Solar PV, replacing Oil.... need BER B3 or better

Bluehair

Right, I've been well down the rabbit hole here and am well confused so would really appreciate a bit of help.

Main requirement is the need to move from BER D2 to B3 to fulfil the Green Mortgage we're about to draw down for renovations, there appears to be lots of ways to do this but which represents the most value is hard to determine. It's a small semi-d (88 sq m).

We're currently on an old oil boiler (is this bringing down the BER?) which I'd be happy to get rid of, looks like we can connect to gas for €250 plus the condensing boiler/controls etc and this seems like a reasonable option but I'm not sure if this will help the BER?

Heat pumps seem like mad money for the potential return.... The house is well insulated already and tbh we tend to use the stove in the living room for heat a lot of the winter as we both like the logs burning away etc, plus leaving the living room door open and the heat pretty much fills the house. We've no complaints about the cold.

We've gotten quotes from the lads up north and this looks good from the pov of reducing our electric bill and supplying hot water from the eddi, solar PV seems like a requirement to move the BER upwards too.

Is a bigger battery (and topping it up at night) plus some electric rads a reasonable approach?, so dumping the oil and forgetting about gas? Again not sure how this would impact the journey to BER B3 minimum.

I've also got a few quotes for triple glazing / new doors, we have (old) double glazing currently and live near a busy road so any reduction in noise would be helpful.

Considering MVHR too, again not sure about impact on BER but we do seem to get quite a bit of condensation on the windows in winter so hoping this would cure that in addition to improving overall air quality.

Any thoughts or guidance would be really appreciated, we're close to needing to make some decisions here and I want to be sure we're spending the money wisely! Thanks in advance :)

Calahonda52

Advising solutions to these combinations are what folk like me do for a living so don't expect a free lunch at the end of this rabbit hole.

Getting a better BER vs reducing your elec by using a battery are not compatible aspirations

However in the interests of whatever,

step 1: what is BER of existing gaff, pre extension?

step 2: what is the expected BER of existing gaff plus extension?

oil to gas might move the efficiency dial from 60% to 85%, depends, oil boiler might still be 75%

Best marks in BER are for 3 time controlled zones and 3 stats

RE

We've gotten quotes from the lads up north and this looks good from the pov of reducing our electric bill and supplying hot water from the eddi,

Classic sales BS, did they mention unlimited hot water at midnight on Christmas eve for Satant to wash all the reindeers?

solar PV seems like a requirement to move the BER upwards too.

Yes, PV improves the BER but, crucially, it does not improve the thermal performance of the building fabric

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058316615/solar-pv-replacing-oil-need-ber-b3-or-better

Anything you do, do keep receipts and ideally specifications too. If you don't have that default values are used.

The old "no name" oil boiler is destroying the ber. I could kick mine from a c3 up to a b something by even picking up a second hand grant boiler Vs the one I have (I think they count what I have as 60% efficient)

Moving to a condensing oil boiler will kick it up to 90 odd%. Moving to gas shouldn't be any different to a condensing oil boiler.

If you are really targeting a Ber value for the mortgage, some Ber assessors can do a "pre works" assessment, where all the donkey work of the ber is done but no official cert.

Then the lowest hanging fruit can be picked off. Eg replace boiler, change lights to LEDs, attic insulation.. etc I think having better controls effect the ber too.

Batteries don't do anything for the ber, just the PV does.

Bluehair

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121190209#Comment_121190209

For what it's worth I'm more than happy to pay someone for a proper independent consultation, anyone is free to PM me some names 👍️

Really just looking here to see if I'm completely wide off the mark on my research so far.

So it appears I could upgrade the existing oil boiler to condensing (with heating controls?) and that would have a positive impact on BER?

To be fair to the Solar PV that quote was the only one not to bother with a sales pitch, just the best quote. The ROI isn't what I'd like but PV appears unavoidable to significantly move the BER rating upwards.

Does going all LED lighting make a difference?

I'm happy to invest in whatever is the overall best approach to reach B3, it just needs to make financial sense too.

Appreciate the comments so far and like I said if anyone wants to forward details of a professional and / or a BER assessor who could advise what the 'low hanging fruit' are that would be great too.

graememk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121190396#Comment_121190396

As for assessors, it really depends where you are in the country, if your in cork, a recommendation for someone in Donegal isn't gonna be much help to you!

It's been a while since I've looked at the DEAP but electric heating doesn't do well as it takes into calculation of the average grid efficiency or something.. so electric heating would hurt the BER Vs pure oil or pure gas. (Also why heatpumps are only rated with a ,200% or so efficiency)

What do you have plans re renovations? (Also photos at each stage of renovations so you have proof of what you done)

randombar

Sooo I'm in your shoes for a lot of it.

Basically you are open to the one stop shop or community scheme so definitely worth researching.

Basically it gives you a lot more money for grants for your work but obviously there's a charge.

For me, I'm replacing a few doors anyway, re-insulating attic, putting in UFH and putting in a heat pump. Costing 30, grants of 16.

Separately I'm putting up truck load of panels to get the 100kw turn around.

Bluehair

"If you are really targeting a Ber value for the mortgage, some Ber assessors can do a "pre works" assessment, where all the donkey work of the ber is done but no official cert."

Reckon this is the next step for me, anyone recommend a BER assessor near Balbriggan I could work with to determine what's needed to hit B3?

DC999

Using less energy is only a good thing. But..you might save money moving mortgage. Then upgrade the house in parallel.

At a point in time, I could get a cheaper (non green) mortgage than the AIB rate. So worth doing the maths on moving provider.

A deep retro fit is huge money. Moving mortgage is only solicitor legal fees. And donkey work for you on all the paperwork for new application