BER Certification

BER Certification – Building Energy Rating

A Building Energy Rating is an objective scale of comparison for the energy performance of a building ranging from A1 to G. BER certificates are not compulsory for the majority of new homes. From 1st January 2009, a BER Certificate will be required when buying or renting all homes, new or old.
The official method for carrying out a BER for a dwelling is the Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure (DEAP). It consists of step by step calculations within a series of individual modules. The modules deal with ventilation (including air tightness), heat losses, domestic hot water, internal heat gains, solar heat gains, mean internal temperature, space heat use, space heating requirements, total energy use and fuel costs, energy emissions and costs.

The calculations emerging from these modules are combined to produce and overall calculation of annual energy demand and CO2 emissions. The dwelling is then given a rating o a scale of A1 (best) to G (worst).

Advice and Information for Householders

Who needs a BER?

A seller or landlord must provide a BER to prospective buyers or tenants when a home is offered for sale or rent.

There are exceptions for certain categories of buildings e.g. protected structures and certain temporary buildings (See Statutory Instrument No. 666 of 2006 for details of exemptions)

Who carries out a BER Assessment?

BER assessments are carried out by registered BER Assessors. A person offering a home for sale or rent, or their agent is required to engage a BER Assessor to carry out a BER assessment. SEAI maintain a list of currently registered Assessors which can be found on our website https://ndber.seai.ie/Pass/assessors/search.aspx

How much does a BER cost?

There is no set fee for a BER and it is a matter for a BER Assessor to charge as they deem appropriate for the particular services offered. SEAI strongly recommend to all people wishing to commission a BER assessment to shop around for the best price and if possible to check references with other clients. Assessors are charged a levy of €25 to submit a BER assessment to the national BER database and this must be included in the price charged.

You should agree a fixed price inclusive of VAT for all the services the BER Assessor is providing. (Note that BER Assessors are required under the terms of registration to provide such a written quotation.)

Homeowners should check Assessor references

While comparing the quotes that you have received and before you make any final decision, request the prospective Assessors to provide references where they completed a BER assessment on a dwelling. Contact the references supplied (try for two or more):

ask if the job came in on time and on price
confirm that they are fully satisfied with the service
see if there were any issues during or since the BER was completed and whether they were resolved to the clients satisfaction

Homeowners and Assessors should formalise the relationship

The contract for the completion of the Building Energy Rating is between you, the customer, and your chosen Assessor. Under Section 11 of the BER Assessors Code of Practice, a BER Assessor is required to provide the client with a written quotation including price and any circumstances where the client may incur additional cost, and to obtain the client’s written acceptance of this offer prior to commencing any BER work.

To assist BER Assessors in discharging this obligation a template has been prepared for use by anyone who might consider it to be a useful. To view or download the Letter of Engagement templates, please click here for New Provisional Dwellings and here for New Final and Existing Dwellings.

In short, the decision is with you, the customer. The contract is between you and the Assessor. The aftercare responsibility of the Building Energy Rating rests with the Assessor.

What the Homeowner can expect from a BER assessment

Once you have selected your Assessor and signed a letter of engagement the BER assessment can take place. The Assessor will make an appointment to visit your home so that they can complete a BER assessment survey on it.

When the Assessor arrives at your home they will conduct a non intrusive survey. A BER assessment will typically take a couple of hours to complete (depending of course on the home size and complexity). The Assessor will need to have access to all the rooms in your home.

During the survey they will be measuring the area of the rooms, measuring the windows, the thickness of the walls, the levels of insulation, the heating system, the number of flues, the floor types and the wall types. The Assessor will typically collect 80 pieces of data which describe your home, which are then entered by the Assessor into the BER software tool in order to generate the BER.

How the Homeowner can prepare for the BER assessment

There are a number of items that would be helpful to the Assessor if the homeowner were able to provide the following:

A recent electricity bill so that the Assessor can note the Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN)
The date of construction of the dwelling
Details of any previously published BER for the dwelling on the national register
Any plans or specifications of the dwelling if they are available
Details of any upgrades that have been made to the dwelling e.g. insulation
The boiler model number or any documentation for the boiler
Making sure the Assessor has safe and unobstructed access to all areas of the dwelling

What happens after the BER survey?

The BER Assessor will return to their office and input the survey findings into the BER assessment software called DEAP. There are approximately 80 data inputs that the Assessor must enter.

Once this is complete the Assessor will log on to the online SEAI National Administration System (NAS) and upload the DEAP file. This will generate the BER Certificate and the Advisory Report.

The Assessor will then give the homeowner a copy of the BER Certificate and the Advisory Report.

The Assessor will be able to answer any queries you have relating to your dwellings BER certificate.

SEAI maintain the register of BER certificates. To see your BER on the national register please go to https://ndber.seai.ie/pass/ber/search.aspx and enter either the BER number of MPRN number for your dwelling.

Obligations of the Assessor

The Assessor should carry out the Building Energy Rating (BER) in accordance with the DEAP methodology and adhering to the BER Assessors Code of Practice.
A BER Assessor is required to provide in writing to the client (i) a description of its proposed services, (ii) a description of the proposed cost (including VAT and expenses) for such services including all details of any circumstances where the client may incur additional costs, VAT or expenses and (iii) a disclosure of relevant business interests
The amount charged by a BER Assessor for his / her services is a matter for agreement between the BER Assessor and the client.
Each BER Assessor acknowledges that the responsibility for conducting BER assessments and the accuracy of the results of such assessments rests solely with them and no liability shall attach to SEAI for any error, misconduct, malpractice, act or omission howsoever arising from carrying out a BER assessment, the accuracy of the results of such assessments or resulting from the findings of a BER assessment.
All assessments should be carried out in compliance with the relevant health and safety laws and standards.
BER Assessors are required to act in an independent manner at all times when discharging their obligations under the Regulations.
The Assessor should supply a receipt for any / all payments made

Homeowner Duties in Facilitating the BER

You should provide safe access to your home in order for the Assessor to complete the BER
The Assessor should have access to all the rooms in the dwelling
Provide the MPRN number which can be found on your electricity bill
You should agree a start and finish date with your Assessor
Check the provided references
Ask the BER Assessor for a quote
Ask for a letter of engagement

Agreed Terms for Dispute Resolution

If a dispute arises between you and your Assessor in relation to the BER, you should as a first step attempt to find a solution together through dialogue.
If that fails SEAI recommends that the matter be referred to arbitration under the Arbitration rules of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.
Although SEAI has a comprehensive QA scheme in place, we do not carry out audits on request from homeowners. SEAI will only undertake an audit on a BER certificate on foot of a complaint if they feel there are sufficient grounds to do so.
SEAI can only deal with homeowner complaints if they are received in writing.