Commercial BER
Building Energy Rating has been introduced in Ireland over recent years as part of the E.U – Energy Performance of Building Directive 2002. It was introduced on a phased basis in the following manner:
- 1 January 2007 (new dwellings)
- 1 July 2008 (All new buildings, both domestic and non-domestic)
- 1 January 2009 (Existing dwellings and non-domestic)
BER certification is required when a property is offered for sale, rent, or lease. It is now required for all buildings with only the following exceptions:
- Protected structures
- National monuments
- Buildings used as a place of worship
- Non-residential buildings with a heating system of capacity less than 10w/m2
- Industrial buildings with a heating system of capacity less than 10 w/m2
- Stand alone buildings having a floor area less than 50m2
The purpose of a Building Energy Rating is to give prospective buyers or tenants information about the energy performance of the building, and in doing so give builders and developers an incentive to construct buildings which have a higher efficiency.
A Building Energy Rating is calculated using specialist software designed for the purpose. A rating is expressed as a ratio calculated primary energy use (kwh/m2 annum) for the actual building compared to that of a system generated “notional” building.
It is intended that BER Certificates will inform the market as to the relative performance of comparable buildings. Building Energy Ratings in Ireland must be carried out by an Assessor registered with Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Once the building’s Certificate is prepared it is uploaded to Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland’s database. At this stage the Building Energy Certificate is registered on the system and Certificate released for use.
Hollywood Construction Engineering Ltd is registered with SEAI for non-domestic Building Energy Rating.
