Re: BER certs required for new dwellings

The National Development Plan states that the local authorities must insist on a BER cert being submitted as part of the planning application prior to granting planning permission. Some of the planning authorities have enforced this already and it is expected that the remaineder will follow suit over the course of the next few months. By law, every new dwelling applying for planning permission from 1/1/07 must have a BER.

The results section of the SEI doftware which is known as the DEAP (Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure) shows confomity under overall and elemental heat loss methods. It also shows the maximum permitted carbon dioxide limit and the actual carbon dioxide emissions for the dwelling.

Under Technical Guidance Document (TGD) L to the Building Regulations 2005, DEAP is the method used to show that an acceptable CO2 emission rate has been achieved for a dwelling to comply with Regulation L2(a). TGD L Section 1.1 requires that the CDER shall not exceed the MPCDER.

DEAP can also be used to show compliance with Regulation L2(b), through use of either the Overall Heat Loss or Elemental Heat Loss method from TGD L Sections 1.2.2 and 1.2.3.

However, DEAP cannot be directly applied to show conformity with other provisions for dwellings in TGD L, including thermal bridging (1.2.4), air infiltration (1.2.5), heating controls (1.3) and insulation of plumbing and ducting services (1.4). Please refer to TGD L for further guidance on other such requirements.

Energy Experts deliver the BER Building Energy Rating assessors 5 day training course which is recognised by FETAC & Sustainable Energy Ireland. If you require any further infomation on BER Assessor training or DEAP, please visit us at http://www.energyexperts.ie