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BER Cert Tips & Advice

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  • 02-01-2020 9:19pm
    #1
    Shefwedfan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭


    I hope this is ok and sorry for all the questions. So I bought a house 3 years ago and it got BER rating of C1


    I am installing Solar PV so have to get BER cert done but I would love a considerable jump in the Cert. I have spent a fair few quid on the house. So sorry for questions


    1. Exterior walls I put insulated slabs, have no receipts, will they take this into consideration if I can show the slabs?
    2. Walls are pumped, again no receipts, will they take this into consideration if I can show drilled holes? small gap in wall with insulation in it?
    3. I have two chimney's which are not used, I have them blocked with pillows in black bags :p best draft stopper I could find. Any official method to block these?

    4. I did air tightness tape around windows etc, I probably have a receipt but I have a roll of the stuff, would they take it into consideration>


    Thanks and sorry again for all questions.


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    #2
    lemonkey
    Registered Users Posts: 279 ✭✭lemonkey


    I'd imagine you'll see a big jump. I bought a D1 house in the summer, and just before Christmas we opted for the Wall Pump and Attic (including lagging pipes & tank). We jumped to a C2.

    I think it was a 232 kWm/m2/yr to a now 182 KWm/m2/yr, total of 50 KWm/m2/yr decrease.

    Putting the above into 50 Kwm decrease into theory, you could jump from a C1 to a B2 or B1 from just the Insulation & air tightness. Assuming the attic is done. Probably even much higher when you take the Solar PV into account.

    As for the receipts, i'm not expert but I'd be confident it does not matter once they can see the work has been done. It's not like you're apply for a grant so it should not matter.

    As for the chimney's, as far as I know balloons/pillows do no longer count toward a BER cert. You have to block them up with a insulation/plasterboard detail.


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    #3
    sydthebeat
    Subscribers Posts: 41,074 ✭✭✭✭sydthebeat


    Shefwedfan wrote: »
    I hope this is ok and sorry for all the questions. So I bought a house 3 years ago and it got BER rating of C1


    I am installing Solar PV so have to get BER cert done but I would love a considerable jump in the Cert. I have spent a fair few quid on the house. So sorry for questions


    1. Exterior walls I put insulated slabs, have no receipts, will they take this into consideration if I can show the slabs?
    2. Walls are pumped, again no receipts, will they take this into consideration if I can show drilled holes? small gap in wall with insulation in it?
    3. I have two chimney's which are not used, I have them blocked with pillows in black bags :p best draft stopper I could find. Any official method to block these?

    4. I did air tightness tape around windows etc, I probably have a receipt but I have a roll of the stuff, would they take it into consideration>


    Thanks and sorry again for all questions.

    Hey shef, im an assessor myself so hopefully i can answer your questions, and feel free to pm me if you want.

    1. An assessor can only include what they can verify. so if you have insulated the walls with insulated plasterboard, see if theres something you can remove to show and measure this. This could be a vent grill, loose skirting board, socket cover maybe? The assessor themselves are not allowed to do this as the survey is completely non intrusive.... and insurance wouldnt cover any damage caused by intrusive action.

    2. usually the filled in holes would be be enough, though if you have an ESB meter on an outer wall it may be possible to see some beads there. it may also be possible to measure the cavity that was filled. Assuming you got a company to fill the walls, can they not provide you with some receipt of report as to what was filled?

    3. Any chimney filling must be permanent in order for the chimney not to be considered a chimney. A balloon (or pillow) will slightly help, as it changes the status of the chimney to an "open flue", which is slightly more efficient. If at all possible, permanently fix a timber cover over the fire place.

    4. the answer here is no, unless you have an air tightness test carried out. Theres no way to verify the effectiveness of the tape without a test.


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    #4
    Shefwedfan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    sydthebeat wrote: »
    Hey shef, im an assessor myself so hopefully i can answer your questions, and feel free to pm me if you want.

    1. An assessor can only include what they can verify. so if you have insulated the walls with insulated plasterboard, see if theres something you can remove to show and measure this. This could be a vent grill, loose skirting board, socket cover maybe? The assessor themselves are not allowed to do this as the survey is completely non intrusive.... and insurance wouldnt cover any damage caused by intrusive action.

    2. usually the filled in holes would be be enough, though if you have an ESB meter on an outer wall it may be possible to see some beads there. it may also be possible to measure the cavity that was filled. Assuming you got a company to fill the walls, can they not provide you with some receipt of report as to what was filled?

