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.