BER Assessment for New Dwellings

The owner/developer of the new dwelling will engage a registered BER to carry out the BER based on the plans and specifications for the new building. All BER Assessors will be required to follow a standardised procedure using an approved calculation methodology and to adhere to a standard code of practice.

BER Assessment for Existing Dwellings

The BER assessor will normally survey the dwelling to record, for example, the size of the dwelling, the construction, the insulation levels, the types of windows, the ventilation features, details of the heating and hot water systems, etc. This information will then be used to generate the BER which represents the energy performance of the dwelling. All BER assessors will be required to follow a standardised procedure using an approved survey and calculation methodology to generate the rating.

A BER of an existing dwelling being offered for sale or letting on or after 1st January 2009 must be carried out by a registered BER assessor, at the expense of the owner - who must provide the resulting BER certificate and advisory report to prospective buyers/tenants.

The advisory report which accompanies the BER certificate will advise on certain aspects of the design which could improve the energy performance of the dwelling Building energy performance options might include measures such as

• insulating the hot water cylinder and pipe work
• increasing the insulation in the walls/ attic/floor
• installing advanced energy efficient glazing
• replacing an old or inefficient boiler with a more efficient boiler
• installing modern heating controls
• installing certain types of renewable energy heating systems

For this reason, the advisory report will be a key document in relation to existing dwellings. It may be particularly useful to those who have just purchased an existing dwelling which they plan to improve or remodel in their early stages of occupation.

Following a request for an assessment ASM will complete the assessment and produce the certificate within 5 working days.