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 often a requirement for grant funding.
Who needs one?
Homeowners doing energy upgrade works, especially grant-funded works with a target rating attached, 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 often 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.