BER Cert cost?

Mr.Diagnostic

Hi all,

Any idea of the likely/usual cost for a BER cert in north Kildare area on a 12 year old 3 bed semi?

Also any contacts to get one done?

thanks

No6

I know a guy up that direction i'll pm you his details!!!

Energysaver

Mr.Diagnostic wrote: »

Hi all,

Any idea of the likely/usual cost for a BER cert in north Kildare area on a 12 year old 3 bed semi?

Also any contacts to get one done?

thanks

Should be about €250 inc SEI fee and VAT.

Gumbo

Energysaver wrote: »

Should be about €250 inc SEI fee and VAT.

sounds too cheap....are they really only that price?
presume the tester has to rent out the extraction machine etc etc or would he have one of his own?

wouldnt mind getting one done on my own house at that price.

MicktheMan

kceire wrote: »

sounds too cheap....are they really only that price?
presume the tester has to rent out the extraction machine etc etc or would he have one of his own?

wouldnt mind getting one done on my own house at that price.

What do you mean by extraction machine?

sydthebeat

kceire wrote: »

sounds too cheap....are they really only that price?
presume the tester has to rent out the extraction machine etc etc or would he have one of his own?

wouldnt mind getting one done on my own house at that price.

A BER assessment doesnt mean an airtightness test....

250 + VAT sounds about right, depending on travel distances...

for airtightness testing think about 600-700 €€'s

topcatcbr

I know of a company doing Air tightness for €429 they are not ean but rearrange the letters and you have it.

Energysaver

BER on a 3 bed house costs about €250 including €25 SEI fee and VAT @ 21.5%.

Air tightness testing costs about €450 (less if combined with a BER assesment).

Gumbo

MicktheMan wrote: »

What do you mean by extraction machine?

if the OP has a 12 year old house, how is the test carried out for the BER result?
how can they cnfirm what is in the walls etc etc

not nit picking, just intrested.

topcatcbr

kceire wrote: »

if the OP has a 12 year old house, how is the test carried out for the BER result?
how can they cnfirm what is in the walls etc etc

not nit picking, just intrested.

You can often see this if you look inside your esb box where the wires enter/exit. if not use default values given for year of construction based on TGD at time. (simplified answer)

MicktheMan

kceire wrote: »

if the OP has a 12 year old house, how is the test carried out for the BER result?
how can they cnfirm what is in the walls etc etc

not nit picking, just intrested.

Good question.
Survey and result is based on a visual inspection, so no test done on the walls. This is imo the weakness of the system. The actual energy performance depends a lot on the workmanship of the tradespeople who built the house. The BER result depends on what the assessor surveys without any physical tests e.g. airtightness, TI, borescope ...
The preverbial s**t will hit the fan when a "A" or "B" rated 2006 built house uses significantly more energy than a 1970's built "D" house.:eek:

sinnerboy

2006 house built to regs is likely to yield a C rating .... but the broad thrust of what you say is correct

topcatcbr

MicktheMan wrote: »

Good question.
Survey and result is based on a visual inspection, so no test done on the walls. This is imo the weakness of the system. The actual energy performance depends a lot on the workmanship of the tradespeople who built the house. The BER result depends on what the assessor surveys without any physical tests e.g. airtightness, TI, borescope ...
The preverbial s**t will hit the fan when a "A" or "B" rated 2006 built house uses significantly more energy than a 1970's built "D" house.:eek:

If you want an air tightness test or IR/TI test or boroscope test done you can get this also and this info can be inputted into the BER but most are not willing to pay for standard BER never mind these additional tests.

Mr.Diagnostic

Just to close off the question I asked. I got prices from 250 to 480 all inc. its worth shopping around.

ben bedlam

I know a BER Assessor who does houses for no more than €225 including SEI fee

muffler

ben bedlam wrote: »

I know a BER Assessor who does houses for no more than €225 including SEI fee

Who's that? sinnerboy

S.L.F

I think I used the same crowd to survey my flat.

If it is the same bunch they are from Athlone

The surveyor John told me €225 is what he charges in general for houses

Cost me €175.

Not sure if I can mention the name or not!

muffler

S.L.F wrote: »

Not sure if I can mention the name or not!

