Cost of BER

B

Blackwexford

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I am looking at upgrading my Gas system boiler. The boiler at the moment is 23 years old. Anyway I have been thinking of getting a BER inspection carried out to seen the benefit and highlight other possible upgrades.
I went on a site BERCert.com looking for something prices. I got 3 responses €399 , €200 and €190. Big difference from the first to the other 2. Anyway has anybody got this done did you also get a large difference in prices and what are people generally paying.
3 bed semi 23 years old.
 
I had a BER assessment for solar panels last year. It cost 240 euro for a 4 bed house.
www.lpassessors.ie were the guys I used.

Let us know what quotes you get for replacing the boiler. My parents want to replace theirs soon.
 
I had a BER assessment in Feb for €160. Old house (~1930/40s), 3 bed, end of terrace.

I had to chase him for the cert, so would not recommend him.
 
If you are serious about knowing where to invest to make real and meaningful improvements to your comfort then a heat loss survey is the one to have done. Completely different animal to a BER.
 
Micks'r said:
If you are serious about knowing where to invest to make real and meaningful improvements to your comfort then a heat loss survey is the one to have done. Completely different animal to a BER.
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What is a heat loss survey going to tell you? There’s only so many areas the heat can be lost through! Upgrade your windows and doors. Insulate external walls and attic. What’s left?
 
Thanks for the replies. My main aim for the BER is to get the energy rating before and after. @Mick ill have a Google about a heat survey. I can't get everything done at the same time so I want to prioritise the changes based on heat loss.
Happy New Year all.
 
I got a load of quotes in the north east earlier this year. The correct price is about 190-220 euro, maybe 240. I paid 220.

I would suggest doing the BER after your upgrade work though. And instead do the obvious stuff or get someone in who will advise you without all the formality and cost of a BER.

Gas boiler was a big upgrade for me, BER jumped 2 categories. LED lights. Insulation. More expensive stuff would be upgrading doors, windows, full external insulation works.

Some sample BER's are probably online and you will very quickly see their recommendations - it is largely all the same stuff over and over. But I'd imagine several companies dealing in heat, energy, insulation will be able to advise.

Is the purpose of the upgrade to save you money or is it to sell the property with the quickest and cheapest way to the next one or two BER bands? That may dictate the strategy.
 
Thanks the purpose of the upgrade is to save money and having the house nice and toasty. I though to avail of grants I needed the BER before and after to show upgrade again got this from Google .
Going to get the boiler done first, I have a system boiler ill check out the cost and saving (if any energy difference between the two. )of changing to a combi boiler. The extra space with removing the hot water cylinder would make the wife a happy lady.
Thanks for the information.
Getting so much different information on Google, I had 2 difference companies out for the boiler before , they both disagreed with each other to what was the best system for me which is frustrating.
 
PolkaDot said:
What is a heat loss survey going to tell you? There’s only so many areas the heat can be lost through! Upgrade your windows and doors. Insulate external walls and attic. What’s left?
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True, but spending your hard earned money on the weakest components of your home first will lead to best outcome.
 
fidelcastro said:
True, but spending your hard earned money on the weakest components of your home first will lead to best outcome.
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A new boiler won't be worth anything without insulation and airflow. The amount of people who insulate their houses to a high degree, then do nothing about airflow is alarming. It defeats the whole purpose and in a few years will leave the house a complete mess with black mouldy spots, throat problems and that's only for starters.
 
Ok so what should people be doing to avoid these airflow problems?
 
PolkaDot said:
What is a heat loss survey going to tell you? There’s only so many areas the heat can be lost through! Upgrade your windows and doors. Insulate external walls and attic. What’s left?
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Everything else!
Your post is quite typical of the general thinking around upgrading driven primarily by the insulation industry. Insulate, insulate insulate. Yet we live in a very temperate climate where, yes, insulation has a role to play but in the greater scheme of things is not actually all that important for reducing heat loss or addressing the primary heat loss mechanisms in a typical house.
That's why a proper heat loss survey is key to understanding what is going on in your house and where to invest. A standard BER will not give you this information. It can't.
 
Blackwexford said:
Thanks the purpose of the upgrade is to save money and having the house nice and toasty. I though to avail of grants I needed the BER before and after to show upgrade again got this from Google .
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My advice is don't let the grant tail wag the heat loss dog! Decide first what needs to be done and then investigate if a grant is available for the particular measure.
 
Yes appropriate ventilation is key to any project and will create havoc if not considered as part of the solution.
 
Can you give a few examples of what you mean by “Everything else”?
 
PolkaDot said:
Can you give a few examples of what you mean by “Everything else”?
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Yes and no as it is very house type specific and also construction method / generation specific.
But generally:
You have three forms of heat transfer. Insulation addresses only one, conduction. It does nothing for convection losses aka draughts or air leakage nor indeed radiation losses. It's the air leakage that, from experience, is the number 1 cause of excess heat losses in our homes. Yet, adding copious amounts of insulation will not help.
You mentioned window replacement for example. Very often the windows that are not the issue but are blamed because cold and draughts are felt in their vicinity. The heat loss survey will pinpoint what exactly is going on, why it's happening and offer various solutions depending.
 
Thanks for providing that additional insight. It’s helpful. Not something you hear much about…heat loss surveys. Imagine it’s a relatively niche thing?? Are there any particular companies well known in that space?

On the ventilation point, who is best able to advise on that if you are doing work on the back of a heat loss survey?
 
Yes, still fairly niche alright unfortunately and the reason probably why "well known companies" stay clear but essential imo if wanting to do a first rate job.
The ventilation advice / solution should be part of the heat loss survey because heat retention and moisture movement & control are all intrinsically linked. If appropriate ventilation is not part of the solution then the risk of damp & mould issues arising is greatly increased as alluded to by noproblem in an earlier post.
 
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Have you used anyone or know of anyone you’d be prepared to recommend please?
 
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