Non-Domestic Building Energy Ratings Quarter 3 2026

Introduction

The European Union Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) contains a range of provisions to improve the energy performance of new and existing buildings. The EPBD obliges specific forms of information and advice on energy performance to be provided to building purchasers, tenants and users for consideration in property transactions. A Building Energy Rating (BER) is an indication of the energy performance of a building represented in units of kWh/m²/year. A BER is based on the characteristics of major components of the building. The BER certificate indicates the annual primary energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions associated with the provision of space heating, water heating, ventilation, lighting, and associated pumps and fans. The average annual primary energy use figures and carbon dioxide emissions are not based on actual energy use and emissions data. 

These Background notes provide a very general overview together with some specific information on the detailed tables in the release. The SEAI website should be consulted for detailed information on the non-domestic energy assessment procedure (NEAP).

Revisions

The figures in this release will be updated on a quarterly basis. Changes to data for the previous quarters will arise mainly from some buildings having another BER audit undertaken and the previous certificate being marked as expired.

Coverage

Full site surveys have to be carried out for New-final and Existing building assessments. New-provisional ratings do not require a site survey as the assessment is done based on design stage plans – new provisional ratings have been excluded from this release. Some buildings are excluded from the EPBD requirements: national monuments; protected structures; places of worship; temporary buildings; industrial and agricultural buildings not intended for occupancy and below a specified installed heating capacity; and buildings with a total useful floor area of less than 50 square metres. Short-term lettings are not exempt. Some BER audits have been excluded from tables due to insufficient data. 

A BER for new non-domestic buildings was introduced in July 2008 and for selling or renting of existing non-domestic buildings in January 2009. New regulations came into effect in January 2013 requiring the inclusion of BER information in property sale and rental advertisements.

On 24 May 2026 the Building Energy Rating (BER) scale was modified in line with new EU wide regulations under the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD). The scale has been simplified from fifteen points to eight (A0, A, B, C, D, E, F, G). A0 is a new rating which accounts for an absence of fossil fuel demand and carbon emissions as well as the primary energy kWh/m²/year. 

BERs awarded before 24 May 2026 will remain valid for ten years and are included in the tables of this release. To allow direct comparisons with data from both scales, ratings from the old scale have been converted directly to their equivalent letter in the new scale.

National Representativeness

The data have not been adjusted to represent all non-domestic buildings in the State and hence the tables only represent buildings that have been assessed.

Definitions

The BER rating scale is divided into categories from G (largest primary energy usage) to an A0 rating (lowest primary energy usage). Energy consumption is expressed in kWh per square metre of floor area of the building per year (kWh/m²/year) and CO2 emissions are expressed in kilograms of carbon dioxide per square metre per year (kgCO2/m²/year). For the purposes of this release, the numbered sub-ratings have been combined into single letter grades. The certificate is valid for 10 years unless changes are made to the building. 

The BER for non-domestic or non-residential buildings is based on the predicted primary energy consumption of a building (kWh/m²/year), assuming a standardised pattern of use. To allow different building types to be compared on the same scale, the non-domestic BER uses different thresholds for different building types (See Table A). The scale prior to 24 May 2026 used a different method, comparing the ratio of the actual building energy efficiency to an ideal notional building of the same type. These calculations are defined by the Non-Domestic Energy Assessment Procedure (NEAP), using the Simplified Building Energy Model (SBEM). More details on this assessment are available in the SEAI’s NEAP modelling guide here. 

Table Notes

The number of tables in the current release has been reduced from previous iterations as users can now make their own cross-tabulations with the open data tables available on data.cso.ie. Please see the Data Chapter of the release for links to these. 

Tables 1-6 only include the latest BER published for each building, meaning the BER is on the public register. Some buildings may have received earlier BER certificates which have been replaced by their most recent audit. 

Table 1 in the release gives the overall distribution of ratings from A0 to G for buildings with a BER, using only the most recently published BER for each. 

Table 2 in the release classifies the number of BERs by rating and type of premises. This relates to the current building use and it is displayed on the BER certificate. Some building types have been combined for the purposes of this release e.g. schools and colleges.  

Table 3 in the main release shows the relationship between period of construction and building energy ratings. It can be linked with changes to the Building Regulations that require new buildings to be more energy efficient.  The number of BER certificates with a given year of construction should not be taken to represent the total number of new dwellings completed in that year. 

Table 4 in the main release cross-classifies the main space heating system fuel by the type of building. 

Table 5 in the main release profiles BER ratings by county and Dublin postal district. Users can create cross-tabulations by county or NUTS 3 region with the open data tables NDBER04 and NDBER05. 

Table 6 in the main release shows the average floor area recorded on BERs by the type of premises and the energy rating.