Nope.

sydthebeat

S.L.F wrote: »

I think I used the same crowd to survey my flat.

If it is the same bunch they are from Athlone

The surveyor John told me €225 is what he charges in general for houses

Cost me €175.

Not sure if I can mention the name or not!

That seems to have become standard for existing dwellings

225 flat fee
25 sei fee
+ VAT @21.5 %


Anyone yet get a BER done where the assessor didnt charge VAT??

ben bedlam

sydthebeat wrote: »

That seems to have become standard for existing dwellings

225 flat fee
25 sei fee
+ VAT @21.5 %


Anyone yet get a BER done where the assessor didnt charge VAT??

Guy I know doesnt charge VAT

sydthebeat

ben bedlam wrote: »

Guy I know doesnt charge VAT

dangerous!

RKQ

ben bedlam wrote: »

Guy I know doesnt charge VAT

No problem, thats perfectly legal.

Anyone earning less than a certin amount does not have to register for VAT! I think its less that €36,000.

Maybe your Guy has just set up in business. Anyone registered fully with SEI, as a BER Assessor is legit.

The market will dictate the rate. (Just like snag list, land registry maps, structural surveys etc.)
Make sure your BER Assessor is registered with SEI and has full Professional Indemnity Insurance. Always get at least 3 quotes.

topcatcbr

RKQ wrote: »

No problem, thats perfectly legal.

Anyone earning less than a certin amount does not have to register for VAT! I think its less that €36,000.

Maybe your Guy has just set up in business. Anyone registered fully with SEI, as a BER Assessor is legit.

The market will dictate the rate. (Just like snag list, land registry maps, structural surveys etc.)
Make sure your BER Assessor is registered with SEI and has full Professional Indemnity Insurance. Always get at least 3 quotes.

VAT limit is €37,500

Oherwise spot on.

S.L.F

sydthebeat wrote: »

That seems to have become standard for existing dwellings

225 flat fee
25 sei fee
+ VAT @21.5 %


Anyone yet get a BER done where the assessor didnt charge VAT??

No his price includes vat and the SEI fee of €25.

Total price for a 1 bed flat €175
Total price for a 2 bed house €200
Total price for a 3 bed house €225
Total price for a 4 bed house €250

sydthebeat

S.L.F wrote: »

No his price includes vat and the SEI fee of €25.

Total price for a 1 bed flat €175
Total price for a 2 bed house €200
Total price for a 3 bed house €225
Total price for a 4 bed house €250

for a typical 3 bed house that works out at €160 fee + €25 sei + €40 VAT.

assume 20 mile round trip in 2 litre diesel. travel costs @ €1.20 a mile = €30

and assuming at best 2.5 hours in total from leaving to publishing cert...

that works out at about €52 per hour.... no costs allowed for insurance, equipment, office expenditure etc

taking that as being a base figure for an office to run on and youd find yourself out of business very quickly. If this person is charging vat then i hope they have a successful enterprise behind them to supplement their income....

12 years ago when i was in college, the basic running cost of an architectural office was 80 pound (€101).....

This race to the bottom in prices will result in a lack of professionalism in the service, i can guarantee it...

DOCARCH

sydthebeat wrote: »

...and assuming at best 2.5 hours in total from leaving to publishing cert...

I really and honestly do not believe that a professional accurate assessment could ever be provided within that timeframe!

con1982

Anything under 400euro for a 3bedroom semi-detached house would be pretty cheap. Then again you get what you pay for. It is possible to cut corners when doing the ratings. Just means that your property will probably end up with a lower rating.

The client should really do a little research before they appoint a BER assessor. I would recommend going to a small Architectural/Engineering practice. Might be slightly more expensive.....

sydthebeat

con1982 wrote: »

Anything under 400euro for a 3bedroom semi-detached house would be pretty cheap. Then again you get what you pay for. It is possible to cut corners when doing the ratings. Just means that your property will probably end up with a lower rating.

i did my first 'existing' assessmnet between today and yesterday..

the on site took me 1 hr 15 mins, but i reckon i can get this down to about 50 mins without client on site chatting,,,,

the pc assessment took 1 hr 30 mins... again i think i could get it down to 1 hr without the twoing and froing on the nas....

but travel time was 25 mins there and 25 back.....

so i would agree... no way could you do a proper assessment in 2 1/2 hrs....

