A Good BER Rating Lowers Home Insurance Premiums

The Home Insurance market is very competitive, and it is important to shop around for different Home Insurance Brokers and see which price is best for your budget. You are legally obliged for buying, selling, or renting your property to have a BER Rating to potential buyers and tenants. If you are considering a home build, this will help you get the best BER Rating for extreme energy savings. The use of energy-efficient technology will add great value to your home and make it a great investment, thus lowering your home insurance premium in turn.

BER stands for (Building Energy Rating), it simply means the energy efficiency of your home is measured from an A to G scale. An A BER rating means it has the maximum energy efficiency and G means the least energy efficient. The difference in the ratings may have a massive effect to your home energy efficiency. The higher rating is coloured Green, the medium is the coloured Yellow, and Red is the Lowest rating. The higher your home rating is, means it will cost less money to heat. The calculations are through the ventilation, energy use for space, heating, hot water, and lighting.

To obtain a BER Cert you will need to organise a BER assessment of the building with registered and certified BER assessors. Registered assessors will have the appropriate building qualifications, passed the assessor exam, and registered with SEAI. For the assessment, there is generally no fixed cost but before you hire an assessor you should check out different quotes.

Once the assessment is completed, the assessor will offer you advice on their recommendations on how to improve the energy efficiency in your building. A report will be given to you along with your Ber Certificate.

Yes, doing improvements to your home will increase the energy efficiency and improve your BER rating significantly. If you are buying or selling your property, taking the proper phases to increase your BER does make sense. It is possible to save thousands on your heating bills and if you have your house up for sale a better rating is a very important point for selling to your potential buyers.

Here are some of the ways and How to Increase your Home’s BER Rating:

Cavity wall insulation- If your home has been built with cavity wall and no insulation there are many methods to increase your thermal rating: install insulated plastic board on internal walls, pump insulation material through holes in the outer wall, and install insulation and rendering to outer walls. A proper insulated attic is one of the easiest ways to lower your fuel bills and improve heat retention.

Review all your windows and doors and if you have single glazed you should consider replacing them with double or triple glazing. Double glazing will reduce heat loss through your windows by 1/3rd and with triple glazed windows, your heat loss will reduce by 2/3rd.

Fitting a 93% efficient boiler will save you approximately €600 a year on fuel. The more modern boilers available on the market have an efficiency of up to 97%. Your Rating will improve considerably.

Energy efficient light bulbs are an easy and quick way to make your house more energy efficient. CFL bulbs use 80% less electricity and can last up to 15 times longer than ordinary standard bulbs. Make sure you buy the correct wattage and size for your fixture. If your lights are not in use turn them off.

Updating your heating control system can significantly improve your building energy rating.  There are many different varieties to choose from depending on the heating system that is present in your property, for example, for your boiler system it is ideal to have it timed and temperature controlled.

You should really consider the above measures to help reduce your costs in the home and increase your BER Rating.

Whether you are buying or selling your property, a good BER Rating is the best answer to save money and help you to reduce your home insurance premium. As there are so many home insurance brokers on the market, most of them will vary in price. We suggest to shop around to see how much you can save. It is best if you phone your insurance company and make enquires on discounts. It has been said that some insurers are introducing discounts based on the home’s Ber Rating with the grounds that the property is well-insulated which would mean the house is a lower risk of burst pipes for example.

The difference in home insurance policies would mean the higher and better your BER Rating is, the bigger the discount given to you. A higher rating in your home will help boost the selling price by 10% more than a comparable property with a lower BER. Every improvement on the BER scale saw a 2% increase in the sales price.