BER analyses the following as well among others.

Lighting

The energy guzzler in your building next to air conditioning and heating is the lighting system.

• Using natural light more is one solution. This also means you have to use more glass area in the building envelope such as wall and roofs. Use of double glazing and coated glass will reduce the heat gain. Research has shown human efficiency is more when working under natural light. A suitable compromise is therefore very important.

• Using CFL lamps and LED lighting is compulsory if you want to cut down on electricity consumption. Traditional fluorescent lamps consume 25% more energy than equivalent CFL unit. Understandably the CFL poses a disposal issue due to its Mercury coating. However the more demanding issue of Energy cost is forcing more and more to resort to CFLs for their lighting.
LED lighting is the latest in the line of energy saving lamps. With the advancement of semiconductor technology LEDs capable of higher lighting out puts while having less heat out put and longer life span have made their appearance.
Use these where ever possible!

• Use of solar energy generates pluses for your BER. Use them in your lighting design. External lighting, patio lighting etc are some possible applications if you do not want to deviate from the traditional practices!

Leakage

The purposes being to provide shelter from the elements Buildings are out of necessity fully enclosed spaces. Bad designs, poor construction, poor maintenance etc causes elements to leak in .Your hard earnings leak out in turn! A fully air tight building on the other hand poses a few other problems as we discussed under Ventilation in a previous occation.
At the same time it must be emphasized that a building should be fully air tight (at least as much as practically possible!) and ventilation whether intake or exhaust air must not be left to chance. So what one must do is weather strip the building well and also have a well worked out and peak performing ventilation system.

Pumps and Water circulation

Water pumps are a very inefficient but necessary type of equipment! At best the efficiency is around 65% for a centrifugal pump. The design of the water distribution piping system or a Hydronic Air conditioning system will also play a major part in the pump energy performance. Therefore let experts handle the design but keep an eye on what’s going on!
Use of variable speed drives on pumps controlling the flow to suit the demand may improve the overall efficiency.

Use of Alternative Energy

BER and regulations behind it support the use of Alternative Energy sources. Apart from the use of Solar Energy, for lighting (and a few other uses not demanding energy storage) Wind Turbines can also be substituted if satisfactory wind flow is available.

There are equipment such as CHP units which provide heat and electrical power both at high efficiencies (up to 95% depending on the system design), Geothermal Energy Heating, Heat Recovery Air conditioning Chillers, Geothermal Energy operated absorption type Air conditioners, District Heating and Cooling technology etc can be implemented in large buildings and complexes.

In heating (which constitute a huge chunk of your energy bills in winter) one must make it a point to check whether Gasification boilers, Pallet Burning Boilers and Stoves can be used according to the building design. In dwellings these are sure to provide a cost effective and sustainable heating system.

A fact one must investigate carefully is that at times one may find an alternative energy system may be not be very far off in capital cost than an equivalent conventional design if incorporated in the initial designs.

Carbon Dioxide Rating

The generation of CO2 too is rated in the BER analysis as kg of CO2 per m2 per annum. The conservation of energy and the use of sustainable energy improve the CO2 rating while the use of Fossil fuels will adversely affect it.

From the end users point of view one must make it a point to look in to the Advisory Report for which he is legally entitled. Cost of energy is very unlikely to come down. So it may well be an indication of your future balance sheet you would be looking at!

Our BER Assessors
We employ Building Energy Rating (BER) assessors registered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), who carry out
BER assessments on existing and new houses, single or in developments.

Our assessor will assess the dimensions, fabric, ventilation, water heating and lighting systems in your building. This will then be used to calculate an energy rating for the house. Energy ratings go from A to G, A being the most energy efficient and G being the least energy efficient.

Book a BER
To book a BER assessment please complete our BER booking form