An interesting year has been head in the BER industry. Here are the latest BER statitics released by SEAI.ie in Februaty 2012:

Total domestic BERs on the public register	278,724
Domestic BERs year to date	12,450
Non domestic BERs on public register	8341
Most common domestic rating	D1
Number of domestic properties with an A1 rating	7
Number of domestic properties with a G rating	18,769

These numbers are interesting to anyone watching the BER industry. A total of 278,724 domestic BERs on the public register in three years is quite a significant number. While it is a long way from the 1.6 million domestic properties in Ireland, we should remember that you only need a BER Certificate if you are offering your property for sale or rent. In the current economic climate and with properties not moving as they once were, it will take some time before we see a BER Cert for every home in the country. Although we will never reach 100%, we can get close.

It is a pity that it took the Irish government so long to implement this system, which was implemented following the Kyoto protocol signed in 1997, to reduce harmful emissions and reduce four greenhouse gases (GHG) (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride) and two groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons) produced by them. This will help fight against global warming by achieving the “stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”.

The less we rely on fossil fuels and the less we burn them, the better for the atmosphere, the environment and ourselves.

If you switch all the bulbs in your home to energy efficient bulbs you can improve your B.E.R. rating by as much as 8%. . Read the rest of this entry »

The most recent statistics published from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (www.seai.ie) show that in under three years since the BER scheme was introduced in Ireland, over 203,000 BER Certificates have been produced. Read the rest of this entry »

The British Government have announced a new initiative to tackle poorly insulated homes. Dubbed the ‘Green Deal’, the program will allow homeowners to approach their energy supplier to apply for a loan to pay for the installation of insulation, instead of paying up front. Read the rest of this entry »