Improve the energy efficiency and indoor environmental quality of your A-rated building

AMBER PROJECT

What challenges affect A-rated buildings?

The Building Energy Rating (BER) is the energy-performance certification system in Ireland and at times, differences have been observed between the energy consumption on the BER and the actual energy used by homeowners and building users. Ireland has also adopted a policy of making new buildings airtight and the affect this has on indoor air and environmental quality is unclear due to a lack of relevant research.

How will the AMBER project address these challenges?

The project will collect BER and sensor data from 100 domestic and 25-40 non-domestic A-rated buildings recruited by project partners Ó Cualann and RIAI, to analyse power loads and indoor environmental quality for one year in each building, taking into account the differences in use and operation of different building types. Energy and IEQ data will be paired with post-occupancy research and made available to SEAI and to the occupants via dashboards.

A sensitivity analysis using IES’s suite of intelligent building software will then be carried out to review NEAP/DEAP methodologies and identify key parameters, which affect compliance, to develop guidelines to minimise the performance gap. Indoor Environmental Quality data will also be reviewed to generate recommendations to expand consideration of user wellness for the BER methodology. Finally, a set of guidelines will be developed to support the holistic consideration of energy efficiency in all design aspects.

The final package of recommendations will be developed for maximum replicability within the Irish context through feedback loops across the value chain, and disseminated at national and European level to generate a step change in the current design and construction practice of A-rated buildings.

Who will the AMBER project benefit?

Building Designers/Constructors
The AMBER project will provide substantial information which will improve the current design and construction of A – rated buildings.
Policy Makers
Thanks to the research conducted within the AMBER project, amendments will be made to the current energy performance rating system to improve the accuracy of the BER system in Ireland.

PROJECT PARTNERS

GET INVOLVED

We are actively looking for domestic and commercial buildings in Ireland to be part of this study.

GET INVOLVED

Advantages of being part of the AMBER project:

Provide you with specific recommendations to help you reduce the energy consumption, which can lead to a reduction in operational and maintenance costs in your building.
Provide you with substantial information which will improve the current design of A – rated buildings.
Provide bespoke advice to better understand how best to improve indoor air and environmental quality
Improved thermal comfort which can lead to an increase in productivity among occupants
An opportunity to be part of a unique project that could eventually help thousands of Irish people operate their buildings more efficiently. This project is the first of its kind in Ireland as there is limited post-occupancy research into A-Rated buildings.

All Irish commercial projects containing A-rated buildings are eligible to be part of this study. All publicly available research gathered during the study will be shared with all stakeholders and should your building be selected to be part of the study, we will share confidential information with you and any associated partners/clients on the findings, under NDA. IES and TCD have also offered to provide access to the data should you so require it, also under NDA and subject to GDPR guidelines.

If this is of interest please fill the survey below.

NEWS

AMBER project to be showcased at RIAI’s CPD NZEB event

Event

AMBER project to be showcased at RIAI’s CPD NZEB event

June 7, 2019

The project team will give a presentation at RIAI’s annual NZEB seminar. Date, time and location still to be confirmed.

AMBER Project presented at SEAI Energy Show 2019

Event

AMBER Project presented at SEAI Energy Show 2019

March 27, 2019

Dr. Ruth Kerrigan spoke at SEAI’s annual Energy Show conference to educate those in attendance about the challenges associated with A-rated buildings in Ireland, to disseminate the main aims of the project and to identify any potential commercial building participants.

Information Evening organised for Ballymun Residents

Event

Information Evening organised for Ballymun Residents

February 4, 2019

Baile Na Laochra Information evening took place in Ballymun where residents who are willing to join the AMBER project had their queries answered by the project team. The installation process of the environmental sensors was explained to those in attendance.

Amber Project has launched

News

Amber Project has launched

November 15, 2018

The Assessment Methodology for Building Energy Rating (AMBER) project which is funded by SEAI, officially launched in November 2018.

This project has received funding from the Research, Development and Demonstration Fund from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI)