Technical assessments
A technical assessment is pre-works advice from a qualified assessor. Your home is evaluated before works start, the planned upgrades are checked against the rating you need to reach, and Austin supports you through the project. It is a requirement for grant funding.
Who needs one?
Homeowners doing energy upgrade works, especially grant-funded works with a target rating attached, homeowners applying for a green mortgage, and anyone building or deep-retrofitting who wants the rating designed in rather than discovered at the end.
Anyone registered can measure a finished house. A technical assessment happens earlier, when the decisions that determine the rating (insulation spec, airtightness, heating system, ventilation) are still open. Austin is registered with SEAI as a Technical Assessor as well as a BER assessor, so the same person advises on the works and assesses the result.
What the process looks like
- Assessment of the home as it stands: construction, insulation, heating and ventilation, and where the current rating sits.
- The works, modelled: the planned upgrades are evaluated against the target rating, so shortfalls show up on paper instead of on site.
- Support through the works: Austin works with you through construction or renovation, so changes and substitutions don't quietly cost you the target.
- Final BER: when the works are done, the BER assessment confirms the rating and the cert is published on the SEAI National Register.
Common questions
What is a technical assessment?
A technical assessment is a detailed evaluation of a home carried out before and during energy upgrade works, so the works are designed to reach a target rating rather than hoping they get there. It is required for grant funding, and it is carried out by an SEAI-registered Technical Assessor.
Why not just do the works and get a BER after?
Because the BER at the end only measures the result. It cannot fix a shortfall. If a grant or a sale depends on reaching a specific rating, the time to find out you will miss it is before the money is spent, not after. A technical assessment models the works in advance so you know the target is reachable.
When should I bring Austin in?
Before the works start, ideally while you are still deciding what works to do. Pre-works advice is the whole point of a technical assessment: it shapes the specification, and Austin can then work with you through construction or renovation to keep the project on target.