BER Certificates and Home Energy Audits For Irish Properties
From 1st January, 2009, all properties sold or rented in Ireland must have a BER certificate. BER stands for Building Energy Rating, and is a certification managed by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI). The purpose of a BER certificate is to inform potential buyers or renters of how energy efficient a property is. The expectation is that a favourable BER rating will make a property far more desirable, as the costs of heating and running the property will be lower than a similar property with a less favourable rating.
A BER certificate can only be issued by a registered BER Assessor. Each BER assessor must be registered by Sustainable Energy Ireland, who oversee the issuing of all certificates, and run courses for BER assessors throughout the year. Many BER assessors are also in the property business, and include auctioneers, property developers, and home energy consultants. The ability to issue a BER certificate is seen as another service they can provide alongside their existing businesses. As of January 2009, uncertainty exists as to whether an auctioneer can issue a BER certificate for a property they then go on to sell, as the possibility of a high BER rating being given in order to facilitate a more favourable selling price might exist.
BER ratings run from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient and G the least efficient. An SEI report issued in October of 2008 shows that 82% of new homes achieve a grade B BER. Older properties typically have far lower ratings, as they often suffer from poor insulation, older, less energy efficient boilers and heating systems, and fewer energy saving appliances or devices. As new properties are built with renewable energy sources in mind, and designed to use only the most modern insulation and heating systems, they are expected to score highly.
Owners of older properties looking to sell would benefit from a home energy audit some months prior to putting their property on the market. A typical home energy audit would begin with a BER assessment, and go on to highlight which improvements may be needed to produce a high BER rating. Suggested improvements might include changes to the heating system (a more energy efficient boiler is one the most common), stronger insulation throughout the home, as well as suggestions for alternate sources of energy that might be installed – solar, and geothermal perhaps.
An energy auditor should be able to advise the home owner in detail as to how much each improvement would save in terms of energy emissions and costs over the year, as well as how the property’s BER rating might improve. On the back of this, a decision could then be made as to whether the home improvements were cost effective, and should be carried out.
It is uncertain how BER certificates will affect the Irish property market in the long term. But as a BER certificate is now a legal requirement before selling or renting a home, it is expected that knowledge of BER ratings and what they mean will quickly rise amongst home owners and occupiers. Once this happens, it should not be long before a property’s BER rating becomes an integral part of how much a property is worth.
Simon Yeats is a consultant for one of Ireland’s newest home energy companies, NRG Experts, who specialise in BER Assessment and home energy audits.