The Home Energy Saving (HES) is now part of the Better Energy programme with an additional budget provided so more homes can avail of these incentives. People wishing to install solar panels can now avail of a fixed grant through this scheme. Previous grant levels under HES have been recalibrated to reflect the lower prices in a competitive market.

The Irish Government, through SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland), wishes to encourage people to improve the energy performance of their homes by incentivising the cost of installing various upgrade measures. The Better Energy scheme provides assistance to homeowners to reduce energy use, costs and greenhouse gas emissions and improve the comfort levels within their home. 

The objectives of the scheme are to:

Support homeowners in making intelligent choices to improve the energy performance of their home;
Reduce energy use, costs and greenhouse gas emissions;
Build market capacity and competence by driving contractor standards and quality;
Stimulating market innovation;

The incentive is in the form of a Cash Grant. Cash grants are fixed, irrespective of home size, though where actual expenditure is lower than the grant value only the lower amount will be paid. Payment is by Electronic Funds Transfer to the applicant’s bank. 

What Grants are Available?

Grants are available to eligible applicants for undertaking the following works, in accordance with the requirements contractor Code of Practice Technical Specification.

Solar Heating €800
Building Energy Rating (BER) €80

Grants are claimed after the measures are completed and the contractor has been paid by or entered a financing agreement with the homeowner. A Contractor from SEAI’s Registered List must complete all works. When undertaking a BER (mandatory for all applications and grant claims), these must be completed by a registered BER Assessor.

How to Apply Online?

There are two methods to apply for a Better Energy grant:
Online: Response within 3 working days;
Application Form by Post: Response within 20 working days.

Before commencing

Before commencing your application please have the following information available to hand:
Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN). This number appears on your electricity bill and is 11 digits long.
The year in which your house was built (must be prior to 2006).

The work you are going to get carried out.
You should have already selected an SEAI registered Contractor as you will need to know their name, address and SEAI registered number.

Your bank details i.e. bank name, bank account name, bank account number and sort code. (Please note that currently we cannot process payments to Credit Union accounts.)
For an online application you will need an email address. In the instance where perhaps you don't have a personal e-mail address please ask a relative or trusted close friend for use of their e-mail address. You must be able to receive e-mails at this address in order to accept the grant offer.  Failure to accept the offer will result in the offer lapsing.

(NOTE:  It is very important that neither a Contractor nor an Assessor applies on your behalf as this contravenes the terms and conditions of their registration.)

• Log onto www.seai.ie/betterenergyhomes
• Click online application.
• If you are unsure of what measures you should undertake, complete the online Home Energy Self Survey to help guide you on upgrade works most appropriate to your home
• Complete the application form.
• Follow the steps to get grant approval.
• Your Grant Offer will issue to your e-mail address and you will have 72 hours (3 days) in which to accept and validate the Grant Offer by email.  Failure to accept the offer will result in the offer lapsing and you will have to reapply. You must not make any purchases or commence works until you have accepted the offer.
• The Grant Offer, once accepted by the applicant, remains valid for six (6) months from the date of issue of the Grant Offer notification.

How to Apply?

There are two methods to apply for a Better Energy grant:
Online: Response within 3 working days;
Application Form by Post: Response within 20 working days.

Before commencing

Before commencing application please have the following information available to hand:
Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN). This number appears on your electricity bill, and is 11 digits long.
The year in which your house was built (must be prior to 2006).

The particular measures which you wish to undertake as part of the Better Energy scheme.
You should have already selected an SEAI registered Contractor as you will need to know their name, address and SEAI registered number.

Your bank details i.e. bank name, bank account name, bank account number and sort code. (Please note that currently we cannot process payments to Credit Union accounts.)

For an online application you will need an email address. In the instance where perhaps you don't have a personal e-mail address please ask a relative or trusted close friend for use of their e-mail address. You must be able to receive e-mails at this address in order to accept the grant offer.  Failure to accept the offer will result in the offer lapsing.

(NOTE:  It is very important that neither a Contractor nor an Assessor applies on your behalf as this contravenes the terms and conditions of their registration.)

• Download the Application form and Application guide or request one by contacting 1850-927000
• Complete the application form and send to:

  Better Energy Homes scheme
  The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland
  P.O. Box 119
  Cahirciveen
  Co. Kerry

• Your Grant Offer will issue to your postal address and you will have 30 days in which to accept and validate your Grant Offer. If you do not return your acceptance your offer will lapse and you will have to reapply. You must not make any purchases or commence works until you have accepted the offer.
• The Grant Offer, once accepted by the applicant, remains valid for six (6) months from the date of issue of the Grant Offer notification.

Building Energy Rating (BER) and Solar Water Heating System

• A solar energy system helps raise your BER Rating
• A BER rating influences your carbon tax liability
• A good BER rating will potentially add value to your home
• An expected introduction of property tax in 2012 will take into account your BER rating.

BER what is it?

A BER is an indication of the energy performance of a home.
It covers energy use for space heating, water heating, ventilation and lighting calculated on the basis of standard occupancy.

A BER is similar to the energy label for a household electrical appliance like your fridge. The label has a scale of A-G. A-rated homes are the most energy efficient and will tend to have the lowest energy bills.

From the 1st of January 2009, a BER certificate became compulsory for all homes being sold or offered for rent. If you are buying or renting a house or apartment, you are entitled to a BER so ask the seller, landlord or agent for it.

A BER certificate is accompanied by an advisory report, which will identify how you might improve the energy performance of your home.