No6

I find the most time I spend is on taking off the dimensions accurately for new houses, using CAD where possible and scheduling all the information to a spreadsheet and then doing U value calculations for the different elements and creating a papertrail is what I am finding is taking up the most time. If I have all the information it dosn't take to long to input it into DEAP. I havn't had to chase up contractors or house owners for confirmation of all the elements but I can imagine that this is going to take time too. Even allowing only 50 eur per hour 200 only allows 4 hours work per assessment which isnt much when it includes all your overheads too!!! I havn't done and existing one yet, but i can see a lot of time being spent chatting, maybe I'm just too nice!!!:D

RKQ

con1982 wrote: »

The client should really do a little research before they appoint a BER assessor. I would recommend going to a small Architectural/Engineering practice. Might be slightly more expensive.....

If BER Assessors all did the Same course, received the same qualification, from the same SEI, same software, same SEI criteria so why recommend going to a small practice?

Con1982 are you trying to suggest certain BER Assessors are better than other BER Assessors? (If so, wheres your proof?)

Charges are no indicator of ability or skill. A Cowboy will have a high rate to hide his dishonesty. A professional service from professionals is all thats required.

Heres another reasonable calculation €50 per hour at 40 hours is €2,000 per week, which is €96,000 per year!

I could get by on 96K. In fact €50 per hour might be a heavenly rate in afew months time - its six times the minimum wage.

Lets keep the hourly rate calculations real as hourly rates are acceptable as a fee structure only because they include overheads.

Minimum wage is a little over €8 per hour so that allows anything up to €42 for "overheads". Or maybe you are worth three times the minimum wage then that leaves €26 for overheads!

Always good to chat, might bring referral business. Remember Pulp Fiction conversation about "pigs got personality"

No6

Always the devils advocate RKQ, If I wanted to work for the minimum wage I would go to Tesco or somewhere similar and stack shelves, Then I wouldn't have to use my brain, take any professional pride in what I do, worry about giving a good service, get PI, Pl insurances etc etc, you know what I mean, but at the rate these BERs are going it might be 50 an hour for 4 hours a week / month or even year!!! Nobody siad they were doing them 40 hours a week. I know some assessors who havn't done any yet!!:eek:

The assessors didn't all do the same course, they all did a course which complied with SEI's learning outcomes which were probably all delivered in different ways so unless some lunatic did them all they cannot be compared except by the SEI who to my mind have been struggling with setting up the system and perhaps have not had their eye on all the right balls. For example some trainers appeared to have trained anyone who paid them the fee, (I could have sent my dog!!:D) no construction background or minimum qualification required, others (like my own I must say) did look for evidence of qualification.

I do think that anyone who thinks they will do a BER either new or existing accurately with all the supporting paperwork and calculations in four hours is going to run into trouble. Eventually reputation will mean something but untill then the cowboy's are loose!!!:D

topcatcbr

sydthebeat wrote: »

i did my first 'existing' assessmnet between today and yesterday..

the on site took me 1 hr 15 mins, but i reckon i can get this down to about 50 mins without client on site chatting,,,,

the pc assessment took 1 hr 30 mins... again i think i could get it down to 1 hr without the twoing and froing on the nas....

but travel time was 25 mins there and 25 back.....

so i would agree... no way could you do a proper assessment in 2 1/2 hrs....

According to your own calcs 50min onsite and 1hr doing input. this leaves 40 min for travel to do an assessment in 2.5 hrs.
Now i agree it is a tight schelule but definatly possible.

I did 2 homes last wednesday in the same estate approx 10 mins travel from me. typical terrace houses. took an hour and fifteen min to survey both. then 1.5 hrs to input data for both. total 3hrs including cup o tea for two.

And i did a proper assessment. I have been audited already onsite.

sinnerboy

Your the man TC

In all sincerity- sounds like you have it truly sussed - well done

topcatcbr

In fairness i did one yesterday which took me 3 hrs to measure and 1.5 hrs to input but you take the good with the bad.

