For all data gathered, supporting evidence may be required as detailed in this section.
Prior to publication of a BER, the DEAP Software ‘Evidence’ tab requires upload of this evidence associated with entries in each of the DEAP tabs. A table showing the relevant information required for each section is available within the section. BER Assessors should endeavour to gather as much data, photographs, sketches, plans and supporting evidence as possible (and indeed practicable) to increase the likelihood of an accurate survey and assessment which will stand up to auditing by SEAI. The list of supporting evidence detailed in this section is for guidance purposes and will be added to over time. Other methods/supporting data may be considered by SEAI on a case-by-case basis, as they arise. Specific queries related to the acceptability of supporting data should be directed to the BER Helpdesk.
The DEAP Survey Form assists BER Assessors in ensuring that they have gathered all the necessary data during the survey. This includes data regarding the dimensions, building age, building fabric elements, relevant items per room, heating system(s), hot water services, heating controls and lighting. This will generally be accompanied by dwelling sketches, architectural drawings or specifications and comments related to various aspects of the site survey.
Prior to performing a site survey for a BER assessment, BER Assessors should contact the client to ensure that access will be granted to the heating system at the time of the survey. In particular, access to group heating system boilers may be restricted unless it has been arranged prior to the site visit. If access still cannot be gained and information is not available from plans/specifications, then the defaults listed should be used.
NB: Definitions in this Guide must be followed at all times.
An initial survey of the outside of the dwelling is very useful. Information which can be gathered through this external survey may include:
An initial walk around inside the dwelling is very useful and will assist in determining the following information:
A sketch of the dwelling plans must be completed as part of the survey. Sketches, combined with the Survey Form and other evidence as outlined in this document, must provide enough data to complete a BER assessment using the DEAP software. Where architectural drawings (dwelling plans/elevations) are available, these can be used instead of sketches provided any differences between the architectural drawings and actual measurements taken on site are noted on the architectural drawings by the BER Assessor. The sketches and/or architectural drawings must be uploaded to DEAP as supporting evidence for the BER assessment. The dimensions entered in the DEAP assessment should reflect the actual measurements taken during the dwelling survey.
As a guide, the sketches/drawings should at least indicate the following:
Each room must be checked for the following:
Some useful dwelling compositional properties can be determined during the survey of the attic space:
Particular attention must be paid to health and safety issues when accessing attic spaces.
During the dwelling survey, Assessors should bear in mind the following tips to help expedite the survey process and reduce the likelihood of errors:
Supporting documentary evidence, as referred to in Section 8 of the Code of Practice, forms part of the BER data file and is collected for the purpose of completing and supporting BER assessments.
Documentary evidence has the potential to contain personal data.
Under the GDPR, personal data is data that relates to or can identify an individual, either by itself or together with other available information. Examples of personal data include a person’s name, contact details, bank details, and/or other personally identifying information (such as personal or family photographs, certificates, etc.) that may be used to identify an individual.
Special category personal data (sensitive personal data) is defined in the GDPR and can include any symbols or items that can identify the racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs (e.g., religious symbols or statues) and any items that can identify a person’s health or sexual orientation.
When collecting documentary evidence and/or uploading supporting evidence to DEAP, BER Assessors must endeavour to only collect information necessary for the completion of the BER assessment and avoid the collection of any un-necessary personal data or sensitive information. Eliminating the collection of any un- necessary personal or sensitive data will reduce the risk of a data breach occurring. BER assessors should ensure that they comply with their obligations under data protection regulations and ensure any information obtained for the BER assessment is processed, maintained, used, shared, and stored in a secure manner, as is set out in Section 10 of the Code of Practice.
BER assessors should avoid the collection of personal or sensitive data when collecting photographic evidence of a dwelling. As per Section 5 of the Code of Practice, before taking any internal or external photographs assessors must ensure there is no personal data within the frame, and if so, omit it from the photograph. If this is not possible, Assessors should redact any personal data from images before uploading to DEAP.
As per Section 1 and 10 of the Code of Practice, BER Assessors are responsible for ensuring that supporting evidence is collected, processed, stored, and used in a safe and secure manner, and is only used for the purposes for which it was collected, namely, for the completion of a BER assessment.
DEAP supports the storage of BER assessment data in accordance with data protection. BER assessors must adopt additional secure storage systems for any assessment information which may be processed or stored outside of DEAP.