A BER is also required, subject to transitional arrangements, where construction of a new home begins on or after 1st January 2007.

There are exemptions for certain categories of homes, for example, protected structures and certain temporary homes.
A new home (i.e. that has never been sold or occupied) is exempt from the BER requirement if the planning application was submitted on or before the 31st December 2006 and if it was substantially completed by 30th June 2008. 'Substantially completed' means that the external walls have been erected.

Full details of the requirements for BER'S can be found in S.I. 666 of 2006.

BER assessments are carried out by registered BER Assessors who have been trained under the National Framework of Qualifications and have registered with SEAI.

Who needs a BER?

A seller must provide a BER to prospective buyers or tenants when a home is constructed, sold or rented under the following circumstances:

• New homes where planning permission was applied for on or after the 1st of January 2007. A new dwelling (i.e. a dwelling that has never been sold or occupied) is exempt from the BER requirement if it had been the subject of a planning application submitted on or before 31 December 2006 and if it was substantially completed by 30 June 2008. "Substantially completed" means that the external walls have been erected.
• All existing homes for sale or rent on or after the 1st of January 2009. An existing dwelling is a dwelling, which has previously been sold and/or occupied.

All new homes (even when not for sale) must have a BER certificate (barring those defined as being exempt above) before they are occupied as detailed under S.I. 666 under BER assessments performed on new dwellings will also help determine compliance to Part L of the Building Regulations.

There are exemptions for certain categories of buildings (Ref. S.I. No.666 of 2006). For a more detailed list click here.

BER and Solar Grant

A Building Energy Rating (BER) is an integral part of all grant applications under the Better Energy scheme, whereby homeowners must undertake a BER on their home after grant-aided works have been completed. A homeowner is entitled to BER funding of €80 euro once per home. This funding will be applied to your grant application automatically provided you have never applied previously for BER funding. You will be informed during the online grant application process if BER funding is available for your home or as part of your Letter of Grant Offer if you have applied through the post.

How Much Does a BER cost?

There is no set fee for a BER and it is a matter for a BER Assessor to charge, as they deem appropriate for the particular services offered. SEAI strongly recommend to all people wishing to commission a BER assessment to shop around for the best price and if possible to check references with other clients. Assessors are charged a levy of €25 to submit a BER assessment to the national BER database and this must be included in the price charged.
You should agree a fixed price inclusive of VAT for all the services the BER Assessor is providing. (Note that BER Assessors are required under the terms of registration to provide a written quotation.)

Who carries out a BER assessment?

BER assessments are carried out by registered BER Assessors. A person offering a home for sale or rent, or their agent is required to engage a BER Assessor to carry out a BER assessment. 

What you can expect from the BER assessment?

The Assessor will make an appointment to visit your home so that they can complete a BER assessment survey on it.
When the Assessor arrives at your home they will conduct a non-intrusive survey. A BER assessment will typically take a couple of hours to complete (depending of course on the home size and complexity). The Assessor will need to have access to all the rooms in your home.

During the survey they will be measuring the area of the rooms, measuring the windows, the thickness of the walls, the levels of insulation, the heating system, the number of flues, the floor types and the wall types. The Assessor will typically collect 80 pieces of data, which describe your home, which are then entered by the Assessor into the BER software tool in order to generate the BER.

How you can prepare for BER assessment?

There are a number of items that would be helpful to the Assessor if the homeowner were able to provide the following:

• A recent electricity bill so that the Assessor can note the Meter Point Reference Number (MPRN)
• The date of construction of the dwelling
• Details of any previously published BER for the dwelling on the national register
• Any plans or specifications of the dwelling if they are available
• Details of any upgrades that have been made to the dwelling e.g. insulation
• The boiler model number or any documentation for the boiler
• Making sure the Assessor has safe and unobstructed access to all areas of the dwelling

What happens after the BER survey?

The BER Assessor will return to their office and input the survey findings into the BER assessment software called DEAP. There are approximately 80 data inputs that the Assessor must enter.
Once this is complete the Assessor will log on to the online SEAI National Administration System (NAS) and upload the DEAP file. This will generate the BER Certificate and the Advisory Report.
The Assessor will then give the homeowner a copy of the BER Certificate and the Advisory Report.
The Assessor will be able to answer any queries you have relating to your dwellings BER certificate.
SEAI maintain the register of BER certificates. To see your BER on the national register please Click Here and enter either the BER number of MPRN number for your dwelling.

Obligations of the Assessor

• The Assessor should carry out the Building Energy Rating (BER) in accordance with the DEAP methodology and adhering to the BER Assessors Code of Practice.
• A BER Assessor is required to provide in writing to the client (i) a description of its proposed services, (ii) a description of the proposed cost (including VAT and expenses) for such services including all details of any circumstances where the client may incur additional costs, VAT or expenses and (iii) a disclosure of relevant business interests
• The amount charged by a BER Assessor for his / her services is a matter for agreement between the BER Assessor and the client.
• Each BER Assessor acknowledges that the responsibility for conducting BER assessments and the accuracy of the results of such assessments rests solely with them and no liability shall attach to SEAI for any error, misconduct, malpractice, act or omission whatsoever arising from carrying out a BER assessment, the accuracy of the results of such assessments or resulting from the findings of a BER assessment.
• All assessments should be carried out in compliance with the relevant health and safety laws and standards.
• BER Assessors are required to act in an independent manner at all times when discharging their obligations under the Regulations.
• The Assessor should supply a receipt for any/all payments made.