RKQ

Devil's in the detail No.6..... Lets be realistic.
(Nothing wrong will stacking shelves in Tesco - good honest work, need a brain to stack goods and can have pride in it)

Topcatcbr has it sussed - sometimes you can be lucky with two houses in the same estate. Or another house in the estate you did last week.

How many housing estates in your town? Do a house in each estate and you have part of the work done for future houses in that estate! How many Registered BER Assessors in your town?

Or one builder comes to you with 30 new houses - jackpot.

Like a Snag or a Survey, with travel and facing the unknown - still you win on some and you rarely loose on others, regards time spent. More liability on a structural survey.

Even €250 per day ( one BER per day) everyday is a nice earner! Anyone that sold it as a new business, or "easy street" should be shot. It was unrealistic.

MicktheMan

With my Landlords hat on:
As a landlord, all I want is the necessary piece of paper which ensures I am compliant with the law. I have just rented my Dublin apartment (through a letting agency) and there was no mention of a BER cert. I'm getting one done for my own peace of mind. I dont really care what the rating is so I will probably go with the cheapest quote I get. I see it as another stealth tax.

Now with my BER Assessor's hat on:
There is no way I could offer a ber service for some of the quotes I have been getting. Luckily, ber assessments is not my sole business but is complimentary to my business. I know I am being undercut in pricing for the ber service all the time by speaking with the prospects who call me. I don't mind and am not worried. I live on my reputation and the way I see it this has kept me in business over the last 10 years and will do so going into the future.

At the end of the day, the market (property) will decide what a ber is worth (a worthless peice of paper or a marketing advantage). Anybody relying solely on ber for a livelyhood should seriously re-evaluate their plans and make sure they have some other form of income (in the short term at least).

No6

Devil's in the detail No.6..... Lets be realistic.
(Nothing wrong will stacking shelves in Tesco - good honest work, need a brain to stack goods and can have pride in it)

True absolutley nothing wrong with any job if its paying you money in this climate!!!:D

Topcatcbr has it sussed - sometimes you can be lucky with two houses in the same estate. Or another house in the estate you did last week.

Also true unfortunately most of the houses I'll be doing are one offs, not so many estates around here!!!

How many housing estates in your town? Do a house in each estate and you have part of the work done for future houses in that estate! How many Registered BER Assessors in your town?

Its a very small town!!! only small estates with nobody selling anything!!! most will sit on it untill they have to do it, ie are signing contracts, I've just done a preliminary cert for a house I've designed myself that the builder is selling half built as is and he didn't even want to do the preliminary cert (or pay for the supervision so far!!)

Or one builder comes to you with 30 new houses - jackpot.

No, you'd give him a major discount, perhaps a decent fee for the first of a house type with repeats at a serious discount, after all you would only be tweeking a few figures for each house and theres no builders around here doing 30 houses they are not even doing one!!!:eek:

Like a Snag or a Survey, with travel and facing the unknown - still you win on some and you rarely loose on others, regards time spent. More liability on a structural survey.

True, although SEI are reccomending 1.3m cover, its a bit high to me and yes I do have it!!!:eek:

Even €250 per day ( one BER per day) everyday is a nice earner! Anyone that sold it as a new business, or "easy street" should be shot. It was unrealistic.

As I siad earlier its the everyday idea, one a week where I live at this stage would be good!!! and just so you all don't think I'm a complete slow coach I had two new builds done off plans in a few hours yesterday, but they wouln't be finished for a few months and then I'll have to get confirmations of everything and alter all the bits they've changes ( you know the way I want A but will only pay for B ) The speed topcat is doing the existing its looking like they are easier as you use the information from the survey only. I've got a few existing coming up in the next few weeks a so I'll report back when I do them!!:D

sydthebeat

€50 per hour to run a business simply isnt sustainable... if you are paying wages, rent, insurance, utilities, equpiment, paye, prsi etc from this fee. As has been alluded to.. theres no-one out there doing 40 hrs a week at 50 per hr on BERs....

therefore its a case of small independant assessors with little expenditure pricing against 'office' based assessors. I have no problem at all with this, however if the small independant assessor (remember there was no restriction on entrance qualifications) pushing the 'office based' assessor out of the market, its my opinion that the skill level involved in being an assessor will drop.

