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Frequently Asked Questions about BERs

Building Energy Rating

A Building Energy Rating or BER tells you how much energy a building uses in regular day-to-day use. A building will have a BER somewhere on a scale ranging from ranging from A1 (very low energy use) to G (very high energy use). It is similar to the miles per gallon rating for a car or the A to G rating now commonly seen on household electrical appliances such as fridges and washing machines.

A blank BER certificate is pictured above. Click on the picture to enlarge.

The purpose of the BER is to make the energy usage of a building obvious to any potential buyers or tenants. For the first time, this will allow buyers and tenants to take energy performance into consideration in their decision to purchase or rent a building.

The BER certification scheme will be introduced to Ireland in three steps:

• New Dwellings: from 1 January 2007.
  
• New Non-Residential Buildings: from 1 July 2008.
  
• Existing Buildings sold or leased: from 1 January 2009.

(1) 1 January 2007: Newly constructed dwelling for which planning permission was applied for on or after January 1st, 2007.

When the new dwelling is offered for sale “off plans”: a provisional BER certificate must be produced by the builder/developer to potential buyers or tenants, based on the pre-construction plans.
When the same new dwelling is completed, a BER certificate must be supplied to the buyer, based on the plans of the dwelling as constructed (to take account of any design changes during construction.

When a new dwelling is built for a specific owner-occupier: A BER certificate must be procured by the person commissioning the dwelling, prior to taking up occupation of the dwelling.

(2) 1 January 2009: Sale or letting of an existing dwelling.
A BER certificate must accompany an offer to sell or let an existing dwelling by the vendor or by the landlord or by their agent (e.g. auctioneer, estate agent, solicitor).

If you fail to comply with a BER requirement you will be liable, on conviction in the District Court, to a maximum fine of €5,000.
Failure to secure a BER certificate at the proper time could hinder or delay the legal completion of a sale or letting or a future disposal of the relevant dwelling.

Assessments can only be carried out by specially trained BER assessors, registered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI). BER assessors must have successfully completed a validated training programme that meets the requirement of the Training Specification as set out by SEI. BER assessors must also meet any other requirements set by SEI, including the signing of the Code of Conduct.
It is an offence for persons not registered with SEI as BER assessors to carry out a BER assessment service.

At Atlantic Energy all our staff have successfully completed the training course and are registered with SEI.

Any fee for a BER for a new dwelling will be payable by the builder (including self builder)/ developer (whether an individual, a local authority or other housing provider). When BER becomes applicable in 2009 to existing properties being offered for sale or letting, the owner (directly or through their agent) is responsible for any fees payable to the BER assessor.

No it does not affect you. The BER requirement only applies to buildings that are being sold/rented

Yes, you can have a BER calculation done for your dwelling but the result can not be uploaded onto the national database and hence will not get an official BER Certificate for your dwelling.
However, if you wish to improve the energy performance of your house to cut your heating bills and increase the value of your house, getting a BER assessment and report is a natural first step.

There is no legal penalty for getting a poor rating (e.g. “D1” as against “B1”) for a dwelling.
It is, however, likely to count against the future value of the house. A house with a good BER will be cheaper to heat than a similar house with a poor BER. These savings are likely to be quite large over a number of years so the house with the good BER will be worth more on the market.

The advisory report which accompanies the BER certificate will contain recommendations on how to improve the energy performance of the dwelling.
Building energy performance options might include measures such as:

• insulating the hot water cylinder and pipework;
• increasing the insulation in the walls/attic/floor;
• installing advanced energy efficient glazing;
• measures to achieve controlled healthy ventilation;
• replacing an old or inefficient boiler with a more efficient boiler;
• installing modern heating controls;
• installing certain types of renewable energy heating systems.

A BER is valid for 10 years from the date it is issued. If there are material changes to the house after it is assessed then a new BER may be required if the house is put up for sale or rent within the 10 years.

Normally a BER certificate and advisory report will be issued by Atlantic Energy on the basis of the plans and specifications of the new dwelling “as constructed”.
In the case of new homes being sold (or let) “off the plans”, a BER assessment may be carried out on the basis of the plans and specifications for the intended dwelling in which case a Provisional BER certificate and advisory report will be issued by Atlantic Energy. When the dwelling is completed, Atlantic Energy will issue a full BER certificate which will take into account any changes between the original plans and the final construction.
A Provisional BER certificate lapses on completion of the dwelling or after 24 months, whichever is the sooner.

Existing dwellings will not need BER certificates until January 1st, 2009. The format of the assessment has not yet been decided by the SEI.

The BER will allow people to take energy costs into consideration in their purchasing decisions. This is becoming more and more important as energy costs are increasing all the time.
BERs will allow house hunters to compare the energy performance of two different houses on an equal scale. It will allow you to compare two house that on the surface appear very similar such as two 3 bed semi d’s or equally two very different houses, such as a 2 bed apartment and a 5 bed house.
The advisory report that will accompany a BER Certificate will provide information to homeowners on how to improve the energy performance of their property and thereby its comfort and affordability, and enhancing its value and sustainability.
It is expected that BER will ultimately improve energy awareness in the property market both for home buyers and developers and this awareness can be expected over time to place a somewhat higher value on more energy efficient properties, and by implication to encourage/ provoke owners of less energy efficient properties to take steps to upgrade them.

A person wishing to sell or rent a house will be required to get an energy rating carried out and to provide prospective buyers or tenants with this information.
This will increase awareness of energy performance as a factor in the property market. Those with better rated homes i.e. more energy efficient homes will be motivated to highlight this as a positive selling point while those with poorer rated homes may be motivated to upgrade their homes as set out in the advisory report.
It is expected that investments in the energy performance of homes will benefit building owners and users in terms of improved comfort, lower energy running costs and possibly higher property values.
Over time it can be expected to contribute to a change in market behaviour, which will ultimately improve the energy efficiency of the national housing stock and collectively, over time, these market activities could result in an environmental protection benefit in terms of a reduction in CO2 emissions from Ireland’s national building stock.