Notes for Developers and Building Industry Professionals Introduction Building Energy Ratings (BERs) are required for new dwellings that applied for planning permission after 1st January 2007 under the European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 666 of 2006).  It is the responsibility of all building owners to produce a BER for inspection by prospective purchasers. BER methodology for Dwellings; Implementation Dates; Offences; and BER Scheme Marketing Guidelines for Developers   How to get a BER Only Registered BER Assessors can carry out an official BER assessment and it must be submitted to SEI for publication on the national Register of BER Assessments.  SEI maintains a Register of BER Assessors (which can be accessed on www.sei.ie) which provides contact details for Registered BER Assessors. Registered BER Assessors have successfully completed a validated BER training course and exam provided by an accredited training company. BER Methodology for Dwellings 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, 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 an overall calculation of annual energy demand and CO2 emissions.  The dwelling is then given a rating on a scale of A1 (best) to G (worst).  A detailed account of the standard BER procedure for Ireland is set out under the heading ‘DEAP’ in this web site. The DEAP methodology is based on standard occupancy assumptions and a range of technical judgements based upon the views of various expert organisations regarding the energy efficiency impact of various building components and attributes.  In practice the energy efficiency of a building will depend on how the occupants operate the building.  The BER for a dwelling may change over time due to many factors including deterioration or modification to the fabric of the building, changes to the heating systems incorporating into the building or changes to the way in which buildings are rated. Under the DEAP methodology, a new dwelling which meets the minimum standards as set out in the Building Regulations is likely to score the following ratings: Apartment:  B3 House:   C1 In order to achieve higher ratings developers will be required to design dwellings which go above the minimum standards and which include energy efficient features such as condensing boilers, passive solar design, energy efficient glazing, increased insulation levels, renewable energy technologies, etc. Implementation Dates BERs are required in the following circumstances: New Dwellings A person offering a new dwelling for sale or letting (whether in writing or otherwise) is required to produce a copy of the BER to the building energy control authority for the area on demand and to any person expressing an interest in purchasing or renting the relevant building if planning permission was applied on or after 1st January 2007. New Non-Residential Buildings A person who offers a new building other than a dwelling, for sale or letting will be required to produce a copy of the BER to the building control authority on demand and to any person expressing an interest in purchasing or renting the relevant building if planning permission was applied for on or after 1st July 2008. Existing Buildings (Dwellings and Non-Residential Buildings) A person who offers a new or existing building for sale or letting on or after 1st January 2009 is required to produce a copy of the BER to the building control authority on demand and to any person expressing an interest in purchasing or renting the relevant building. Full details of exempt buildings can be found in the Regulations (see download above) and include the following: a new dwelling for which planning permission was applied for or a planning notice was published on or before 31st December 2006 and is substantially completed on or before 30thJune 2008; a new building other than a dwelling, for which planning permission is applied for or a planning notice was published on or before 30th June 2008 and is substantially completed on or before 30th June 2010 except where such a building is being offered for a second or subsequent letting; Other exemptions include national monuments, protected structures, buildings or places of worship, and the regulations should be reviewed for full details. Offences The European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 666 of 2006), provide that certain actions in respect of BERs are offences punishable by fines and imprisonment.  A full list of offences can be found in the regulations.  For example, the following offences are punishable by a fine not exceeding €5,000; “Failure by the owner of a building or the agent of such owner to produce and allow inspection by a building control authority or an authorised officer thereof of within 28 days a printed copy of a BER certificate required in respect of that building by the regulations”; “Making a statement for the performance of his or her functions to a BER assessor, to SEI or to an authorised officer that he or she knows to be false or misleading in a material particular or recklessly making a statement that is false or misleading in a material particular; “Failing to disclose a material particular to a BER assessor, to SEI or to an authorised officer for the performance of their functions” BER Scheme Marketing Guidelines for Developers Marketing Guidelines are available on www.sei.ie, with respect to inclusion of references to SEI or Building Energy Rating in promotional materials for Housing Developers.

Non Domestic Buildings A Building Energy Rating (BER) and advisory report is to be supplied by the owner to a prospective buyer or tenant when constructed, sold or rented. The objective of the rating is twofold: To give prospective buyers and tenants information about the energy performance of buildings. To give builders/developers and vendors/landlords, an incentive to upgrade the energy performance of the building by giving visible credit to superior standards. The BER must be accompanied by an "Advisory Report" setting out recommendations for cost-effective improvements to the energy performance of the building. However there will be no legal obligation on vendors or prospective purchasers to carry out the recommended improvements. The format and scale of the non-residential BER Certificate will be defined and published once the BER national calculation methodology is finalised. This provision of the EPBD has been transposed into Irish legislation by S.I. No. 666 of 2006. Implementation Dates 1 July 2008 - BER of new non-residential buildings for which planning permission is applied on/after that date. 1 January 2009 - BER of existing buildings, when offered for sale or rent. BER Assessment Process The building owner must engage a registered assessor (www.sei.ie/ber) to carry out BER assessments. The assessor follows the national calculation methodology/validated software tool to calculate the BER. They then submit the assessment to SEI for validation, if accepted onto the national BER database; the assessor can print a copy of the BER Certificate. BER National Calculation Methodology The application of BER to buildings other than dwellings is more complex than for the domestic sector due to the large variation in design, scale, function, usage etc. SEI has reviewed existing methodologies in use in other EU Member States and Ireland will adapt the Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM), the national calculation methodology used in the UK, as the national calculation methodology and will validate other software packages once those adaptations are finalised. The following software, when adapted for use in Ireland, may be used by BER assessors to demonstrate compliance with building regulations and generate the BER and Advisory Report: 1) SBEM with the user interface iSBEM 2) SBEM with an approved user interface 3) Approved Dynamic Simulation Model Software SEI is coordinating the adaptations in SBEM and the commercial software packages in consultation with the Department of Environment Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Communications Energy and Natural Resources. Further details will be published on www.sei.ie/ber as they become available. For more details on SBEM and validated software packages currently used in the UK, see www.ncm.bre.co.uk/ BER Assessors BER assessment may only be completed by registered BER assessors. A list of registered BER assessors for non-residential buildings will be published on the SEI website www.sei.ie/ber Due to the complexity of non-residential buildings, it is anticipated that the prequalification requirements will be higher than those set for dwelling BER assessors. The development of the training requirement, examination and registration process for BER non residential assessors is ongoing. BER assessors for non residential buildings will be required to demonstrate competence in the use of a validated software tool, demonstrate knowledge of Part L of the Building Regulations for non residential buildings and demonstrate the ability to generate and interpret Building Energy Rating and Advisory Reports for non residential buildings. SEI expects that training courses will be available to assist students with demonstrating competence in these areas. Details on training courses will be published on our website www.sei.ie/ber when the requirements for training, qualification and registration are finalised. Offences Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the requirements of Building Energy Rating. The building control section of a local authority may demand from the owner of a non residential building the production of a printed copy of the BER certificate. If the building owner refuses or fails to produce without reasonable excuse within a reasonable timeframe the printed copy of the BER certificate then an offence is committed. Statutory Instrument No. 666 of 2006 details the requirements regarding the production of BER certificates. Source: Sustainable Energy Ireland For further details log onto www.sei.ie