Improving a home’s building energy rating (Ber) can add up to €67,000 to the asking price of the property, research from the Central Bank indicates.
In a report assessing the so-called energy efficiency premium, researchers found that a single grade increase in the property’s Ber rating was associated with a listed price increase of 1.6 per cent between 2015 and 2024.
The premium derived from each upgrade decreased from 1.9 per cent in 2015 to 1.3 per cent in 2024.
Given average listed price for properties nationally in 2024 was €395,247, it calculated that each Ber grade increase raises listed prices by €5,138 (1.3 per cent).
READ MORE
If the energy rating was increased from a low G to a high A2 – 13 Ber grades – the listed price would rise by €66,794.
The study noted that the average Ber improvement carried out in Ireland is from a D2 to an A2, a nine Ber-grade improvement, which would “be capitalised into a property price premium of 11.7 per cent, or €46,242 in 2024″.
Ber certs measure a property’s energy usage based on the level of insulation, the efficiency of the heating system and other factors. A-rated homes are the most energy-efficient, while G-rated homes are the least, and typically require a lot of energy to heat.
The Government’s climate abatement strategy targets 500,000 residential retrofits to a Ber of B2 or better and the deployment of 400,000 heat pumps, plus the delivery of up to 2.7 terawatt hours of district heating capacity by 2030.
But a recent Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) study concluded that the State was “materially off-track” on all three targets.
A separate Central Bank study, published on Monday, suggested retrofitting homes to a Ber of B2 or higher can generate significant lifetime savings, particularly for those with a starting Ber of C3 or lower.
The savings, however, “vary substantially” by initial Ber rating, ranging from €9,000 to over €65,000.
“Households with lower starting Ber ratings (F and G) achieve the highest net savings despite higher upfront costs,” it said.
Researchers also noted the financial benefits would improve significantly if net zero climate targets are achieved “as, in such a scenario, expectations would be for higher fossil fuel prices and lower electricity prices,” it said.
