BER Assessor FAQ

What is the Building Energy Rating (BER) requirement?

The Better Energy Homes scheme provides grant aid to homeowners towards upgrades of attic and wall insulation and heating systems. In order to measure the impact of the programme SEAI has introduced a requirement for homeowners to undertake a BER after the upgrade works have been completed. The BER assessment is to be completed by a registered BER assessor following a site visit after the Better Energy Homes upgrade works have been completed. The assessor will furnish you with a certificate indicating the energy performance of your home based on an A-G scale. The assessor will also complete essential information on the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form. For more information on Building Energy Rating see www.seai.ie/ber

What grant is available for undertaking a BER?

A homeowner is entitled to BER funding of €50 once per home. This funding will be applied to your grant application automatically provided you have never applied previously for BER funding. You will be informed during the online grant application process if BER funding is available for your home or as part of your Letter of Grant Offer if you have applied through the post.

Is a BER required for each application?

Yes, a BER certificate is required for each application. It is therefore advisable that homeowners apply for, and undertake, all planned grant aided works at the same time to minimize the costs associated with multiple BERs. Note that grant payment can only be claimed once all measures associated with your application have been completed, including the BER assessment.

Why is a BER required?

The Better Energy Homes programme has proved to be extremely popular with homeowners. However, Ireland has ambitious energy reduction and climate change targets to be met in 2020. If achieved, our dependence on imported fossil fuels will greatly reduce along with lower energy bills for homeowners. To meet these challenging targets we need to both incentivise and inform householders about steps that can be taken to reduce energy usage, while understanding the thermal efficiency of Ireland’s housing stock. Making a BER mandatory will help deliver on both of these aims.

When must the BER be undertaken?

The BER assessment must be conducted after your Better Energy Homes upgrade works are completed. All works and the BER must be completed within the SIX MONTH grant period.

Do I need to undertake a BER before the upgrade works?

Only if you wish to. A before BER may help you in prioritising works to be undertaken, however it is not mandatory and the grant of €50 applies to the BER after upgrade works only.

What is the Home Energy Self Survey?

The Home Energy Self Survey is a simple online or hardcopy survey designed to help you identify what might be the priority upgrade works appropriate to your home. It only takes a couple of minutes to complete. You are of course always advised to discuss your choices and options with registered contractors.  If you have done a BER on your home already then the Advisory Report which accompanied the BER cert will also guide you. The survey complements the existing fast track online application system and links directly to SEAI’s other online resources including the Buyers’ Guides

What must your selected contractors do to facilitate the BER?

You must ensure that, upon completion of grant-aided works, your contractors fill out the relevant section in the BER Declaration of Works (DOW). This form must detail the condition of your attic, walls, heating system, heating controls and solar panels as appropriate before Better Energy Homes upgrade works were undertaken. In cases where the dwelling has had a new extension added at the same time as the Better Energy Homes work, you must also detail the additional floor area of the extension in the BER Declaration of Works form.

What is the BER Declaration of Works form?

The Declaration of Works (DOW) form is a statement regarding the works undertaken, when and at what cost and is completed by a Better Energy Homes Registered contractor, signed by them and co-signed by the homeowner. For the purposes of the BER DOW, it also contains the indicative estimates by the contractor of the condition of the home prior to works. The contractor is required to transcribe this information onto the BER DOW form in order to allow the BER assessor complete a pre-works energy performance estimate

What is required of the BER assessor?

The BER assessor must visit your house after Better Energy Homes upgrade works are finished. They must undertake and publish a full BER assessment which reflects the energy performance rating of your home. They then must return the completed BER Declaration of Works form to you to allow you claim your grant.

At the time of completing the BER, your chosen assessor is also required to provide an estimate of the energy performance of your home before the Better Energy Homes upgrade works. The ‘before’ assessment will either be based upon an actual BER undertaken prior to the works(if you already have one) or upon information supplied by your contractors at time of works on the BER Declaration of Works form. The BER assessor must record both the formal BER and the estimated energy performance estimate before upgrade works in the BER Declaration of Works form.

When do I have to complete the BER and the DOW form?

As an assessor you can only sign / date the BER DOW form after you have completed the assessment, PUBLISHED the BER and (as necessary), calculated the pre-works energy performance estimate and have been paid by the homeowner. The BER DOW requires the published date to be recorded. 

This will likely require you to take the form away following the site survey but you are requested to act expeditiously in all necessary steps and in particular in returning the signed and dated form to your client as soon as physically possible otherwise you may delay your clients grant payment claim. We recommend that you return the completed form at the same time as supplying the BER cert and advisory report to the homeowner.

The assessor is expected to complete and sign all necessary documentation so that the homeowner is in a position to submit their paperwork within the six month grant offer period. The assessor must ensure that assessments are conducted and published in a timely manner. A BER DOW form, completed and signed by the assessor, must be made available without delay to the homeowner upon completion of the BER assessment in order to facilitate their grant payment request. Assessors who are found to undermine the Better Energy Home rules or impede a grant payment will be subject to penalty points under the EPBD QA scheme.  

What is the Pre Grant Energy Estimate or PGEE?

The Pre Grant Energy Estimate is effectively an estimate of the energy performance of the home prior to the Better Energy Homes upgrade works being undertaken. It is used to establish the effectiveness of the upgrade works and will allow the change arising from the Better Energy Homes upgrade works, in terms of annual primary energy usage and CO₂ emissions, to be estimated. It can be based upon:

• A published BER, prior to upgrade works, if one exists.
• An estimate derived from the DEAP XML for the home after upgrade works into which the pre upgrade condition is inserted, effectively discounting the impact of the works (note this is not a formal BER).

The information used to assist this estimate will be on the back of the BER Confirmation and Request for Payment form and has been completed by the contractor(s)  who undertake the works.

Where do I find more information about the Better Energy Homes scheme?

BER assessors undertaking this work must ensure that they are appropriately briefed on the rules of the Better Energy Homes scheme. All rules and terms and conditions can be downloaded from www.seai.ie/ betterenergyhomes.

Is a BER carried out as part of the Better Energy Homes scheme an Official BER?

Yes, the BER done as part of the Better Energy Homes scheme is an official BER and an official BER certificate and advisory report will be presented to the homeowner so it must be published on NAS.

How do I become a SEAI BER registered assessor?

For information on becoming an SEAI registered assessor please go to www.seai.ie/ber.