A Provisional BER is carried out prior to the commencement of construction of a dwelling. It’s main function to show how a house will comply with Part L of the Building Regulations once it has been constructed. It sets out exactly how the dwelling is to be constructed in areas such as heating, insulation levels, junction details etc. A Provisional BER is a desktop exercise and no site visit/ meeting is required. We usually conduct our Provisional BER service through email correspondence and phone calls with the client.

Options such as the type of wall construction (timber frame/150mm cavity wall etc.), heating systems, floor & roof insulation, windows, renewable technology options, construction details etc. are examined. As we carry out a large number of provisional BER certs we have seen all possible scenarios and can provide options and advise on what will give compliance for the Provisional BER at the lowest cost to the client.

A Provisional BER will be requested by your Local Authority (County Council) once the commencement notice has been lodged to the planning department. It is often the case that the person building the dwelling has not been made aware of the requirements for the provisional BER until this point. As a result there is usually a rush to have once completed so that work can commence.

We strongly advise potential builders to start the process of preparing the Provisional BER as early as possible and to use the process to their advantage. By looking at the options available to show compliance with the Part L of the building regulations, talking to the builder and getting prices on the possible building techniques the client can fine tune their design such that they achieve the most energy efficient dwelling possible at the budget available.

Normally we ask for a planning reference number or a set of plans to be emailed to our office such that we can give a quotation for us to carry out a Provisional BER service. Once our office has received a set of proposed plans, agreed a price we can then begin. Our assessor will liaise with the person building the house on what building techniques they propose. We will then email options to show how the house can comply with Part L of the regulations.

Upon completion of the Provisional BER we can post or email the results. This will include a general description page which outlines the specification which the dwelling must be constructed to comply with Part L of the building regulations. This will also include junction construction details also (window lintels etc). A provisional BER cert and advisory sheet will also be included.

Once the Provisional BER cert has been provided it is up to the client, builder and the architect who is supervising the build to ensure that the dwelling is constructed as per our recommendations to ensure compliance. Documented evidence shown be taken during all stages such that once completed the actual BER can be carried out to show that the building complies. We often get asked to carry out the BER at this stage also. A further fee is required at this stage. However if we have already carried out the provisional BER then the cost is greatly reduced as the majority of the work has already been carried out. We advise that a blower door test is also carried out to improve the rating result.