Building Energy Rating

Building Energy Rating certificates are required for domestic and commercial buildings. The rating is an assessment of the energy performance of a building by a BER Assessor for the purposes of assigning a Building Energy Rating.

A Domestic BER certificate is required for domestic premises.

A Non Domestic Building Energy Rating or Commercial Building Energy Rating (BER) is required for a commercial building..

A BER Assessor is someone who is registered with Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) to carry out BER assessments in compliance with the requirements of the European Communities (Energy Performance of Buildings) Regulations 2006.

A provisional BER is an assessment of the specifications and plans of a proposed new building prior to the completion of construction. This certificate is valid for 24 months from the day it was issued and should be calculated for all proposed new works.

A building's BER certificate and related advisory report is valid for 10 years from the issue date.

From the 1^st of July 2008 all new non domestic buildings require a BER certificate. However a BER certificate is not required if planning permission was applied for or a planning notice was published on or before the 30^th of June 2008 and where substantial work (i.e. the structure of the external walls) is completed by 30^th of June 2010, except when such building is offered for a second or subsequent sale or letting.

From the 1^st of January 2009 all existing non domestic buildings being sold or let require a BER certificate.

One BER certificate is required for a building which contains residential accommodation above a non domestic space (e.g. a pub or a shop) provided that the only access to the residential space is through the non domestic space.

A registered Domestic BER assessor carries out the assessment for domestic premises. The assessment for a Commercial Building is carried out by a registered Commercial BER assessor.

 

 

 

Typical areas we can help…….

Our experience has shown us that there are four particular areas where companies can benefit from having Arkman resources at their disposal.

• Equipment reliability and performance.
  
  • Reliability and performance will not be achieved by accident. It requires good knowledge and planning. It also requires continuous system monitoring and adjustment to ensure that expectations are met. This must be done by individuals with the necessary skills to achieve the objective.
    
• Energy cost reduction and control.
  
  • Equipment specifically concerned with energy consumption requires special consideration. This equipment is using energy resources and is likely to have particularly high running costs. Therefore, further specialist knowledge is required.
    
• Statutory Compliance: Safety and Environmental.
  
  • Construction Safety such as the performance of the PSDP role and Environmental inspection and certification can all be undertaken by Arkman.
    
• System design and optimisation.
  
  • Any new system should be specified and designed to achieve a detailed documented level of performance. The appropriate knowledge should be available for undertaking this task.
    

Please contact Arkman for a free initial consultation.

Carbon Tax

New Carbon Tax

The recent budget saw the introduction of a Carbon Tax in Ireland. This is further incentive for companies to strive to reduce energy consumption. Business will generally pay the tax on it's purchases of fossil fuels for heating etc.

There are still many opportunities for organisations to reduce energy consumption by better energy management and a continuous improvement process. If in doubt about how to do this, then it is advisable to get advice.

Tax Incentive for Energy Efficient Equipment Purchases

Accelerated Capital Allowance schemes

Accelerated Capital Allowance schemes have been in place for over a year now for investment in energy efficient equipment. Following the recent budget, the ACA scheme has been expanded to include three additional capital equipment categories. These are as follows:

• Refrigeration and cooling systems
  
• Electro-mechanical systems
  
• Catering and hospitality equipment.
  

The scheme provides an excellent opportunity for businesses that are interested in energy efficiency projects to improve the payback to the organisation of such projects.

Our experience has shown that refrigeration and cooling systems frequently provide good opportunities for reduced energy costs based on better control and more efficient equipment. The ACA expansion will improve the business case for such projects.

 

Arkman Facilities Management Service

Facilities Management expertise at Arkman

More and more companies are recognising the need to maximise the return from their physical assets. Every enterprise (small, medium or large) has a physical asset infrastructure that is vital to it's service. This infrastructure ranges from office facilities to institutional to manufacturing facilities. All require resources of some sort to operate and the output of these resources needs to be optimised. Arkman Engineers has the range of experience and knowledge to help get the most cost effective return from the physical asset infrastructure.

This will be achieved by utilising the range of tools available to us and tailoring a programme to the individual customer. Tools available include:

• Monitoring and Targeting.
  
• Process Analysis.
  
• Maintenance Audits.
  
• Leak detection.
  
• Energy Assessment.
  

The benefits that are typically realised include:

• Reduced costs.
  

Improved safety, reliability and performance.

Facilities Management can deliver business benefits.

Facilities Management is the process of optimising the physical asset infrastructure (such as buildings and equipment) that most organisations require in order to provide their product or service. There are many specific areas where Facilities  Management can deliver real benefits to a business. Some of the key areas are noted below:

• Safety/ Environment.
• Equipmnet and infrastructure performance.
• Cost.

We will expand on these points further.

Free Energy Assessment

Free Energy Assessment for SMEs

In association with SEI, SMEs can avail of a free Energy Assessment. The assessment will be undertaken by experienced energy professionals at Arkman. The assessment will be funded by SEI so there is no direct cost to the company assessed. In order to avail of the assessment, an SME should contact Arkman. There is a requirement to provide some energy consumption data on the organisation and fill out a simple form on the SEI website.

Please contact Arkman for full details. Click the link below or phone 053 9480259.

Arkman website