A GOVERNMENT move to give Irish houses high marks for energy efficiency has caused a row with environmentalists, who say the properties merit only a pass grade and must do better.

Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), a state body, says new houses that comply with building regulations should be given a B rating under a new grading system. It says a typical house deserves a B2.

“A D would be more suitable,” said Patrick Daly, a lecturer in sustainable design at Dublin Institute of Technology’s school of architecture.

“A B rating supports the misconception that building regulations are advanced or of high quality, which is misleading. They are a minimal standard, which should be reflected in any rating.”

From January, every home built in Ireland will carry an energy-rating label on a scale from A1 to G3, similar to those found on washing machines and fridges. From January 2009, the scheme will be extended to all houses being sold or rented.

In advance of the regulations, SEI has proposed in a draft document to give all new houses a B. But critics such as Daly say this will allow developers to reach an A classification with relatively modest improvements.

Environmentalists argue the proposed B rating is a “greenwash” and will allow builders to advertise their homes as being at the cutting edge of energy efficiency when in fact they are wasteful by European standards.

Duncan Stewart, the architect and presenter of RTE’s About the House, said the scale of ratings will have to be revised within five years if houses constructed to current building regulations receive a B.

“A B would leave little room for improvement and give our houses an inflated rating,” he said. “We’re now in an energy crisis and anyone living in a new home knows how expensive it is to heat. Why continue to build houses that will need to be upgraded in the future when we can get it now?” The ratings system aims to allow house buyers and renters to compare properties on the basis of their energy performance. This will be lost if we adopt the proposed rating, according to Dr Patrick Waterfield, an independent energy consultant from Belfast and the author of The Energy Efficient Home.

“How can you compare purchase options when a house built to the basic legally allowed standard gets a B?” he said.

Some local authorities are insisting new houses have a higher standard than the current building regulations. Fingal and Wicklow councils are running pilot projects in which new houses must be 60% more energy efficient than the existing minimum standards.

Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown plans to introduce a similar scheme.

The Department of the Environment plans to announce the labelling system for new homes next month and says it is consulting all interested parties before it comes to a decision.

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