DEAP Software and Methodology

About DEAP software

DEAP consists of a software tool and guidance manuals. BER Assessors use DEAP to publish Building Energy Rating (BER) certificates and advisory reports for homes. DEAP is also the compliance tool specified in Part L of the Irish Building Regulations.

The DEAP software is web-based and used to calculate the annual delivered energy consumption, primary energy consumption (kWh/m²/year) and carbon dioxide emissions (kgCO₂/m²/y) for standardised occupancy.

DEAP methodology documents

This section contains the core DEAP methodology documents. Please see Notice of Changes for information on updates.

DEAP Manual

The DEAP Manual describes the assessment methodology for dwellings and must be followed alongside the DEAP Survey Guide. Always use the latest version of the methodology documents.

• DEAP Manual Version 4.2.6 valid from 04 September

See Notice of Changes section.

DEAP Survey Guide

The DEAP Survey Guide describes the DEAP survey methodology for dwellings. This must be followed alongside the DEAP Manual.

• DEAP Survey Guide Version 4.1.1 valid from 04 September

See Notice of Changes section.

DEAP Survey Form

This form is for use on-site to record the survey data for the BER assessment.

• DEAP Survey Form (version 5.02) (pdf) published on 31st May 2023
• DEAP Survey Form (version 5.02) (excel) published on 31st May 2023

DEAP Guidance Document

Check this guidance document if you have questions about the DEAP Manual and Survey Guide.

We recommend you do this before contacting the BER Helpdesk.

• DEAP Guidance Document (version 1.1) valid from 04 September

See Notice of Changes section.

Workbook

The DEAP workbook is the BER calculator in Microsoft Excel format. You can use this workbook to view all of the calculation formulas within the DEAP software.

• DEAP 4.2 Workbook (version 1.5) valid from 04 September

See Notice of Changes.

DEAP Methodology Update - Onsite defaults for upgraded existing dwellings

This guidance has now been integrated in DEAP Manual (version 4.2.5) and DEAP Survey Guide (version 4.1).

District Heating Methodology

Calculation of the primary energy, carbon emissions and Part L indicators for buildings connected to district heating systems require factors representative of the specific district heating system.

A calculation methodology for these factors, based on the EPB Standard I.S. EN 15316-4-5 is under development, pending the establishment and implementation of a verification mechanism for district heating data and policy decisions on the accounting for this data.

While the calculation methodology is under development, new default district heating factors have been approved by DECC and DHLGH for selected Schemes, as outlined in the document Default District Heating factors for BER calculations. These are based on conditions, including that the Schemes meet the requirements of Efficient District Heating and Cooling set out in the Energy Efficiency Directive.

Developers or operators of district heating schemes that believe their system would satisfy the definition of "Efficient district heating and cooling" in the Energy Efficiency Directive (EED), should contact SEAI for guidance on submitting their energy data. New defaults for other "Efficient district heating and cooling" schemes may be established subject to verification by SEAI. Guidance from SEAI must be sought before using district heating factors other than as specified in the document Default District Heating factors for BER calculations, or for other schemes than those included in the document.

Further tools and guidance

You can find further calculation tools and guidance documents to support the DEAP methodology in our members area.

Notice of changes

We'll keep you up to date about any upcoming changes to the DEAP software and methodology documents.

DEAP Methodology Update 04 September 2024

The current versions of DEAP Manual (version 4.2.5), DEAP survey guide (version 4.1) and Deap Guidance Document 1.0 were live until 03 September 2024.

The New versions live as of 04 September 2024 are:

• DEAP Manual (version 4.2.6)
• DEAP Survey Guide (version 4.1.1)
• DEAP Guidance Document (version 1.1)
• DEAP 4.2 Workbook (version 1.5)

The main updates include:

• Age-band L in DEAP Manual & DEAP Software
• An additional age-band (age band L) will be added to the dropdown menu in the DEAP software and to table S1 in the DEAP manual.
• Age-band K will be renamed from '2010 - onwards', to '2010 - 2013'. A new age-band, age-band L will be 2014 - onwards. The defaults in Appendix S are only for use in Existing BERs.
• Guidance regarding New-final Assessments
• New guidance on fabric defaults has been included in the DEAP Guidance document; this clarifies which defaults are applicable/acceptable for New Final BER assessments.
• Clarification has been added on when a New Final BER applies and when an Existing BER applies.
• DEAP Software rounding of numbers for Part L compliance checks
• The number of decimal places in the calculation results used to flag non-compliance has been aligned with the TGD L text. This update applies to TGD L checks on EPC, CPC, RER, and fabric U value backstops; For example,
• an EPC value of 0.304 is first rounded to two decimal places (0.30) to be checked against the MPEPC of 0.30.
• an EPC value of 0.309 is first rounded to two decimal places (0.31) to be checked against the MPRPC of 0.30.

Please note there will be system downtime from 6pm -10pm on September 3rd 2024 to enable these updates.

Heat pump Methodology 2020

The current versions of DEAP heat pump methodology 2020 (version 2.0) and DEAP heat pump methodology calculator 2020 (version 2.0) will continue to apply up until 04 September 2024

The New versions are:

• DEAP heat pump methodology 2020 (version 2.1)
• DEAP heat pump methodology calculator 2020 (version 2.1)

DEAP heat pump methodology 2020 (version 2.1)

The main updates include:

• The DEAP heat pump methodology 2020 has been updated; the Excel tool no longer needs to calculate the RER adjustment for group heating as this will be calculated in the DEAP software; the other RER adjustments still apply.
• District Heating labels in DEAP software & DEAP methodology
• The labels related to group heating and CHP have been updated to include district heating where applicable, and these are reflected in the documents.

Technical support

You will find a wide range of technical support for BER Assessors in this section. We recommend that you check this section before contacting the BER Helpdesk.