• G =====? G (Red)
Each of these15 grading is designated a color code (which is indicated approximately in the above schedule) and also a specific energy consumption level in kwh/ m2/yr.
In addition BER also indicates a rating for the CO2 emissions your building is responsible for in kg CO2 per m2 per year.
There are specialized energy assessors who are registered with the SEI (Sustainable Energy Ireland). SEI also carries out the responsibilities of training and monitoring the assessors, maintains the register of BER approvals, receipt of loggings of BER assessments, and ongoing management of the Scheme.
SEI also maintains an on line list of registered BER assessors who are the only authorized specialists for carrying out such assessment. It is noteworthy that any body who is not properly registered but endeavour to carrying out an assessment for the purpose of logging in a BER commits an offence punishable by law. Similarly anybody who fails to produce a valid BER at the request of an approved Building Control Authority or their representative, a prospective tenant or a Buyer on or after 1st January 2009 (with a few minor exceptions) commits an offence.
BER is a certificate that is issued with the intention of providing a guide line to any prospective building buyer or a tenant, what they will be in for as far as energy bills are concerned if they go ahead with their purchase or renting. The accompanying Advisory Report gives an idea what they or the property dealer can do to improve the situation.
In the mega picture the BER will make the building developers or individuals bent on constructing their houses to seriously consider the stipulated energy conservation measures inclusive of ways to use Alternative Energy technology in their designs so that dependency of Imported Fossil fuels, drain of national wealth for such consumables, the overloading of national power grid unnecessarily, the Regional and Global Environmental Pollution Level etc are curbed.
Our BER Assessors
We employ Building Energy Rating (BER) assessors registered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), who carry out
BER assessments on existing and new houses, single or in developments.
Our assessor will assess the dimensions, fabric, ventilation, water heating and lighting systems in your building.
This will then be used to calculate an energy rating for the house. Energy ratings go from A to G, A being the most energy efficient and G being the least energy efficient.
Thanks the Techstore Team
