What is a Dec Assessment?

The acronym DEC, is short for Display Energy Certificate, which is something used to encourage the owners of public buildings in Ireland to adopt measures pertaining to energy efficiency, by clearly displaying the building’s levels of energy performance and CO2 emissions.

A DEC is based on actual measured energy consumption data measured over a 12 month period and compared to a benchmark of similar buildings of that type and the assessment to must be completed by a SEAI registered assessor.

At Varming Consulting Engineers we understand the importance of initiatives that support the creation of energy efficient buildings, as they are good news for both the occupants, the environment and the owners themselves.

How does a DEC differ to a BER?

A DEC is based on the actual, measured energy consumption of the building which includes both regulated and unregulated energy, whereas a Building Energy Rating (BER) is based on predicted energy performance of a building and only includes regulated energy.

Buildings requiring a DEC

In the case of buildings occupied by public bodies and frequented by the pubic, any building (other then dwellings) with a useful useful floor area greater than 250 m2 must display a DEC.
For public buildings not occupied by a public body this floor area is increased to 500m2.

Once gained, a DEC certificate must be displayed prominently and be visible to the public. This certification is reviewed every year and must be updated as such to retain said certification. This regular review process also picks up on trends for energy use over a prolonged period, which is very useful data for building services design consultants.

If you would like to learn more about DEC, BER and other aspects of building efficiency, call our Dublin HQ on 01 4872300 and why not also visit our website www.varming.ie to find out more about what we do.