Any SEI clarifications

sydthebeat · 18-03-2009 3:49pm #1

I think it might be a good idea to post a copy of any clarification you all get from SEI on any issue, for the benefit of other users.

You can omit any private information you wish.

Just to note.... if copying and pasting...

go to the 'go advanced' editor before pasting to ensure your post will be legible without a load of clutter...

sydthebeat · 18-03-2009 3:50pm

ill start:

Hello ******,

Thank you for your email.

The quick “rule of thumb” when specifying the use of supplementary electric water heating in the summer is as follows:

If the main water heating system can heat water without heating space then the answer is “no”. Otherwise “yes”.

As supporting guidance to that given in the DEAP manual and FAQ: http://www.sei.ie/Your_Building/BER/BER_FAQ/FAQ_DEAP/Water_Heating/If_the_dwelling_that_is_being_assessed_has_an_electric_immersion_heater,_does_“yes”_have_to_be_selected_for_“Is_supplementary_electric_immersion_heating_used_in_summer_”.html :

Systems where the boiler can supply DHW (Domestic hot water) independent of space heating should not have "supplementary immersion during summer" specified:

This includes systems such as the following (note that any switches or valves must be accessible by the home owner)

1. Full time and temperature control for DHW separate from space heating
2. Separate zoned time control (DHW separate from space heating) with no temperature control
3. A “summer/winter switch” that either controls a motorized valve or a separate pump for the hot water only to be separated from the space heating.
4. Boiler with a time clock and a switch to turn off the heating of the space and not DHW
5. Boiler with just a time clock and a manual pipe valve to turn off the heating to the space

The following systems should have supplementary immersion during summer as "yes"

1. Radiators all can be turned off individually without any other means of separating them from water heating
2. Solid fuel stove with hot water from the back boiler.
3. Boiler with just a single time clock.

Regards,

BER Helpdesk

Sustainable Energy Ireland

Telephone:1890 252 738

muffler · 18-03-2009 3:54pm

Re: Grants

Dear Sir/Madam,

Thank you for your recent enquiry regarding the Home Energy Saving scheme.

The scheme is open for contractor registration and once there are sufficient registered contractors to the scheme (likely end March), the scheme will open for homeowner applications. In the meantime why not visit the website at www.sei.ie/hes where there is lots of useful information.

Please be assured that we will communicate to you when the scheme opens for homeowner applications.

Yours sincerely,

HES Public Helpdesk
Sustainable Energy Ireland
Telephone: 1850 927 000
Email: hes@sei.ie
Website: www.sei.ie/hes
Sustainable Energy Ireland promotes and assists the development of sustainable energy.
SEI is funded by the Irish Government under the National Development Plan with programmes part financed by the European Union.

sydthebeat · 18-03-2009 3:54pm

Hello ******,

Thank you for the email. To answer your questions:

1. The national exam is expected to be available from November.

(that was last November!!)

2. DEAP version 3 will be available to Registered assessors only either tomorrow or Tuesday. It will come into effect for issuing ratings in mid-November.

3. A "Granny-Flat", treated as a separate dwelling under planning conditions, will require a BER. A Revised version of NAS will be able to account for multiple dwellings under the same MPRN number.

BER Helpdesk
Sustainable Energy Ireland
Telephone:1890 252 738

muffler · 18-03-2009 3:57pm

Re; BER and grants.

Dear muffler

In response to your query, a BER is not required for participation in the Home Energy Savings Scheme. However, if you are applying for a grant for a BER, then you must have a BER assessment carried out before any work is done and after the work is completed. The extract below is taken from the relevant section of SEI’s website:

sei/hes/ber

What do you mean by Before and After BER?
For a homeowner to qualify for the Before and After BER grant they must undertake a BER before commencing any measures AND a subsequent BER once measures are completed.

This Before BER in conjunction with the advisory report and any additional advice you might give will identify areas in the house that would benefit from measures available under the HES scheme.

The After BER will give the homeowner revised information reflecting the impact that the measures undertaken have had on their energy usage.

I hope that this clarifies the position for you.

Regards

sydthebeat · 18-03-2009 4:01pm

re living room clarification

Hello ******

Thank you for your email.

As per the DEAP FAQ's http://www.sei.ie/index.asp?locID=1330&docID=1389

As stated in the DEAP Manual Section 7.2, the largest public room in the dwelling should be used for calculating the "Living Room Fraction".
Note kitchens (including rooms like kitchen diners) are not considered to be public rooms on their own. However if there is no door between the room identified as the “largest public room” then following the guidance in Section 7.2 the area of the kitchen should be included when calculating the living room fraction.

