AMBER
Assessment Methodology for Building Energy Ratings
Project Summary
The Building Energy Rating (BER) is the energy performance certification system in Ireland. At times, differences have been observed between the energy consumption on the BER and the actual energy used by building users. Ireland has also adopted a policy of making new buildings airtight and the effects on indoor air and environmental quality is unclear due to lack of relevant research.
The AMBER project provided a set of guidelines to:
- Assess the accuracy of the building energy ratings of A-rated buildings
- Assess the internal air and environmental quality of A-rated buildings
- Produce recommendations to improve the thermal comfort of the building
IES investigated the difference between energy estimated and actual building energy consumption using its own suite of intelligent building software. The AMBER project aimed to help people get the most out of their well-designed and well-constructed A-Rated building in terms of their energy use, air and environmental quality, with the intent for this unique research project to eventually help thousands of Irish people improve the energy efficiency of their homes and businesses.
IES' Role
IES R&D managed and coordinated this project and was responsible for the successful operation of the study.
Working together with project partners, Trinity College Dublin, IES assisted in the installation of environmental sensors within participating A-rated buildings to monitor temperatures, relative humidity and carbon dioxide.
From there, IES undertook 3D modelling of all domestic and commercial buildings used in the study using its IESVE (Virtual Environment) software. This enabled the project team to undertake dynamic simulation modelling and perform a sensitivity analysis to identify critical parameters that affect the difference in energy use compared to the BER rating. This analysis was validated against the monitoring results and used to suggest realistic operational improvements.
All the data analytics were done in IES iSCAN in addition to monitoring of indoor environmental quality to improve user comfort.
Upon completion of the project, IES disseminated a set of guidelines to SEAI to upgrade the current BER system, as well as sharing guidance with other key stakeholders including homeowners, policy makers and building designers/constructors.
