ENVIRONMENT

New energy regulations have given the company new challenges.

Bawn Developments Ltd strive to make their company a modern building enterprise using energy efficient technologies from renewable sources.

Our program of building one off houses has recently refocused on the new Building Energy Rating requirements. We offer the housing market alternative specification of timber frame or solid blockwork construction, heat pumps or condensing boilers to stoves. And we recommend all houses built for clients to install a heat recovery system, for clean fresh air, solar panels for heating water, and air tightness for draught elimination.

Energy efficient houses – what's the story?

The BER – It’s not rocket science!

Why not start with sensible design, preparing the ground so to speak!!

Our 10 point plan
1. A solid block house with well filled joints and no leaky holes is as good as you’ll get for airtightness in walls
2. Well sealed windows and doors are a must
3. 12” thick (300mm) attic insulation
4. 6” wide (150mm) cavity with blown in insulation
5. 5” thick (125mm) floor insulation
6. Airtightness & Heat Recovery
7. A condensing central heating boiler
8. TRV’s (Temperature Regulated Valves) fitted to all radiators
9. Fit a stove instead of a fireplace
10. Solar panels on the roof.

We build modern energy efficient houses meeting the environmental concerns of the future and your own comfort.

What Exactly is a BER and what does it mean for you?

In its simplest form a BER or Building Energy Rating Certificate is a document stating the energy efficiency of your home – just like the energy certificates that you see on the front of new household appliances. The certificate states both the energy consumed by the building and the level of carbon dioxide produced by the building.

The classification system is just like the Irish Leaving Certificate with energy ratings bands starting with a G rating for the least efficient property right up to an A1 for a very energy efficient property that is almost carbon neutral. Like the Leaving Certificate the harder you work and more effort you put in to the design, specification of materials and level of workmanship the better the end product and resultant energy rating will be.

It is interesting to note that the majority of residential stock in Ireland at present would fall into the D/C energy rating categories. However for your home to be compliant with current building regulations you must at least build to a B3 energy rating standard.

We like to view buildings as icebergs – the 10% of the iceberg you see above the water is typically the cost of constructing the building, whereas it’s the 90% under the water that you don’t see that is the actual running and maintenance cost of the building over its lifetime. We always advise our clients that if they spend that little extra up front on making the building as energy efficient as possible that they will reap the benefits over the long term.

To build an energy efficient home it needs first and foremost to be very well insulated, air-tight and have a fully controllable and efficient central heating system.

In terms of insulation it always pays to put as much insulation as possible into the build as it’s the non-moving parts that can become very expensive to upgrade at a later date. In terms of Insulation you should always be looking to for materials and products with the lowest U-Values possible (In lay man terms – A U-Value is simply a measure of how long it takes heat to travel through a material – the lower the U-Value the better the insulator. Take for instance a single glazed window with a U-Value of 5.6 compared to a triple glazed window with argon fill between the glazing layers with a U-Value of 0.76 – the Triple Glazed window being over 700% more efficient than the single glazed window).

The better the U-Value of the properties external construction the better it will be at retaining heat therefore reducing your heating bills and your carbon emissions.

In terms of air-tightness we always recommend the use of air-tight membranes and tapes when constructing your home. These products prevent cold air from getting in and warm air getting out by sealing the various junctions between construction materials around your home – around windows & doors, Floors & ceilings etc. After all you wouldn’t buy a bucket that didn’t hold water would you!

You might not be aware of this but your standard fireplace is at most only 30% efficient with the majority of the hot air produce being lost to outside via the chimney. Whereas a room sealed stove can achieve efficiencies of up to 85% and will reduce the possibility of draughts and heat loss in your building.

To achieve as high an energy rating as possible it is very important that you choose the right type of central heating system for your home. Whatever method of heating you decide on you need to make sure that the appliance is as efficient as possible and is registered with SEAI on their Harp database, which records the energy efficiency of heat producing appliances. Furthermore you need to make sure that you have full control over the system in terms of zoning, time and temperature control. You need a heating system that is intelligent enough to turn the heating off when the house has warmed up and will turn the heating on and off intermittently to keep the house as the optimum ambient temperature.

You will also need to consider the fact that to comply with building regulations you will need to provide at least 10% of the energy consumed by the house from renewable sources. This can either be achieved by installing a Heat Pump with a high COP (Coefficient of Performance) as the main central heating system or adding solar panels to your oil or gas central heating system. Solar panels can account for at least 60% of your hot water production throughout the year and will also greatly reduce your water heating costs during the cold winter months.

All the above are equally important when considering a refurbishment or extension project. It is possible to make buildings that were once very energy inefficient as efficient as possible – with the attainment of an A classification not entirely out of the question. The key is to have the right design and building contractor in place to ensure the project is constructed to the best standards possible.