As stated in section 7.1 of the DEAP manual:

The required (set-point) internal temperatures during heating periods are:

. Living area: 21oC

. Rest of dwelling: 18oC

During heating hours, the required mean internal temperature of the dwelling is calculated as the average of the set-point temperatures in the living area and in the rest of dwelling, weighted by floor area.

Regards

BER Helpdesk

Sustainable Energy Ireland

Telephone:1890 252 738

Warden Dios · 21-03-2009 10:11am

Thank you for the email. If an assessor can demonstrate that the fuel burning device can only burn wood fuels (be it wood logs, pellet or chips) then it is classed as renewable. This demonstration would be for example if the product warranty was voided by burning any other fuels. A simple letter stating that the householder would only burn wood fuels in a stove is insufficient.

As stated in section 10.3.3 of the DEAP manual: “If the heating appliance is designed to burn only a wood fuel, i.e. if its design is such as to prohibit the use of any other fuel type, then the appropriate wood fuel type should be selected. Otherwise a wood fuel should not be selectednd

I cant seem to find a range cooker for a secondary heating source as they all are capable of burning peat and coal.

sydthebeat · 07-04-2009 10:11am

this is a verbal clarification i got from SEI yesterday.

If a dwelling was applied for permission before 2007 AND completed by 30 June 2008, then regardless if it hasnt been occupied etc, it must be assessed as an existing dwelling.
If a dwelling was applied for before 2007 and not complete by 30 June 2008, it can be assessed as a new dwelling.

sydthebeat · 16-04-2009 10:41am

Query:

RE: DEAP clarification

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is *************, my assessor number is *********

I would like to bring to your attention a discrepency between DEAP 2 and
3 manuals.

I was taught that only outlets (or fittings) were to be counted when
calculating low energy lighting percentages ie a chandilier was counted
as one fitting, whereas a ring of spot lights on one loop was counted as
each fitting.

In section on low energy lighting in DEAP 3 manual however it states:

“Identifying low energy lights:
As stated earlier, for a lamp to be considered low energy it must use at
least 75% less energy than a conventional incandescent lamp. Where low energy bulbs are actually fitted into ordinary lighting sockets they may be included in the low energy lighting calculation. If it is not explicit from the survey, drawings or specifications that low energy bulbs will be fitted in to ordinary lighting sockets they should not be included in the low energy calculation. Where several bulbs are controlled by a single switch, each bulb must be counted when calculating the percentage of low energy lights. Light bulbs and light fittings outside of the dwelling should not be
counted but should be counted if they are in unheated spaces of the dwelling (such as porches or garages). “

In the section I have bolded above, the issue is clear. DEAP 3 is asking
us to count each bulb, whereas previously each outlet was to be counted.

Can you please clarify this matter for me.

Regards

SEI Clarification:

Dear *****

Thank you for contacting Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) with your
query regarding the DEAP manual

The current DEAP 3 manual is the most up to date manual as regards the utilization of the DEAP methodology to perform a rating, therefore use the advised guidelines within this manual when performing a rating. It has replaced DEAP 2.

We trust you have found this information useful and if you have any
further queries please do not hesitate to contact us

Regards

BER Helpdesk

Sustainable Energy Ireland

sinnerboy · 16-04-2009 12:47pm

sydthebeat wrote: »

re living room clarification

However if there is no door between the room identified as the largest public room and the kitchen then the kitchen should be included when calculating the living room area.

From the manual - ( bold type needed to make sense of SEI response Syd )

engrish? · 06-07-2009 12:20pm

Re: Year of Construction

I had a thread running which was locked, asking about this.

Regards,

The Waitress.

As per the DEAP Survey Guide;

Where dwellings are fully renovated, the age band may be based on the age of the original building or the date of refurbishment.

For example where an older building is converted into apartments, this is likely to be subject to extant Building Regulations at the time of refurbishment and the age band would be based on that refurbishment date.

However, renovation or partial renovation of a house may not be subject to the extant Building Regulations and should have an age band based on the original building’s age.

Where a non default U-value is being used, then Tables A1 and Table A2 of Building Regulations 2008 Technical Guidance Document (TGD) L may be used to give thermal conductivity of common insulation materials and building materials.

