Considerable changes have definitely formed around the level of quality when it comes to new homes being constructed with in the last four years; That is the message coming from the The Central Statistics Office (CSO). Older properties retrofitted with insulation's as well as efficient and cost-effective home heating upgrades also demonstrated a marked improvement in the BER Ratings. Some 5% of older dwellings had an 'A' or 'B' rating, which rose to 17% among 26,625 properties which undergone retrofitting. All these changes we see are resulting in lower heating costs to the occupants. Retrofitting is proving to improve energy efficiency of older homes and is key to reducing your energy bills.

Below are some key statistics relating to the last 4 years (2010-2014)

• 12% of properties in Ireland hold a Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate of A or B
• 515,000 homes have had a BER audit carried out.
• 40% of all homes built-in Dublin 18 since in the last four years hold Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate of A or B
• Yet only 4% of properties in Dublin 7 only managed to reach that rating
• 29% of houses constructed between 2010 and 2014 had an 'A' rating
• This compares with 1% for 'A' ratings between 2005 and 2009
• 64% of houses constructed between 2010 and 2014 had an 'B' rating
• This compares with 38% for 'B' ratings between 2005 and 2009