The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI), in co-operation with Enterprise Ireland have called on innovative companies to develop smart technology solutions to help make Building Energy Ratings (BER) more informative for homeowners.

Funding of up to €150,000 is available under the competition titled Small Business Innovation Research.

Smart solutions, such as advanced mobile technology, can help make BERs a more influential factor in property purchase, rental decisions and also better inform home upgrade opportunities. Valid for 10 years, a BER certificate also give builders, developers, vendors and landlords an incentive to upgrade the energy performance of the building by giving visible credit to superior standards.

Commenting Mr Tom Halpin, Head of Information at SEAI said: “With the property market buoyant again, we want people to make the most informed decision for what will doubtless be one of the largest purchases of their lives.  With almost 600,000 BERs already published, there is a wealth of useful data available to make BER a really powerful tool for all prospective homeowners and renters.  Plus we have some of the most innovative and creative minds working in the ICT sector who have the ability to really bring the BER to life.”

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Leo McAdams, Divisional Manager ICT & International Services, added: “Enterprise Ireland greatly welcomes the opportunity to work with the SEAI in supporting this important new initiative in the area of smart BER solutions. This is an opportunity for SMEs to develop highly innovative solutions for the public sector with potential to sell globally, leading to job creation.”

As Issuing Authority for BERs, SEAI maintains substantial energy performance data regarding all published BERs which can be made more useful and engaging for those in the property market.  Solutions are expected to go well beyond the current BER certificate and advisory report and should include recommendations for clever use of mobile technology in influencing consumer behaviour. Solutions may relate to single home BERs and / or comparators to national datasets.