To provide a professional assessment, in my opinion, is to do a lot more than just the final calculations. The advisory side is hugely important for then success of the scheme. Optimistically, the BER requirement should be viewed by Joe Public as being a valuable service, an advisory service as to how to save money, rather than the 'stealth tax' label its getting.....

When it comes to advising on factors such as u value maximising in building elements, control over heating and ventilation systems, suitability of building methods, best practises to achieve a good BER, etc... then its my opinion that educated or experienced construction professionals are best placed to offer this service. basically, you dont need much training to take and input calcuations... but you certainly do to advise of best use of materials, processes and systems.

The problem occurs when you have a client who is genuinely interested in incorporating best practises, but is faced with prices differences in the range of 2:1 for what they basically see as the same service....

Maybe SEI understand this issues thus have a generic 'advisory report' that is generated with assessments.... worthless reports IMHO.. which only add to confusion of clients.

i fear the inability of the administrators of the scheme to recognise this will tarnish the reputation of the scheme and the ideology behind its implementation.

DOCARCH

Great post sydthebeat......100% concur.

No6

MicktheMan wrote: »

With my Landlords hat on:
As a landlord, all I want is the necessary piece of paper which ensures I am compliant with the law. I have just rented my Dublin apartment (through a letting agency) and there was no mention of a BER cert. I'm getting one done for my own peace of mind. I dont really care what the rating is so I will probably go with the cheapest quote I get. I see it as another stealth tax.

Now with my BER Assessor's hat on:
There is no way I could offer a ber service for some of the quotes I have been getting. Luckily, ber assessments is not my sole business but is complimentary to my business. I know I am being undercut in pricing for the ber service all the time by speaking with the prospects who call me. I don't mind and am not worried. I live on my reputation and the way I see it this has kept me in business over the last 10 years and will do so going into the future.

At the end of the day, the market (property) will decide what a ber is worth (a worthless peice of paper or a marketing advantage). Anybody relying solely on ber for a livelyhood should seriously re-evaluate their plans and make sure they have some other form of income (in the short term at least).

I couldn't agree more mick!!

No6

All of the above is true and I agree 100%

i fear the inability of the administrators of the scheme to recognise this will tarnish the reputation of the scheme and the ideology behind its implementation.

I think the will in this bit is geting very close to has if it's not there already!!!!I hope I'm wrong.

DOCARCH

Advertising in two threads......tut tut!

muffler

Not any more

RKQ

Lots of office survive on €50 per hour all inclusive - thats what an hourly rate is for. Anyone that expected to be full time BER Assessor was mistaken, especially now as we are in Recession!

I understand people "trying" to say one Assessor may give a better service than another - no proof has been offered.

Very little stated about competitive service to the public or raising standards. Maybe its seen as a Tax because there seems to be so little competition! Is it a closed shop? (No, a monopoly would be illegal - nothing like that could happen in Ireland)

Officially a BER Assessor is a BER Assessor - there aren't any grades or levels etc as far as I'm aware. So the "I'm better than him" idea is unsubstantiated and remains to be seen. You can't give "extra" advise if you don't want to talk to the Client, cutting down time on site etc.

IMO its a pity to see equally qualified people fight and degrade their peers, based on fees.

As we are tending to go around in circles here, anyone know how a "similar" system in the UK went? (I understand there are differences in fee and calculation)

I'm only interested in:-

1. Has their system been accepted by the Public?
2. Is the UK system seen as a "tax" by the UK public?
3. How has it effected the downturn in UK housing market?
4. Are the public aware of their UK system?

No6

Lots of office survive on €50 per hour all inclusive - thats what an hourly rate is for. Anyone that expected to be full time BER Assessor was mistaken, especially now as we are in Recession!

Thats the problem RQK some people did and as this is all they are doing some (not all) are unercutting like mad to get the work, fair enough but how lone will they survive at it. There comes a point where you a loosing money just to work not much point of that even in a recession!

I understand people "trying" to say one Assessor may give a better service than another - no proof has been offered.

