Boost For BER Assessors
The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources have announced a new Home Energy Saving Scheme aimed at encouraging homeowners to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. The scheme will target older housing as these homes are most in need of energy efficiency retrofitting.
Initially, there will be a regional pilot of the scheme in North Tipperary, Limerick, Clare and Dundalk. There will be an additional strand, which will allow for clusters of housing throughout the country. The full scale national programme will be rolled out in 2009.
The scheme will be administered by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) and locally by the Tipperary Energy Agency, the Limerick/Clare Energy Agency and the SEI team in Dundalk.
A BER assessor will survey the home for a fee of 100 euro . The BER Assessor will be paid the rest of the full fee of 350 Euro by the Department.
The Government will then cover up to 30% of the cost of any work recommended by the assessor to make the house more energy efficient these works, to a maximum of €2,500. On completion of the works a follow-up energy assessment on the building will be undertaken so that there is a “before and after” test of what has been done.