    3. Any chimney filling must be permanent in order for the chimney not to be considered a chimney. A balloon (or pillow) will slightly help, as it changes the status of the chimney to an "open flue", which is slightly more efficient. If at all possible, permanently fix a timber cover over the fire place.

    4. the answer here is no, unless you have an air tightness test carried out. Theres no way to verify the effectiveness of the tape without a test.




    Thanks, great information


    The fireplaces are open fires with nothing in them so can't block with timer. Is their anything I can put onto the flue top/bottom to seal it off? that is accepted. Thanks


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    #5
    Gumbo
    Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 38,515 Mod ✭✭✭✭Gumbo


    Shefwedfan wrote: »
    I hope this is ok and sorry for all the questions. So I bought a house 3 years ago and it got BER rating of C1


    I am installing Solar PV so have to get BER cert done but I would love a considerable jump in the Cert. I have spent a fair few quid on the house. So sorry for questions


    1. Exterior walls I put insulated slabs, have no receipts, will they take this into consideration if I can show the slabs?
    2. Walls are pumped, again no receipts, will they take this into consideration if I can show drilled holes? small gap in wall with insulation in it?
    3. I have two chimney's which are not used, I have them blocked with pillows in black bags :p best draft stopper I could find. Any official method to block these?

    4. I did air tightness tape around windows etc, I probably have a receipt but I have a roll of the stuff, would they take it into consideration>


    Thanks and sorry again for all questions.

    1. You need to prove this. By way of photos or access to it now. Done mine recently and for my assessor I provided photo logs of the boards in place and also the DoP for the boards used. Same for any beed fill.

    Same also for all doors and windows. The date inside the frame is not good enough. The assessors get audited a lot and get penalty points if they can’t stand over their reasons for using particular figures. For example, my window default was 2.2 u less I provided the cert and email from the installer that he done my house. This brought them down to 1.4 and 0.98 for the door.

    2. Again. Proof required. In my case I had an email from the company confirming the date and product used. From that I could get the DoP.

    3. He may not take into account that they are closed. Syd above may answer that better.

    4. Irrelevant. It has no resistance so doesn’t effect the uvalue so won’t effect the figures used.


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    #6
    sydthebeat
    Subscribers Posts: 41,074 ✭✭✭✭sydthebeat


    Shefwedfan wrote: »
    Thanks, great information


    The fireplaces are open fires with nothing in them so can't block with timer. Is their anything I can put onto the flue top/bottom to seal it off? that is accepted. Thanks

    you can seal it at the chimney pot level with concrete

    at fireplace level you need to seal up the opening.
    what ive usually seen is a timber sheet fixed and caulk sealed over the fire place opening.

    In the grand scheme of things its not a huge impact.
    the 2 chimneys are considered to have an air infiltration rate of 0.41 m3/h
    using chimney balloons (pillows) this drops to 0.29 m3/h, so about a 30% drop.

    this may make a difference of about 4 energy value points in your assessment... this may not affect a band change. id only look at the possibility of permanently sealing up if it is the difference of a band change or not.


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    #7
    Dardania
    Registered Users Posts: 3,612 ✭✭✭Dardania


    A few other topics to consider:

    - if you have a hot water cylinder, get a lagging jacket (I think 80mm or bigger) and leave the box there

    - Fit LEDs for all fixed lighting

    - If you don't have a heating controller, or it's old, get one which has an optimising function (which starts the boiler at variable times depending on ambient temp in order to hit the setpoint at the needed time)


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    #8
    Shefwedfan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    Dardania wrote: »
    A few other topics to consider:

    - if you have a hot water cylinder, get a lagging jacket (I think 80mm or bigger) and leave the box there

    - Fit LEDs for all fixed lighting

    - If you don't have a heating controller, or it's old, get one which has an optimising function (which starts the boiler at variable times depending on ambient temp in order to hit the setpoint at the needed time)

    All done


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    #9
    listermint
    Registered Users Posts: 33,693 ✭✭✭✭listermint


    Shefwedfan wrote: »

    3. I have two chimney's which are not used, I have them blocked with pillows in black bags :p best draft stopper I could find. Any official method to block these?


    Thanks and sorry again for all questions.

    Just filled my chimneys recently. Bottom was capped with an EPS plug Entire chimney was filled with Loose EPS fill (same as you fill with cavity) and capped the top of the chimneys with C-Cap chimney Cap.

    Have lots of the EPS fill left over if anyone wants some. I bought far too much as it was only sold in large quantities. I had to fill three chimneys. I have enough left for probably 12....


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