BER came into Irish Law as a result of an E.U. Directive on the energy performance of buildings (2002/91/EC of 16 December 2002). It forms part of the European Communities (Energy Performance Of Buildings) Regulations 2006.
BER is to be introduced in Ireland on a phased basis as follows:
The Regulations apply to new dwellings for which planning permission was applied for on or after the 1st of January 2007. Transitional BER exemptions will apply to new premises for which planning permission is applied for on or before the 31st of December 2006, where the new dwellings involved are substantially completed on or before the 30th of June 2008.
The regulations apply to new dwellings for which planning permission was applied for on or after the 1st of July 2008. Transitional BER exemptions will apply to new non-domestic buildings for which planning permission is applied for on or before the 30th of June 2008 provided the new non- domestic buildings involved are substantially completed by the 30th of June 2010.
A combination of air-tightness testing and thermal imaging is the optimum method of identifying heat loss by air leakage in a dwelling. Once the main area of heat loss through air leakage is identified, solutions can be looked at in order to increase the energy efficiency of the dwelling.