Introduction to Surveys and Audits

Energy audits and surveys are the best first step in assessing your house or home energy needs. Enerfina recommends an audit or survey to all customers contemplating a significant change to their home. The simple 3-step process involves:

1. Measuring your heating demand (kW/m2)
2. Assessing energy supply options (Solar, Geothermal, Wood Pellet, Wind Turbine etc.) and finally
3. Calculating the delivery costs and payback periods.

Five levels of survey and audit services are available (click on each for detail):

• Boiler Sizing
• Informational BER
• Official BER
• BERxtra
• Full Audit

Boiler Sizing

This is an entry level service which gives a calculated boiler size. Using the official BER software, the required heating demand is calculated. This will tell you, based on your exact building specifications, what size heating system will be required to provide a suitable level of heating throughout the year. Whether it is a wood pellet boiler or geothermal heating system, you will still need to know what size is needed. Included with these findings is an advisory report, which provides you with tips and techniques to reduce your energy usage and utility bills.

Informational BER

An informational BER will tell you how your building rates on the official scale. Using the official software, the BER is calculated in the same way as an official logged BER and presented in a graphical format. The accompanying advisory report will give you a guideline on how to improve your current energy rating.

Official BER

Home owners are legally required to hold an official BER if they applied for planning permission on or after 01 January 2007. Developers selling homes from plans will be required to provide a Provisional BER to the buyer. Owner/occupiers will need a Final BER before moving in to the new dwelling. These BERs will be officially logged with the SEI. Some Local Authorities request a provisional BER upon application for planning permission.

BERxtra

A BERxtra is required if you wish:

• To compare two different heating systems
• To know how your current building/plans do or might perform
• To determine what effect changing various building elements will have on the BER.

As part of this service, you can choose any two heating systems to compare; for example, you might choose to compare gas with wood pellets or oil with geothermal.

Extra modules can be included in order to optimise the potential improvements and move you up the scale:

• Insulation Module - Learn what options you have when it comes to insulating your walls, floors and ceilings. Improving your insulation will reduce the size of the boiler therefore saving you money on the initial boiler cost and ongoing fuel usage.
• Windows & Doors Module - Windows and doors can be among the poorest energy-performing building elements in your home. This module will tell you how your doors and windows currently perform and what options are available to improve performance
• Extra Heating System - if you have a query about more than two heating systems, this module will provide answers.
• Solar, HRV, Wind - this module investigates the candidate technologies and measures the impact they could have on your house.

Full Audit

The full energy audit works to the following process with the objective of providing a comprehensive baseline statement of current conditions, detailed analysis of all options suitable to improve the building and recommendations on how/where to proceed:

1. Define a baseline for the building for comparative purposes
2. Detail ways to reduce the heat loss from your building
3. Improve the current levels of insulation – walls, floors and roofs (including extensions)
4. Analyse the windows and doors, suggesting possible improvements
5. Examination of the current heating system
6. Simulate various suitable heating system alternatives
7. Introduction of solar and wind supplements (if appropriate)
8. Study the impact of Heat Recovery Ventilation (HRV)
9. Produce the optimum solution for your building
10. Indicate the current and optimised BER