Question on BER Article

fishfoodie

Hi Folks,

There's an article on BER Awareness in the SBP this weekend & there one comment in it that makes no sense to me, although I can't claim any kind of expertise on BER. It comes from an EA so I shouldn't be surprised if its total BS :rolleyes:

‘‘Electrical wiring can make a significant difference. Twenty years ago, wiring was not insulated and it used fuses, but modern insulated wiring has trip switches and is much more efficient. The most recent advancement is the use of solar panels, which can reduce your electricity bill by 20 per cent.

Can anyone qualified comment on whether this EA is spouting bovine effluent ?

muffler

I'll move this to the RE forum.

topcatcbr

I think you are reading this portion of the article out of context. the 20% reduction is made by the use of solar panels for hot water heating. Their arguement is plausable. If you use your immersion for all your hot water needs vs solar panel it possibly would result in a 20% reduction in elec consumption.


It should read

The most recent advancement is the use of solar panels, which can reduce your electricity bill by 20 per cent.

‘‘These don’t necessarily need sunshine - daylight will suffice. In Ireland they are usually mounted in the roof, but you could use a mirror-style solar panel set in the garden. Most people who have them tell me they supply almost all of their domestic hot water.”

fishfoodie

But why is he talking about Electrical wiring , in the context of BER ????

The only thing I could think of was the editing of the interview was mangled & he was making a general comment as to how technology moves on over time & somehow this got mangled into a statement that re-wiring your house would give you a better BER rating

Edit: Thanks Mod for moving Forum by the way !

topcatcbr

The state of the wireing has no impact on the BER at moment. I think it was an editing issue as you guessed and should read as i have quoted.

sinnerboy

The DEAP manual at present is geared for new houses . SEI only last week ( finally ) announced a revised issue of DEAP for TGD L 2007 and for existing houses - due for release Sept 29 .

I was due to take additional training today and tomorrow for existing houses but my course provider put it back until October . The comment in the article about a general lack of preparedness for Jan 09 is more than fair .

The issue of electrical wiring is not included in current DEAP , fair assumption is new house will be built to current ETCI standards . It may be in the next release we'll have to see .

Dated wiring is liable to be less safe of course- faulty appliances won't cause a fuse to "trip" and the risk of an electrical fire increases . Under sized cables can overheat and consequently "burn more juice" ( technical term - I am not an electrical engineer - clearly ) . So there may well be validity in what the article says .

fishfoodie

Thanks Folks.

Given how surprisingly clear & accurate the EA is on other stuff in the article, I think I'll give him the benefit of the doubt & blame the SBP for the odd comment. Generous of me don't you think

I'm always cautious, based on the number of 'Snake-Oil' salesmen who have fastened onto RE over the last few years in Ireland.

No6

I must say I read the article and got the same impression as the op, it made no snese, however the bit I really liked :rolleyes: was the suggested price for a BER for existing houses of 300 per house!!!! where on earth did they get this figure from. ( I know probably SEI ) Its tough enough when everybody thinks that all BERs for new builds should be 300 max (All houses in Ireland are 3 bed semi's in SEI land) which definately did come from SEI but now its being lumped onto the existing buildings too. :eek:

topcatcbr

No6 wrote: »

the bit I really liked :rolleyes: was the suggested price for a BER for existing houses of 300 per house!!!! where on earth did they get this figure from. :eek:

Q&A in SEI website

ardara1

.......'

---

sewage disposal and the kinf of septic tank used, the most efficient being the modern bio-filter. All these factors are put together and calculated in a formula - the lower the CO2 emissions, the better the rating," he said.

ardara1

Same SBP supplement on BER - back page full advert form Kingspan offering 3 year back dated BER certificates and on-site testing - is this allowed?

No6

topcatcbr wrote: »

Q&A in SEI website

But that refer's to 300 for new houses, existing house vary according to the SEI, My impression was that the article implied that BERs for existing houses would also be 300, I liked the Kingspan add too, I think the free BER was related to their timber frame houses built in the last three years but still thats a conflict of interest to my mind.

Chimpster

No6 wrote: »

But that refer's to 300 for new houses, existing house vary according to the SEI, My impression was that the article implied that BERs for existing houses would also be 300, I liked the Kingspan add too, I think the free BER was related to their timber frame houses built in the last three years but still thats a conflict of interest to my mind.

If Kingspan are doing these ratings in house and SEI dont intervene then the whole BER process will decline into a complete farce.

To be honest, SEI have some battle on their hands already. The 'low cost' model they used for the Home Pilot Insulation Scheme is coming back to bite them as allegedly some of the reports coming back from these 'surveys' have been nothing short of disgracefull.

In fairness to them they have gone the other route with commercial ratings and have raised the bar very high.

sinnerboy

As said before - there will two types of BER process

Yellow pack . For person flogging / letting house and does not really give a monkeys

Proper standard - for self builder or serious developer - who will expect and demand a high service

No6

Chimpster wrote: »

If Kingspan are doing these ratings in house and SEI dont intervene then the whole BER process will decline into a complete farce.

To be honest, SEI have some battle on their hands already. The 'low cost' model they used for the Home Pilot Insulation Scheme is coming back to bite them as allegedly some of the reports coming back from these 'surveys' have been nothing short of disgracefull.

In fairness to them they have gone the other route with commercial ratings and have raised the bar very high.

The whole system is already a complete farce, the home pilot scheme has been hijacked as far as I can see in some areas (mine) by RE suppliers, I'm disgusted with it, and just watch that bar bend to suit!! The bar should be at a suitable level accross the board and assessors working for Kingspan or anyone else offering a one stop shop should be booted off the register for serious breeches of the code of conduct.

MicktheMan

Chimpster wrote: »

If Kingspan are doing these ratings in house and SEI dont intervene then the whole BER process will decline into a complete farce.

To be honest, SEI have some battle on their hands already. The 'low cost' model they used for the Home Pilot Insulation Scheme is coming back to bite them as allegedly some of the reports coming back from these 'surveys' have been nothing short of disgracefull.

In fairness to them they have gone the other route with commercial ratings and have raised the bar very high.

Hi Chimpster, All
as one who was unsuccessful in the tendering process I am curious to know more about these reports. Are they accessable to the general public and if so where? Or do you need to know someone in SEI to get the lowdown...

Mick

topcatcbr

Chimpster wrote: »

To be honest, SEI have some battle on their hands already. The 'low cost' model they used for the Home Pilot Insulation Scheme is coming back to bite them as allegedly some of the reports coming back from these 'surveys' have been nothing short of disgracefull.

Hi chimpster
Id like to know where you got this info from as i am involved with this and have heard nothing about this. but maybee this is a different scheme as the one im involved is called the Home Energy Survey Scheme.