Building Energy Ratings (BER) will become even more important if these measures are introduced.

With the tax expected to be levied on all carbon based fuels, the insulation and energy efficiency of each home or commercial premises will have a direct effect on the amount of the carbon tax paid. Fuel consumption can be reduced by increasing the energy rating of a building.

Home Energy Grants

Now is the perfect time to avail of the home energy grants announced by the government last February to ensure you minimise your carbon tax bill. These Grants require an energy rating to be carried out by a certified BER Assessor before and after the work.  There is an additional grant of €200 available to offset some of the cost of the associated BER assessment.

The main focus of the scheme is to group homeowners to avail of large discounts in upgrading their properties.

Over 250 clusters comprising thousands of homeowners in all 26 counties have already been created under the scheme, which was originally piloted in 2008 as part of the pilot phase of the SEI Home Energy Saving Scheme (HES).

€50 Million

Speaking on Tuesday, Minister Lenihan stated this his “Department has made available almost €50m to the HES Scheme for 2009. This is expected to fund in excess of 30,000 home energy upgrades this year alone and generate a large amount of much needed employment in the current economic circumstances.”

“The Home Energy Saving Scheme offers a very attractive commercial opportunity for businesses that assist homeowners with completing insulation and other works under the scheme and in particular those which add value to the transaction” said the Minister.

Aidan Burke of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) welcomed the launch of the scheme saying “CIF is delighted to see the launch of this innovative scheme and sees long term benefits in funding the retrofitting of buildings and creating construction employment. The cluster approach is unique and will create all sorts of synergies of benefit to the customer and contractor alike.”

The Greenloan Scheme enables homeowners to renovate their homes in an organised cluster, save money, help protect the environment, and support Irish employment and Irish manufacturers according to the scheme administrator, Mary Stewart.

BER assessor benefits

Installations like wood pellet boilers, solar hot water systems, and attic and cavity wall insulation are included in the HES scheme which requires a BER assessor to provide a report both before and after the installation. A grant of €200 is also available toward this BER cost under the HES scheme.

Ms Stewart continued “The Greenloan Scheme is different from the SEI Home Energy Saving Scheme in that groups of local residents can form clusters. By pooling together, the costs of works are substantially reduced as bulk works are organised at significant discounts of up to 40%. The only commitment that must be made by homeowners is to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) assessment carried out on their home.”

Cluster participants can include homeowners, Architects, Engineers, Construction Workers, BER Assessors, Gardeners, Plumbers and Electricians.

According to Ms. Stewart: “In advance of carbon taxes and payments to cover the cost of carbon emissions, the Greenloan scheme is providing businesses, homeowners and landlords the ideal opportunity to upgrade their cost base in advance of these additional taxes and reduce the financial burden over the long term.”

Any new scheme that promotes additional participation in the Home energy saving scheme is guaranteed to be welcomed by BER assessors throughout the country. One Cork BER assessor that I spoke to today said that the HES is currently a lifesaver in terms of providing work so a new scheme to further promote it is very welcome.

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In addition, grants ranging from €250 to €4000 will be available to upgrade the insulation in homes.
Green Party minister John Gormley announced the grant package today with a two-fold aim: firstly to improve the energy efficiency of homes and secondly to stimulate employment in construction/insulation related activities.

A BER certificate is awarded by an SEI approved BER Assessor on a scale of A to G and grants of €200 will be available to householders who wish to know the rating of their house.

Since January 1st 2009, every property in Ireland requires a BER certificate before it can be sold or rented.

What is a BER?

A BER is similar to the energy label for an everyday electrical appliance like a dishwasher or tumble dryer.
BER’s are issued on a scale of A to G with A-rated buildings being the most energy efficient and G the least efficient.

BER Certificate

The BER certificate is the legal document confirming a property’s rating and looks very similar to an energy rating for an appliance
You can download a sample BER Certificate from the SEI website

BER Assessors

Ratings are carried out by specially trained BER assessors, registered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI).
SEI have the responsibility for training and registering BER assessors under the European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations (SI No 666 of 2006)
It is also SEI’s responsibility to ensure that there are sufficient assessors to meet demand throughout the country.

To find a BER assessor near you click here