Since the 1st of July 2008 all new non-domestic buildings offered for sale or to let require Building Energy Rating (BER) Certificates. As of the 1st of January 2009, Commercial BER Certificates are required for any existing buildings offered for sale or letting (see the right hand column for exemptions).

A Commercial BER Certificate similar to the one for residential properties in that it provides potential buyers or tenants with information about the energy performance of a building, so they can consider energy efficiency as part of their investment or business decision to buy or occupy that building. Yet the procedure of the calculation of a Commercial BER Certificate is more complex than the one used for producing a residential one.

To calculate the Energy Efficiency of new and existing commercial properties our Energy Assessors use methodology called NEAP. NEAP calculates the energy consumption and CO2 emissions associated with a standardized use of a building. The energy consumption is expressed in terms of kilowatt hours per square metre floor area per year (kWh/m2/yr) and the CO2 emissions expressed in terms of kilograms of CO2 per square metre floor area per year (kg CO2/m2/yr). Therefore the rating is independent of size for a given type of building.

The energy assessor will need to understand the internal layout of the building and the purposes for which it is designed. This is to understand the energy demands of each individual space (zone) in accordance with its designed use.

The information that will be required to produce a Commercial BER Cert for a property includes:

• The individual spaces or zones in use within the building, and their dimensions (either as verified from plans or as measured). This information is most readily provided by building plans
• The activities conducted within the zones. Examples of zones include retail space, office space, kitchens, storage etc
• The heating and ventilation services for each zone (including type of system, metering, controls, fuel used etc.)
• The lighting and controls used for each zone
• The construction of the fabric of the building and thermal efficiency of the materials used: roof, floors, walls and glazing.

If there are no plans for a building, our Energy Assessor will need to survey the building and gather the appropriate information. If you have up-to-date information and plans for your building this process will be less time-consuming. The energy assessor is responsible for ensuring the information used in the energy calculations is accurate and, even where detailed plans are available, may need to validate this information by making a site inspection.

As with residential energy rating QR Enerstar provides highly professional services of qualified and competent Assessors to produce accurate Reports and Certificates. We carry Professional Indemnity Insurance in accordance with the requirements laid down by Sustainable Energy Ireland.

We would be happy to discuss any of your energy rating reqirements or provide you with a free no-obligation quote for a Commercial BER Cert with Advisory Report. For further information please contact us on 01-6688304 or by email.

 

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