BER and open fireplace

jethrothe2nd

My house had a BER of C1 when I purchased it. Since then I have put in new windows (triple glazed at the front, double at the rear which is south facing), added insulation to the attic, new front and back doors, new carpet with thicker underlay, new boiler with 3 zone controls, and more recently solar PV. I do , however have an open fireplace (it was gas when I bought)

From a BER perspective, is the work that has been done likely to be enough to push it up into the B's, or is the open fireplace going to get in the way of that? In general, although I like having an open fire, I also appreciate that it is neither efficient nor environmentally friendly, so I am considering what to do with it. Is it better just to block it off or install a stove?

Hibernicis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058227091/ber-and-open-fireplace

The improvement you achieve will very much depend on the house itself, and the BER assessor. I carried out similar works on a 1990s house some years ago (but not solar PV) and pushed the BER from D2 to B3. The open fireplace (contains a working coal effect gas fire) remains in situ. I am currently considering selling the house. If I retain it I will replace the open gas fire with a enclosed coal effect electric fire.

looksee

You did well to get a C1 given the work you have needed to do, its probably difficult to say for definite whether this would improve the rating, it would seem logical that it should. The fire probably does not help, but on the other hand you can improve ratings by changing light bulbs so who knows?

On the open fire, I had a stove in my last house and now have two stoves in this house. All fairly basic though professionally installed - chimney lining and in one case an external chimney cost easily as much as the stove. The ones I have are free standing and have a double top that sends heat out into the room, and with the addition of a stove top fan they give out a lot of heat for little fuel. They burn very clean - I had the chimneys swept this year after 2 years use and the sweep said there was very little soot in either of them. I would recommend a stove over an open fire any time.

jethrothe2nd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118450769#Comment_118450769

Frankly I was also surprised at the C1 when we bought the house. Neighbours had a C3 rating when they bought theirs in much the same state, so I suspect that the C1 was either an error or the assessor at the time was particularly lenient. It may well go against me now - assessor should be in within the next few weeks so I guess I will find out then.

Regardless I think I am leaning towards the stove, although I think it will have to be one that slots into the fireplace rather than a fee standing one. Does that make any difference to efficiency?

Gusser09

Dont be overly worried out the BER. We had our house externally insualted. When the weather is under 5 degrees we only switch the heating on for max 90 mins a day. It still only got a d1 rating. I think its a bit of a con job to be honest.

jethrothe2nd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118451677#Comment_118451677

Yes, you are probably right. My main interest is in making the house as energy efficient as possible - sounds like it won't necessarily correlate with the BER.

WicklowTiger

We have an open fire. A couple of years ago we were looking at stoves, but we have a back boiler and didn't want to lose it. We found a local company who fitted a stove type front to the fireplace. Huge difference in efficiency since and still have the benefit of the back boiler.

looksee

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118451661#Comment_118451661

A fitted stove will be more efficient than an open fire, but in my experience, though I don't have any statistics, I think a free standing one gives off more heat than on fitted into a fireplace. But go with what works best for you.

worlds goodest teecher

Bought my 2nd hand E1 rated bungalow two yrs ago.

Replaced open fire with pellet stove.

Replaced oil boiler with a higher efficiency boiler.

Bead insulation to uninsulated cavity.

Extra 200mm insulation in attic.

Triple glazed doors to front and back.

3.6kW of solar pv, no battery.

BER result B2.