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Non-Domestic Building Energy Ratings Quarter 1 2026

Heating oil was the main heating fuel in 10% of non-domestic buildings with Building Energy Ratings

Online ISSN: 2009-9304
CSO statistical release, , 11am

Key Findings

  • For all non-domestic Building Energy Ratings (BER) awarded from 2009 to the end of Q1 2026, 4% of assessed buildings received an A rating, 15% a B rating, and 32% a C rating (See Table 1).

  • In 61% of audited buildings the main space heating fuel was electricity, compared with 26% using mains gas and 10% using heating oil (See Table 4).

  • The use of heating oil as the main space heating fuel in non-domestic BER audits was most common in the Border region (23%), and lowest in the Dublin region (4%) (See Table A).

  • A ratings were given to almost half (47%) of BERs for non-domestic buildings built from 2025 to end of Q1 2026 (See Figure 2 and Table 10).

  • Schools & Colleges were the most energy efficient non-domestic building type audited, with 51% receiving an A rating. The highest proportion of G ratings were in Workshops & Maintenance Depots (23%) (See Figure 1 and Table 1).

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (01 May 2026) published Non-Domestic Building Energy Ratings for Quarter 1 (Q1) 2026.

Commenting on the release, Kevin Hunt, Statistician in the Climate and Energy Division, said: "The number of non-domestic buildings with Building Energy Ratings (BER) reported up to the end of the first quarter of 2026 was 84,946. Of these, A ratings were awarded to 4%, B ratings to 15% and C ratings to 32% (See Table 1).

A ratings were given to almost half (47%) of BERs for non-domestic buildings built from the beginning of 2025 to the end of Q1 2026By comparison 21% of buildings built between 2015-2019 were A rated, along with 4% of the overall audited stock (See Figure 2 and Table 10).

Schools & Colleges were the most energy efficient non-domestic building type audited, with 51% receiving an A rating. The highest proportion of G ratings were in Workshops & Maintenance Depots (23%) (See Figure 1 and Table 1).

For 61% of audited buildings the main space heating fuel was electricity, compared with 26% using mains gas and 10% using heating oil (See Table 4).

The average floor area for all audited non-domestic buildings was 739 m2. The building type with the largest average floor area was Hotels (3,414 m2) while the smallest were Restaurants and Public Houses (284 m2) (See Table 6)."

Editor's Note

The tables in the Non-Domestic Building Energy Ratings release for Q1 2026 have been reduced and simplified compared with previous releases for readability purposes. Any feedback from our users is welcome. 

BER certificates expire after 10 years unless a new audit has been undertaken. The CSO has included these expired certificates in this release in order to have a more representative analysis of energy efficiency in the non-domestic sector. Provisional BER certificates for buildings that are incomplete or not yet constructed are not included.

In the titles of the tables that follow, the years “2009-2026” describe the period when all BER certificates were published. Tables 9 and 10 also use years to refer to the period in which rated buildings were constructed, which can affect energy efficiency. 

The highest proportion of Heating Oil use among non-domestic Building Energy Ratings was in the Border region

The use of heating oil as the main space heating fuel in non-domestic BER audits was most common among the Border counties (23%), and lowest in the Dublin region (4%). Mains gas usage was highest in the Dublin region, at 38% (See Table A and Table 3 for a more detailed breakdown by county).

Table A Main Space Heating Fuel by NUTS3 Region (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026
% of rowNumberm2
 Fuel Type  
NUTS3 RegionMain GasHeating OilElectricityLPGOtherTotal NDBER'sTotal Floor Area
Border102359535,7413,153,460
West101669327,9414,576,129
Mid-West211461228,1625,307,963
South-East211262326,7364,055,089
South-West229642210,6246,692,715
Dublin384570129,93028,823,622
Mid-East279621211,4257,464,940
Midland171761324,3872,679,037
Total2610612284,94662,752,955
ABCDEFG
Retail116371810612
Office310292313814
Restaurant/public house11034321554
Hotel5293817532
Warehouses216332010613
Workshops/maintenance depot092322141023
Industrial process building33027161149
Hospitals and primary health care1014252112810
Community/day centre12232916857
Nursing residential homes and hostels17412611312
Schools and colleges5116159423
Sports facilities3302917868
Other1718211410614

Non-Domestic BER Audits by Type of Building

Schools & Colleges were the most energy efficient non-domestic building type audited, with 51% receiving an A rating. The highest proportion of G ratings were in Workshops & Maintenance Depots (23%) (See Figure 1 and Table 1).

Table 1 BERs by Type of Building (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026

Main Space Heating Fuel and Ventilation Systems for Rated Buildings

For 61% of audited buildings the main space heating fuel was electricity, compared with 26% using mains gas and 10% using heating oil (See Table 4).  

The highest proportion of heating oil usage was 28% in Hotels, compared with 46% of BER rated Hotels using mains gas and 14% using electricity (See Table 4).

Table 2 BERs by Main Space Heating System Fuel (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026

Table 3 Main Space Heating System Fuel by County (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026

Table 4 Main Space Heating System Fuel by Type of Building (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026

Table 5 Main Ventilation System by Type of Building (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026

Floor Area, Primary Energy Use, and Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Type of Building and County

The average floor area for all audited non-domestic buildings was 739 m2. The building type with the largest average floor area was Hotels (3,414 m2) while the smallest was Restaurants and Public Houses (284 m2) (See Table 6).

Retail buildings had an average floor area of 337 m2, less than half that of Office buildings (815 m2(See Table 6).

The primary energy usage per square metre for Retail buildings was 858 kWh/m2/year, more than twice that of Offices (398 kWh/m2/year) (See Table 7).

Table 6 Average Floor Area by Type of Building and County (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026

Table 7 Primary Energy Use per Square Metre by Type of Building and County (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026

Table 8 Carbon Dioxide Emissions per Square Metre by Type of Building and County (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026

Non-Domestic BER Audits by Period of Construction

A ratings were given to almost half (47%) of BERs for non-domestic buildings built since 2025. By comparison, A ratings were 21% of BERs awarded for buildings built between 2015-2019, and 4% of the overall audited stock (See Figure 2 and Table 10).

ABCDEFG
1900-197707292615913
1978-1999114362212710
2000-20040194319847
2005-200921834189614
2010-2014622281910510
2015-201921351910428
2020-20244420169434
2025-20294720167423
Table 9 BERs by Period of Construction (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026

Table 10 Main Space Heating System Fuel by Period of Construction (Non-Domestic) 2009-2026

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