I didn't realise that we were in a court your honour:D, but I'm sure in time you'll hear plenty of cases

Very little stated about competitive service to the public or raising standards. Maybe its seen as a Tax because there seems to be so little competition! Is it a closed shop? (No, a monopoly would be illegal - nothing like that could happen in Ireland)

You musn't be reading a lot of the posts there a few of us banging on and on and on about standards and theres huge competition that thats why some of us are wondering how some people can price so low, if thats not competition I don't know what is

Officially a BER Assessor is a BER Assessor - there aren't any grades or levels etc as far as I'm aware. So the "I'm better than him" idea is unsubstantiated and remains to be seen. You can't give "extra" advise if you don't want to talk to the Client, cutting down time on site etc.

IMO its a pity to see equally qualified people fight and degrade their peers, based on fees.

well yes and no, we're all equally quailified in terms of domestic, but have a look at the non domestic, SEI are imposing qualification levels there and some of us worked hard to get the likes of you and I level seven qualified arch tech one that list in the first place!! (which involves more training and cost) and then theres the SEI exam!! I'm not trying to degrade anyone if they can do the work on a sustainable baisis at a level I or anyone else can't compete with then thats our problem, fair play to them. The market will find a level but if its so low as to be not profitable there's no point in doing it, you don't work at a loss all the time do you?

As we are tending to go around in circles here, anyone know how a "similar" system in the UK went? (I understand there are differences in fee and calculation)


I'm only interested in:-

1. Has their system been accepted by the Public?
2. Is the UK system seen as a "tax" by the UK public?
3. How has it effected the downturn in UK housing market?
4. Are the public aware of their UK system?

Sure you could have been an Architect with all those circles!!!:D and no I don't know much about the uk system, apart from I heard its a lot simpler, quicker and cheaper!!

Time will tell with the BER system as I'm involved I do hope it works out but this being Ireland thats most likely not going to happen is it!!!:eek:

berireland

There are no grades of Energy Assessor however Energy Assessors come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Energy Assessor may have NO third level Building Construction related qualification or be a Chartered Engineer with a many years experience in both the construction and energy auditing fields.

When engaging an assessor I would recommend asking not only the price but the qualifications and experience held by the assessor. The answer would be very lilkely influence your decision.

jimmmy

ben bedlam wrote: »

I know a BER Assessor who does houses for no more than €225 including SEI fee

I know one fellow who did one for 70 euro. It did not take him too long either. Because of the high prices charged by some, it pays to shop around plenty.

ruskin

jimmmy wrote: »

I know one fellow who did one for 70 euro. It did not take him too long either. Because of the high prices charged by some, it pays to shop around plenty.

I know an assessor who works in the Cork area, and he charges €75 for a BER for any size house. When you take out the €25 fee for SEI, its €50. I think thats reasonable

RKQ

No6 wrote: »

Thats the problem RQK some people did and as this is all they are doing some (not all) are unercutting like mad to get the work, fair enough but how lone will they survive at it. There comes a point where you a loosing money just to work not much point of that even in a recession!

As I said above, anyone that thought this would be a new business oppertunity was mistaken. However, it is early days.

No6 wrote: »

I didn't realise that we were in a court your honour:D, but I'm sure in time you'll hear plenty of cases

You musn't be reading a lot of the posts there a few of us banging on and on and on about standards and theres huge competition that thats why some of us are wondering how some people can price so low, if thats not competition I don't know what is

I've read all post with interest. I just hope ordinary members of the public don't get the impression that anyone with a competitive BER quote is somehow classed as a Cowboy.:D In my experience "cowboys" charge top rates for substandard services.

No6 wrote: »

well yes and no, we're all equally quailified in terms of domestic, but have a look at the non domestic, SEI are imposing qualification levels there and some of us worked hard to get the likes of you and I level seven qualified arch tech one that list in the first place!! (which involves more training and cost) and then theres the SEI exam!! I'm not trying to degrade anyone if they can do the work on a sustainable baisis at a level I or anyone else can't compete with then thats our problem, fair play to them. The market will find a level but if its so low as to be not profitable there's no point in doing it, you don't work at a loss all the time do you?

