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Non-Domestic Building Energy Ratings Quarter 2 2026

Electricity is the main heating source for over 60% of non-domestic buildings audited since 2009

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

Key Findings

  • Electricity was the main space heating fuel in 61% of rated buildings. Electrical heating was highest in Retail Buildings (76%) and lowest among Hotels (14%) and Nursing Homes (18%) (See Table 4).

  • The distribution of results among 86,435 non-domestic Building Energy Rating (BER) audits published since 2009, is 4% an A or A0 rating, 15% a B rating, 32% a C rating, 20% a D rating, 11% an E rating, and 17% an F or G rating (See Table 1).

  • Out of all non-domestic buildings receiving an energy rating from January 2009 to June 2026, Schools and Colleges had the highest proportion of A or A0 ratings (51%) (See Figure 1 and Table 1).

  • A or A0 ratings were awarded to 47% of rated non-domestic buildings built since 2025, and 44% of those built from 2020-2024 (See Figure 2 and Table 9).

Statistician's Comment

The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (26 August 2026) published Non-Domestic Building Energy Ratings for Quarter 2 (Q2) 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) audits conducted in the 2009 to 2026 period was 86,435. Of these 4% were awarded an A  or A0 rating, 15% a B, and 32% a C (See Table 1).  

There were 1,680 BER audits conducted for non-domestic buildings constructed since the beginning of 2025, of which 47% received an A or A0 rating. By comparison, 21% of buildings built between 2015 and 2019 were rated A or A0 (See Figure 2 and Table 9).  

Schools & Colleges were the most energy efficient non-domestic building type audited, with 51% receiving an A or A0 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)."

Editor's Note

On 24 May 2026, the Building Energy Rating (BER) scale was reduced from 15 categories to eight (A0, A, B, C, D, E, F, and G) for both domestic and non-domestic buildings. For this release, the now-deprecated subcategories of BER (A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, C2, C3, D1, D2, E1, and E2) have been assigned their parent rating (A, B, C, D, and E) and are presented together with the BERs awarded under the new system.  

The A0 category is an entirely new category for buildings that are both energy-efficient and do not use fossil fuels. A0 ratings can only be awarded to buildings assessed under the new rating system.

Please see the Background Notes for more details on the changes to the rating system introduced on 24 May 2026.

BERs remain valid for 10 years from their date of issue, including those awarded under the old rating system. Expired certificates have been included in these tables to better represent the known distribution 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 8 and 9 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
Border102359535,8073,185,495
West101669328,0544,660,923
Mid-West211461228,2665,419,632
South-East211262326,8664,155,726
South-West229642210,8146,761,376
Dublin384570130,46329,655,851
Mid-East279621211,6777,633,970
Midland171761324,4882,757,742
Total2610612286,43564,230,715
A/A0BCDEFG
Retail117371710612
Office311292313814
Restaurant/public house11034321554
Hotel5303817522
Warehouses216322010613
Workshops/maintenance depot092322141023
Industrial process building33027161149
Hospitals and primary health care1015252112810
Community/day centre13232916857
Nursing residential homes and hostels17412611211
Schools and colleges5116159423
Sports facilities3302917868
Other1718211410614

Non-Domestic BER Audits by Type of Building

Out of all non-domestic buildings receiving an energy rating from January 2009 to June 2026, Schools and Colleges had the highest proportion of A/A0 ratings (51%) (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

Electricity was the main space heating fuel in 61% of rated buildings. Electrical heating was highest in Retail buildings (76%) and lowest among hotels (14%) and nursing homes (18%) (See Table 4). 

More than half of all non-domestic buildings with a BER had no mechanical ventilation system, with 56% of NDBERs listing Natural Ventilation as the main ventilation system (See Table 5).

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 743 m2. The building type with the largest average floor area was Hotels (3,406 m2) while the smallest was Restaurants and Public Houses (283 m2) (See Table 6). 

Primary energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions are estimates based on the provision of space heating, water heating, ventilation, lighting, and associated pumps and fans. The lowest primary energy usage per square metre by type of building was in Schools and Colleges (178 kWh/m2/year) and Offices (391 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 or A0-ratings were awarded to 47% of rated non-domestic buildings built since 2025, and 44% of those built from 2020-2024 (See Figure 2 and Table 9).

A/A0BCDEFG
1900-197707292615914
1978-1999114362212610
2000-20040194219847
2005-200921834189614
2010-2014622281910510
2015-201921361910428
2020-20244420169434
2025-20294721167423
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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