BER Assessor, pro's and con's??

Susteng

Hi all,

I've recently been thinking about taking a training course and examination for becoming a BER assessor. Is it worth my while? I have a degree in sustainable energy and civil engineering so my background makes me eligible.

Or should I progress further?

i_insul8

Dont do it! i have been a registered BER Assessor since it started, I would not recommend starting up now, there is not enough work there as is. You will not make a living out of it!

Susteng

Thanks for your honest and to the point reply

I'm actually meeting up a BER assessor this week just for a chat so I will be curious as to what he has to say. I'm solely fixated on becoming a BER assessor though. As I said I have a degree in Sustainable Energy - I'm just weighing up the options.

Regards

maddragon

I'm a chartered civil engineer and packed up the BER business 2 months ago. You should do the course as an add on to your experience but I would not recommend doing it as a business. After tax and costs you are barely making above minimum wage. The €100 BER merchants have killed the credibility of it as a career. Poor auditing by SEAI means that people are free to do drive by BERs ie. without proper/any surveys in some cases. I'm very annoyed at the way it turned out as the concept of BER is excellent.

Susteng

And how is the civil engineering industry at the moment?

maddragon

There's is some work in civil engineering for site suitability assessments etc
My point is you will not make a living solely on BERs as you say you are fixated by.
The theory is great. Visit clients, do a BER, give good advice and get follow on work by sourcing and arranging installation of solar thermal, PV, condensing boilers, a rated windows etc.
The truth is 80% of clients see BER as another tax and just want a piece of paper and couldn't care less about improvements as they are either selling or renting out a property.

I've done over 400 BERs and that is my honest experience. As I said you should do the course as an add on to your sustainability degree. PM me if you want to chat by phone etc. Also important is where you are living as some areas are busier than others.

Susteng

Thanks for the advice. I am a graduate so splashing out money without uncertainty is pretty much a no go for me at the moment. I'm having trouble in finding a relevant industry that's thriving (in Ireland) at the moment. I'm still burdened with loan repayments so emigrating isn't a viable option in the near future.

I don't want to be aimlessly applying for any position that I may have covered a module on in college. I'd rather focus my efforts to a sector that will be beneficial for me in the long run.

I do however have a strong interest in CAD with credible (academic) experience but then again a lot of jobs require CAD as a skill set anyway.

It's tough being a graduate now I tell you that. Any advice from a practicing engineer? I'm also in dublin now at the gradireland summer fair where I'm hoping the seminars will offer me some good insight

maddragon

I don't know the training costs now but it was €1800 to do the course when I did it in 2007. Registration with SEAI is another €1000 and mandatory insurance about €350-€400. Laser measurer, foldup ladder and other equipment is about €500. You may need a website or some other way of getting your name out there (pm me on this if you decide to go ahead as I have some ready made options there). If you are in Dublin and living at home it makes it a more viable proposition as the market in Dublin had some life in it. If you have few overheads and are doing 5 or 6 BERs a week it can work but you won't rear a family on it. I gave up largely because my wife also works from home, we have 4 kids and she can charge more for what she does than I could with BERs. So I mainly mind the kids now and do a small bit of consultancy. I feel your pain as a graduate. You need to offer a lot of different services now. BER, surveys, snag lists, planning applications, site suitability etc. In your field I think you really have to do the BER course.

FitnessFactor

Unfortunately BER seems to look the same everywhere all over Europe.

Idea was great but execution leaves one contemplating the whole concept.

My sister works in BER business abroad and she seems to be preparing certificates mainly for people applying for grants, but again the local government is giving quite a lot from its coffers for thermo insulating and heating systems modernisations.