I'm primarily talking about Domestic - proposed and existing! Anyone qualified as a BER Assessor and Registered with SEI, is playing on a level playing pitch with an Equal and accepted qualification.

No6 wrote: »

Time will tell with the BER system as I'm involved I do hope it works out but this being Ireland thats most likely not going to happen is it!!!:eek:

Very true, we can agree on this.:D Pity theres no answers to my previous 4 questions on the UK system.

smooth operater

Right, a few good facts pointed out in this thread,

However, unfortunately RQK, i've to dissagree with you.

My experience- I spent over a year working on assessments for new builds, knocked out a serious amount, i could do one with my eyes closed at this point, lucky the builder mainly involved in us isnt as money hungry as other builders and wanted his houses built to a very high spec.
I've recently left that area and am concentrating on my actual profession, a building services engineer,
Before I went back to concentrating on B.S.E., i engaged a certain assessor company, in their early stage of setting up, I was considering joining their group, a franchise, I was interested in the Dublin/Wicklow area.
Sat down, had the talk with the owner, went through everything with him, after quizing him on the type of people he had already recruited, including accountants (not for looking after his books), I was shocked to say the least.
These people had zero experience with construction & heating systems.
Right says I, fair enough. Seems fairly decent setup none the less.

Following that, i went to one of these energy shows, where I knew they'd be. Not stalking them of course lol.
Anyway, during my day there I went to a talk from a company that is involved in installing HRV units. Which, if anyone knows there stuff about saving energy there a great idea.

So after the talk had been given, the presenter asks "any questions"
With a few questions thrown up about health risks etc and the presenter was well informed about, one of the employees from this assessor co. throws his hand up and the mic gets passed down. *ooohhhh says I

"Hi, Im so and so from this certain energy assessor co. We've been doin assesments for x amount of time, and everytime we input one of these HRV units we're getting a higher Co2 emmissions rating"

The presenter stood there defending the HRV units and explained he had also carried out assessments. And it was common knowledge that these do save energy.
I actually felt bad for the presenter, as the assessor stood their claiming that he and his other assesor colleuges specialise in doing these and he was right.
However if this assessor said, Hi, im so and so, ive been an accountant for 15 years and have decided to give this construction business a go, im pretty sure the audience's view on HRV units wouldnt have been as damaged.

However, the full time professional assessor clearly didnt have a full understanding as to how they worked and by inputting a HRV unit into the DEAP software, you get the benefit of withdrawing some ventilation losses.

Unfortunately, i think the guy giving the talk simply ddnt have the balls to stand up to this "professional assesor" and say, well your simply incapable of inputting the data correctly, you and your clan.

With that, I lost all interest in dealing with the assessor company, and said to myself, only time will drive these chancers out of the market. However, it seems the company are still going, so the only advice I can give to people getting an assesment done, is to try get someone who has some sort of background in construction.
Preferably an Architect or a Building Service Engineer.

Simple as

sydthebeat

As i said above RKQ, the difference in service i was referring to was in the role as an energy advisor... i completely agree with you that anyone who has trained on the course can collect, determine and input the data into a piece of software... .that is not in question at all.... and this service is perfect for the landlord / developer who is only interested in obtaining this cert to comply with whatever reg they need to. We are in complete agreement on this.

However where i do not agree with you is where i argue that one assessor can give a vastly more superior service than another. The advisory side IS an important part of the service IMHO... and theres no way an auctioneer / farmer / hairdresser etc who is an assessor can / will give as good or better advice to someone building a house as to how best improve energy conservation than say someone either educated in building sciene or highly experienced in building. I would argue that these 'non- construction' background assessor are quite happy to print off the SEI generic advisory report and present it to the client as 'advice'.

For example, i was talking to clients who were approached by an assessor to do a prelim ber on a new build... as part of what he advised, he advised that they use 60mm kingspan in the cavity and dryline with another 60mm kingspan and 12.5mm plasterboard. Now its my opinion, based on experience and education, that this construction is a very dangerous make up from a health point of view and i completely argued against it with the client, outlining all my issues with it.
Now maybe it can be argued that it shouldnt be the assessors place to suggest constructions, but the role of the assessor demands it.