The table below provides further guidance on types of personal data.
| Data Type | Example | Required for BER | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal Data related to the dwelling |
|
Yes | This information is required for the completion and publication of a BER assessment. BER assessors should be aware that this information may be used to identify an individual and can be considered personal data. As such, BER assessors should ensure that they comply with their obligations under data protection regulations and ensure this information is processed, maintained, used, and stored in a secure manner. |
| Personal Data related to an individual (Homeowner/ Occupant) |
|
No |
This information is not required for the completion of a BER assessment unless the individual is signing off on information used to determine input data. In cases where the supporting documentation collected contains personal data relating to an individual (e.g., the homeowner/occupant), this data must be removed prior to uploading to DEAP, unless it is needed for sign off purposes. It is sufficient to ‘black-out’ any personal data on scanned/uploaded documents. Alternatively, software and mobile tools are readily available for editing and redacting personal data from electronic versions of supporting evidence before uploading them to DEAP. Please note, contact information provided for professional or business purposes is not considered personal data and does not need to be redacted |
| Special Category Personal Data |
Data which may identify
|
No | The processing of special category data is prohibited unless the data subject has given their explicit consent before processing begins or the processing is authorised by law, for example, to protect the interests of a data subject, to comply with employment legislation or for reasons of public interest. |
A separate document detailing the survey methodology is available from SEAI. This document explains how each of the following items are measured where necessary and is summarised as follows:
| Item | Data | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Built form and detachment | Classification according to dwelling type in survey methodology. | |
| Age band | According to Section 2. |
Identify age band separately for:
|
| Dimensions |
|
Measured separately for main property and any extension. For rooms-in-roof, measure floor area only, inside the dwelling. |
| Wall construction | One of types from Table 2.21(also used for wall ventilation infiltration category) | Recorded separately for main dwelling and any extension. |
| Wall insulation for each wall | One of types from Table 2.21 |
Recorded separately for main dwelling and any extension. External, cavity or internal insulation to be indicated only if added subsequent to original construction. If it has only the insulation that was part of the original construction, it is “as built”. |
| Item | Data | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Roof construction | One of types from Table 2.17 | Recorded separately for main dwelling and any extension |
| Roof insulation (if not another dwelling above) | One of types from Table 2.17 | Recorded separately for main dwelling and any extension |
| Roof insulation thickness (joists) | One of types from Table 2.16 |
For roof insulation at joist level and where can be accessed. Recorded separately for main dwelling and any extension |
| Windows | External window area, orientation, and detail on window construction as per Section 2. | |
| Count of opening areas that have draught stripping based on a count of openable sections of windows, doors, and attic/crawlspace hatches between the dwelling and the exterior or unheated spaces as described in Section 2. | ||
| Ventilation | Openings: Count of chimneys, open flues, flueless combustion room heaters, intermittent fans, and passive vents to be done in survey | |
|
Identify any whole house mechanical ventilation system present as one of the following, and determine specific fan power, heat exchanger efficiency and air flow rate here required:
Identify presence and adequate insulation of ductwork outside the dwelling envelope. This requires minimum depth of 25 mm with thermal conductivity of 0.04 W/mK or less. |
||
| Identify presence of a draught lobby | ||
| Identify presence of sealed or unsealed suspended timber ground floor. | ||
| Number of storeys in dwelling | ||
| Count of sheltered sides to be defaulted to 0 if the number of sheltered sides cannot be determined and supported. |
| Item | Data | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Main heating system | Fuel for main heating | |
| Boiler identification, if possible, otherwise system according to Table 4.4/4.5 | If boiler can be identified, its characteristics are obtained via the HARP database | |
|
Heat emitter type, one of
|
If underfloor, is the floor a heat loss element? | |
| Heating system pumps and fans (oil fuel pump, flue fans, central heating pumps). The gas boiler flue fan may be at the air intake or exhaust gas outlet of the gas boiler. | A gas boiler is likely to have a flue fan and an oil boiler is likely to have an oil fuel pump. Where an Assessor encounters a gas boiler without a flue fan or an oil boiler without a fuel pump, they should retain detail on how these items were determined to be absent. from the heating system. Wet central heating systems are likely to have one or more central heating pumps. | |
| Main heating controls | Describe in as much detail as possible: zoning, timers, thermostats, interlock, TRVs, weather and load compensation, and any other factors. | |
| Secondary heating system | Fuel for secondary heating, and system from room heater section of Table 4.4. | Use of ’none‘ defined in Section 4 |
| Water heating |
Either:
|
If insufficient water heating is available in the dwelling, assume direct acting electric heating as the main water heater. |
|
Storage losses? Cylinder details as per Section 5. Cylinder thermostat and timer present? |
||
| Details on immersion / supplementary electric water heating | ||
| Distribution losses? |
| Item | Data | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Water heating (cont.) | Showers and baths: flow rates, flow restrictors, type of shower (electric/mixer; pumped; vented/unvented) | |
| Instantaneous wastewater heat recovery, efficiency, utilisation factor. Data from PCDB. | ||
| Target water usage 125 L/person/day | ||
| Mains gas available | Yes/no | |
| Solar water heating | Solar panel (yes/no) | |
| Photovoltaic array | Yes/no, and if yes, the % of external roof area with PVs | |
| Group heating scheme |
If details cannot be ascertained, they are defaulted to:
|
|
| Cooling system |
Presence of a fixed cooling system (yes / no). Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) default = 2.5 for electrical cooling systems. |