A Commercial BER Galway and advisory report is to be supplied by the owner to a prospective buyer or tenant when constructed, sold or rented. The BER is intended to give prospective buyers and tenants information about the energy performance of buildings. The Commercial BER also gives builders/developers and vendors/landlords, an incentive to upgrade the energy performance of the building by giving visible credit to superior standards.
The BER must be accompanied by an “Advisory Report” setting out recommendations for cost-effective improvements to the energy performance of the building. However there will be no legal obligation on vendors or prospective purchasers to carry out the recommended improvements.
Who needs a Galway Commercial BER
A Galway Commercial BER and advisory report is to be supplied by the owner to a prospective buyer or tenant when a non-residential building is constructed, sold or rented. From 1 July 2008 a BER is required for new non-residential buildings for which planning permission is applied on/after that date. From 1 January 2009 a BER is required for existing non-residential buildings, when offered for sale or rent.
Commercial BER Assessment Process
The building owner must engage a registered BER Assessor to carry out assessments. The Commercial BER Assessor follows the Non Domestic Energy Assessment Procedure(NEAP) to calculate the BER and generate the advisory report. The assessment is submitted for publication on the national BER register.
Commercial BER Certificate
The BER is an indicator of energy performance covering energy use for space heating and cooling, water heating, ventilation and lighting, calculated on the basis of standard operating patterns. It is accompanied by a CO2 emissions indicator.
Non domestic Energy Assessment Procedure (NEAP)
The Non Domestic Energy Assessment Procedure (NEAP) is the methodology for demonstrating compliance with specific aspects of Part L of the Building Regulations. NEAP is also used to generate the Building Energy Rating (BER) and advisory report for new and existing non domestic buildings. NEAP calculates the energy consumption and CO2 emissions associated with a standardised use of a building. The energy consumption is expressed as kilowatt hours per square metre floor area per year (kWh/m2/yr) and the CO2 emissions expressed in terms of kilograms of CO2 per square metre floor area per year (kg CO2/m2/yr). NEAP allows the calculation to be carried out by approved software packages or by the default calculation tool, Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM), which is based on CEN standards and has been developed by BRE on behalf of the UK Department of Communities and Local Government. SBEM, accompanied by a basic user interface, iSBEM, calculates monthly energy use and CO2 emissions based on building geometry, construction, use and HVAC and lighting equipment. The purpose of SBEM and its interface iSBEM is to produce consistent and reliable evaluations of energy use in non-domestic buildings for Building Regulations compliance and Building Energy Rating purposes. Although SBEM may assist in the design process, it is not primarily a design tool. SEAI gratefully acknowledges the co-operation of the UK authorities (Department of Communities and Local Government) in enabling the adaptation and publication of SBEM for official use in Ireland, within the framework of NEAP.