The building energy ratings (BER) steam roller is gathering pace and in just over two months the same energy ratings which have applied to new homes since the start of the year will apply to all existing homes and buildings.

Earlier this week Sustainable Energy Ireland published details of how new homes have been faring under the new system.

So far over 2,500 new homes have been assessed and only 8 per cent have achieved an A certificate, 82 per cent have received B ratings and 10 per cent secured C ratings.

Simply told, BER is similar to the energy label on a fridge and carries a scale from A to G, with A being the most efficient. Anyone selling or letting a new home has to have a BER cert at hand. The same will apply to anyone selling or renting existing homes from next year.

SEI reckons that the majority of existing Irish homes will have a D1 rating when they come to be assessed.

The BER makes the energy performance of a home visible to prospective buyers and tenants and gives them a simple way of judging the energy credentials of a home before buying.

The simplest way of assessing any BER claims being made by a developer or vendor is to get the BER number from them and check it out on the national BER register on SEI's website at www.sei.ie/ber.