Energy Services

Guide to the BER

A Building Energy Rating (BER) is similar to the energy label for a household electrical appliance like your fridge. The label has a scale of A-G, also clearly distinguished by colours, green to red. A-rated homes (Green) are the most energy efficient and G-rated homes (red) the least efficient.

The calculation method used to determine Building Energy Ratings is known as the Dwelling Energy Assessment Procedure (DEAP). This is in the form of a detailed software program which takes account the energy required for space heating, ventilation, water heating and lighting less the savings from energy generation technologies.

Read more: Building Energy Ratings (BERs)

"Passive House" is an ultra efficient building standard that saves up to 90% on your heating bills and ensures your house is always at an indoor temperature of 20deg C with an extremely high level of air quality.​

Passive House is fast becoming the leading energy efficiency and comfort standard for all building types across the world. It truly makes no sense anymore to build anything less. Passive House is very achievable and is actually a very cost effective way to build.

This 20 year-old concept has been achieved in over 20,000 projects, from multi-family units to assisted living facilities, low income housing to condo developments and commercial properties to schools. And yes, you can also apply the standard to houses - both existing and new-build.​

So, to explain Passive House in a nutshell, this is what we'd have:

1. very comfortable temperatures with no draughts - 24/7, year round

2. extremely good air quality - always fresh

3. tiny fuel bills - future proofed against fuel prices

Contact us now to find out more.

Read more: Passive House

Thermal imagery, also known as thermography is the photographing of an object (a building in our case) to view various temperatures in the building’s fabric. This enables us to detect a great deal of abnormalities and failures in the fabric of the building. Thermal imaging or infrared cameras are capable of photographing infrared radiation, which is invisible to the human eye. This radiation is then expressed instantly and clearly by means of colourful thermal images.

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Comfort Solutions Ireland offers a professional U-value Calculation and Condensation Risk Analysis service to all our customers. All calculations and analysis are presented in great detail, complete with diagrams and reports. We will provide the above in pdf format, making it easy for our customers to read or print as desired. We generally offer this service free of charge to customers already purchasing products or services from Comfort Solutions.

Read more: U-value Calculations

As we all know, air contains moisture which can condense into water droplets if conditions allow. Warmer air contains more moisture and we often see the occurrence of condensation in our everyday lives, eg. when we breathe onto a piece of cold glass. This type of condensation can also take place within the structural elements of our buildings and can have a detrimental effect on building materials, including timber and insulation.

Read more: Condensation Risk Analysis