Posts Tagged ‘BER Assessors’

Carbon tax to be introduced in Ireland?

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

According to reports, the commission on taxation in Ireland is to recommend a carbon tax as the first in a series of measures to change the shape of the Irish tax system.
The carbon tax which is expected to be operated in the form of an additional excise duty, is expected to be intoroduced in the annual budget in late 2009.

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.

BER Assessors to benefit from Greenloan Home Energy Scheme

Friday, June 5th, 2009

Conor Lenihan, TD, Minister for Science, Technology, Innovation and Natural Resources this week officially launched the Greenloan Home Energy Savers Scheme which is a new nationwide scheme expected to generate  jobs in the clean-tech sector over the coming months.

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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Irish Government announces grants for Building Energy Ratings (BER)

Sunday, February 8th, 2009

In a package of measures announced today(Feb 8 2009) to boost the “Green” economy in Ireland, grants of €200 will be available to get a BER assessment for your home.

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.

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Monday, January 12th, 2009

BER Assessors by County in Ireland

BER in County Carlow
BER in County Cavan
BER in County Clare
BER in County Cork
BER in County Donegal
BER in County Dublin
BER in County Galway
BER in County Kerry
BER in County Kildare
BER in County Kilkenny
BER in County Laois
BER in County Leitrim
BER in County Limerick
BER in County Longford
BER in County Louth
BER in County Mayo
BER in County Meath
BER in County Monaghan
BER in County Offaly
BER in County Roscommon
BER in County Sligo
BER in County Tipperary
BER in County Waterford
BER in County Westmeath
BER in County Wexford
BER in County Wicklow