Homes that get top marks for saving energy

Gas prices go up 12 per cent in August – suddenly having a high energy efficiency rating might give vendors an edge over the competition, writes FRANCES O'ROURKE

A HOUSE that has been quietly on and off the market for the past two-and-a-half years just might have the edge now that energy costs are rising. A revamped period property like 17 Victoria Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6, which has a B2 rating, might attract new interest because of its promise of low fuel bills.

Number 17 was built in the 1920s: most homes in this age group might struggle to get an F rated BER (Building Energy Rating) certificate, the official measure of how energy efficient a house is. But five years ago number 17 and its neighbour were bought by a builder who effectively rebuilt both behind their original façades.

Now the house – with solar heating, four separate ground floor zones, each thermostatically-controlled and a high-efficiency natural gas system – is for sale with a B2 rating. Sherry FitzGerald is asking €975,000 for the 260sq m (2,900sq ft) house.

For over two-and-a-half years, vendors have had to have a BER certificate before selling their house (for newbuilds, it’s been four years), yet many deem it so unimportant they leave getting one until just before final contracts are signed. But with gas prices to rise on August 1st by 12 per cent and other energy costs soaring too, we’ll all be paying serious attention to making our houses energy efficient.

It will save you money: a 100sq m (1,076sq ft) three-bed semi with a top A rating could be 90 per cent less expensive to run than one with the bottom G rating, according to Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) guidelines. Few Irish homes get top grades, and very few built more than a decade or so ago.

Saving fuel bills and being cosy in your home are the best reasons for making your home energy efficient. But it might soon become an important selling point, although it doesn’t seem to be now – only around half of vendors and their agents mention or promote a home’s BER rating in advertising or marketing thinks Ed Carey, residential chief of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI). He believes this should change both because buyers want this information and to avoid buyers looking to renegotiate at the last minute.

Many sellers don’t get a BER until after a sale has been agreed – property sales cannot be concluded until a BER cert is produced.

Says Carey: “I am aware of a number of instances in which buyers used the information to re-open negotiations.”

That said, a home’s BER rating does not yet seem to be a dealbreaker when it comes to second-hand home sales, especially where period houses are concerned. (And listed houses are exempt from getting a BER).

John Lyttle, a BER assessor who does a lot of work for agent Lisney, spends most of his time in south Dublin. “It’s nearly impossible for a second-hand house to get an A rating unless it’s been extensively refurbished.

Anything built in or before the 1990s is likely to be D rated.”

He, like many agents, says that this seems not to matter to buyers if they find a house they like in a great location. On the other hand, a more energy efficient home may well give a vendor the edge when three similar houses in an estate are for sale.

Trawling for homes with top ratings it’s nearly inevitable that most you’ll find are newbuilds: 1 Castleknock Mews, Dublin 15, a detached five-bedroom house for sale through Flynn Associates for €549,000 has a prized BER A-rating – it has hi-spec insulation and a heat recovery system.

Another newbuild, 12 The Lawn, Boden Park, Dublin 16, a four-bedroom detached house, has a B1 rating. The 156.6sq m (1,685sq ft) four-bed – for sale though Savills for €460,000 – has solar panels.

Seascape, a four-bedroom house on Mapas Road in Dalkey, Co Dublin, also a newbuild with a B1 rating, has a solar panel heating system too. It’s for sale through Sherry FitzGerald at €635,000.

Number 1 Brighton View in Rathgar, Dublin 6, a 372sq m (4,000sq ft) house designed by Studio D Architects has a top A rating: now on the market through agent Felicity Fox with a price drop to €1.4 million, it has all the eco-bells and whistles, including solar panels, high levels of insulation and heat recovery ventilation heating.

And it’s no surprise that a new house in Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Co Tipperary – where a charity is building 55 sustainable homes – gets an A rating. 5 Bruach an Uisce, a three to five-bedroom house due to be completed soon, has triple glazing, multi-layered roof insulation and heat recovery ventilation – and will have an A2 rating when it is finished. The 176sq m (1,894sq ft) house is for sale for €285,000 through Sustainable Projects Ireland.

How can you get a good grade? Getting a condensing boiler is high on many experts’ list. But architect Bill Scott, who gave a recent public seminar on energy efficiency in the home, says it involves a series of interlinked measures: good insulation – of floors/walls/windows – while ensuring there’s enough ventilation is key.

Getting solar panels to heat water is far more efficient than using electricity.

And take care of everything: the owner of 17 Victoria Road reckons his house would have a B1 rating rather than B2 if he had bought energy efficient lightbulbs.