The DEAP Survey Guide can be found on the SEI website through the link below:
http://www.sei.ie/Your_Building/BER/BER_Assessors/Technical/DEAP/DEAP_2008/DEAP_Survey_Guide_1_1.pdf

We trust you have found this information useful and if you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards,

recedite · 11-07-2009 4:43pm

Question
The following text from the DEAP manual section 3.3.3:
“for dwellings to which the Building Regulations 2008 TGD L applies, an attached conservatory is always
considered as an integral part of the habitable area of the dwelling. In all other cases (i.e. existing dwellings
or dwellings to which Building Regulations 2008 TGD L do not apply), an attached conservatory may be
treated as an unheated space if it is thermally separated from the main dwelling.”

Can you explain the logic in this ? Suppose someone built a new house with a patio door on the south-facing wall. Then the following year they added on an unheated (maybe even single glazed) conservatory which entirely covered that wall. Common sense indicates that the energy performance of the building has been improved, yet the BER would worsen. The assumption seems to be that if someone's house was built before the 2008 regs they will close the door into the conservatory when it is cold, but if the house is newer then they will wedge that door open all winter long.
Answer
Thank you for contacting Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) with your query regarding DEAP. The reference number for this query is xxxx
DEAP follows the requirements set out in TGD L 2008 in relation to conservatories (section 0.1.6)
[URL="wlmailhtml:{C3AC774D-AA9E-44FF-A858-9D38CF47DB10}mid://00000043/!x-usc:http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,19069,en.pdf"]http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/BuildingStandards/FileDownLoad,19069,en.pdf[/URL]:
“An attached conservatory-style sunspace, or the like, forming part of a new dwelling construction should be treated as an integral part of the habitable area of the dwelling.”

This was not the case prior to TGD L 2008, and so DEAP allows for separated conservatories prior to this date.
We will be clarifying this in a forthcoming technical bulletin to avoid confusion.

Taking 3 cases as examples:
Case 1: New TGD L 2008 dwelling. Conservatory always included.

Case 2: Existing dwelling which was originally built to TGD L 2008 with a conservatory at time of original construction. This conservatory is always included in future assessments, once it was part of the TGD L 2008 dwelling when new rather than added later as an extension.

Case 3: Existing dwelling which was originally built to TGD L 2008 without a conservatory. Conservatory added as an extension at some point after the dwelling is sold/occupied. The conservatory is included if it is not thermally separated subject to guidance in DEAP manual 3.3.3 (i+ii) in this case.

We trust you have found this information useful and if you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards,

recedite · 11-07-2009 4:52pm

Question(Yes, I am a ****-stirrer)
Is it possible to view the Building Energy Rating of a dwelling on the internet without knowing either the MPRN number or the BER Cert number, neither of which would be generally accessible to the public.
If not, does SEI believe that it is complying with EPBD 2006 legislation, (S.I. no.666
"20b) ;
Extracts from the BER register, comprising BER certificates, provisional BER certificates where applicable and advisory reports, shall be open to public inspection on the internet or, during normal office hours, at the offices of the issuing authority.

AnswerThank you for contacting Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) with your query regarding BER ratings. The reference number for this query is xxxx

The national BER register on the SEI website will only show the rating of a house by entering the MPRN number or the BER number. The search facility only allows to search by these two fields as the rating holds personal information about the homeowner and the assessor. This is to comply with the Data Protection Act 2003.

Vendors and landlords are required to produce a BER certificate an advisory report to any prospective purchasers or tenants after the 1st of January 2009. Any individual expressing an interest in purchasing or renting a property offered for sale or lease will have access to the BER certificate and advisory report.

We trust you have found this information useful and if you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards,

sydthebeat · 20-07-2009 5:33pm

DearSyd ,
Thank you for contacting Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) with your query regarding extensions. The reference number for this query is **********
If you have an existing dwelling with a new extension, you may determine an “average” Y value proportionate to the exposed area for each part of the dwelling.
For example, if the main house has 200m2 of exposed area (with Y1 = .15), and the extension has 100m2 exposed (with Y2 = .08), the overall Y would be
[(.15 * 200) + (.08*100)] / 300 = .1267 (round this up to 2 decimal places to get .13)
You would need signed ACDs as per Appendix K to use a value of 0.08 for the extension. if in doubt, use the 0.15 default.
We trust you have found this information useful and if you have any further queries please do not hesitate to contact us.

Kind Regards,

Niamh

BER Helpdesk
Sustainable Energy Ireland
Telephone:1890 252 738
Email : registered@ber.sei.ie
Website: www.sei.ie/ber

ani_mal · 04-11-2009 12:53pm

I noticed that none of the real estate agencies/auctioneers have houses for rent with BER assesment. I thought it is now a MUST for landlords to have it on their houses?

how does it look like? can anyone enlighten me please?

Any SEI clarifications

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