Location and occupancy of energy inefficient residential properties. ESRI Research Bulletin 2015/3/2

Curtis, John and Devitt, Niamh and Whelan, Adele (2015) Location and occupancy of energy inefficient residential properties. ESRI Research Bulletin 2015/3/2. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

A Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate conveys useful information about the energy performance of a property. The certificate is accompanied by an Advisory Report that identifies how the property’s occupants might improve the energy performance of the property. The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), which has responsibility for the BER rating system, maintains a database of all completed BER certificates which is a useful information tool on the energy performance of the residential dwelling stock. However, there are two limitations of the BER database as a tool to inform policy decisions on residential energy efficiency. First, the database is over-represented by newer properties and therefore is not truly representative of the actual housing stock. Second, the BER database says nothing, nor was it designed to say anything about the occupancy and tenure of housing by BER classification. A better understanding of how many energy inefficient properties exist and whether a particular population cohort, or vulnerable group, is more likely to live in such properties is information that has relevance to policymakers.

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