Buying house - planning BER upgrades

[Leo]

A properly designed heat pump system will be cheaper to run than oil, or gas.

Not if the property isn't insulated and air-tight enough to retain the heat long enough for the temperatures to build up. The higher heat output of conventional systems can overcome this for the shorter durations many houses are occupied for less money.

 

[IronMike247]

I don't have any plans for a heat pump at present, I don't have the budget for it at the moment. The house is a 2005 build so I'm doubtful that it has the required air tightness to make a heatpump viable, at the moment.

From this remove I can't answer that. As said earlier, the thermal envelope needs to be defined and then insulated and air tightened accordingly. This definition is key. Whoever does it needs to be well versed in actual heat loss mechanisms and not just a box ticking BER monkey assessor. Perhaps, get back in contact with the engineer and get his/her input.

I am not sure who the BER assessor was, the assessment was done last September prior to the house being put up for sale.
I will need to get a proper professional to investigate the attic and see what can be done as regards to the thermal envelope.
The house is a dormer, so the attic is quite small and wouldn't be suitable for living space (or maybe not even storage) anyway, so I'm not sure why it would be included in the envelope.

I believe at this point my main potential avenue to improve is the attic insulation.
There may be some small room for improvement of the boiler - around 83% efficiency currently vs a condensing boiler which would bring it to 90%+ ?
As I haven't lived in the house yet, I have no idea what the fuel/electricity bills are like at present.
The BOI mortgage rates are changing, which not as financially attractive now to pursue getting a BER B3+.

 

[onlyonpaper]

If I may piggyback on this thread. I have 40 year old house and plan to get bead external wall insulation and improved attic insulation. However I am told that I must have either wall vents or trickle vents in windows per current building regulations. I got triple glazed windows couple yrs ago. Can someone please clarify the venting regulation in existing houses and has it to be done in all rooms if I have to do it. I intend to apply for SEAI GRANT for the work. Thanks

 

[Leo]

Can someone please clarify the venting regulation in existing houses and has it to be done in all rooms if I have to do it.

Yes, you must achieve the minimum ventilation requirements as set out in the Building Regulations. Remember, old houses are draughty and very leaky in terms of air movement. Insulating external walls will significantly improve air tightness, but with that comes the need to make provision to allow fresh air into the building. The SEAI have a simple guide here, or the full regs are here.