The Irish Independent

The EU Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) will be transposed into Irish Law on January 4th 2006. On April 29th last a Draft Action Plan was released for public consultation. This Directive is being rolled out jointly by Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the Department of Communications Marine and Natural Resources. These bodies have been charged with the responsibility of deciding on a methodology and timeframe for the initiation of the new requirement, under the new Directive. The main impact of this Directive on the construction industry will relate to the issuing of Building Energy Ratings (BER) for residential, commercial and industrial developments. This energy rating will have a life span of ten years and will be accompanied by advice on how the energy efficiency of a particular building could be improved in the future. It is intended that the BER will also be applied to all buildings / dwellings that are sold or let so that the prospective purchaser or tenant will have an indication of the energy efficiency of the building. As a result the government hopes that carbon dioxide emissions will decrease due to the demand for more energy efficient homes. This in turn is intended to encourage the house building industry to provide more energy efficient houses.