The price of energy, both electricity and natural gas, is increasing all the time. Government regulators can barely keep up with the price hikes, struggling to advise people on the future costs of heating and powering their homes.
Energy-efficient home upgrades are going to become highly desirable features for home buyers in the near future and will add a lot to a property’s value. But which ones are worth paying for? Here is a quick guide to six of the best environmentally sustainable home upgrades and how they can save and make you money.
Solar Panels
This energy-efficient home upgrade is appearing on roofs across the country. People are looking for investments that not only add value to their property but also help them to save money too. If this is your aim, then you will struggle to find a home improvement more beneficial than home solar power.
Even in the cloudy and rainy UK, solar panels can generate a significant amount of electricity on an average day and make a big dent in your energy bill. Better still, excess energy you produce but do not use is sold to the national grid, creating a revenue stream.
If you are asking yourself ‘how do solar panels work?’ then look here for more information from the Federation of Master Builders. They know a thing or two about home improvements and roofs and have done a deep dive into home solar to find out how they can help the average UK homeowner cut their energy costs and add value to their property.
Heat Pumps
Home heating is a big part of your energy bill and contributes a huge amount to the carbon footprint of your home. Heat pumps are a 21st Century solution to home heating that uses considerably less energy and is powered by electricity allowing you to do away with your gas bill altogether.
They use a heat exchanger to warm the air in a home and an air pump to distribute it through vents and ducts in every room. This lets you remove radiators and pipework that traditional home heating systems use, creating space everywhere in the home.
When combined with other eco-friendly home improvements, like home solar power and battery storage, they become even more economical to run. You can generate power from the light during the day, store it in batteries, and use it at night to keep your home warm.
All of a sudden, home heating is costing you nothing but the investment you made in solar panels and a heat pump, and these can be recovered from your property value when you sell. You cannot afford not to make the switch.
Smart Home Controls
The internet and wireless connectivity have changed the world in many ways, and now they are going to change our homes and the way we run them. The ‘internet of things’ is the latest tech trend, and it is taking the world by storm.
Early adopters are already controlling aspects of their home from their smartphones and taking advantage of modern features that 20th Century homeowners could only dream of. From doorbells that ring your phone and display HD video of your front door to light switches that can be turned off and on anywhere in the world; the internet of things makes the future possible now.
Smart thermostats allow you to control your home heating from your phone. Did you forget to turn it off before you went away for the weekend? No problem. You can change your heating schedule from the comfort of an Airbnb. On your way home from work and want a toasty home to welcome you? Switch your heating on while you are on your way and a warm house will be waiting for you.
These and many more features can help a homeowner to control their energy consumption and reduce their bills, as well as their carbon footprint. It is inexpensive to install too, with many plugs and thermostats available in value packs that can save you hundreds of pounds compared to buying the devices individually.
Double-Glazed Windows
People have been making this energy-saving upgrade for many years, but still many homes in the UK do not have double-glazed windows that help keep the heat in. This simple upgrade can take less than a day to complete, and the savings they make are instantaneous, even in the summer.
As average temperatures rise, more people are relying on electrically powered fans and air-conditioning to bring make their homes cooler and the hot days more tolerable. If you have young children in the home or care for an elderly relative, this can be vital as these soaring temperatures can threaten their health and make them extremely uncomfortable unless your bedroom has no windows.
Double-glazing not only helps keep the heat in during the winter, but it also helps keep stifling summer air outside to keep your interior temperatures down. People with energy-efficient windows will often keep them shut in the summer to banish excess heat from their homes and reduce the use of electric fans that can be very expensive to run.
Modern windows are starting to take glazing to the next level, with triple glazing hitting the market that offers even greater energy efficiencies and are made from fully recycled and recyclable materials.
Home Insulation
Keeping the heat in is a great way to cut down on regular costs, and modern insulation can help add to your property value and make your home more desirable to potential buyers in the future. This upgrade is a win-win for sellers and buyers and can pay for itself in just a couple of years.
Up-to-date home insulation is made from recycled materials, which helps the planet, and can also be recycled itself making it a sustainable option for UK homeowners. It can massively reduce heat loss in a home, and not just from the roof. Cavity wall insulation is a popular home upgrade that can reduce the amount of energy needed to make a home warm in the winter and keep it cool in the summer.
One of the biggest reasons many homeowners are upgrading their home insulation is the low cost. Thanks to a number of government initiatives and support from energy suppliers there are grants and discounts available that can reduce the cost of materials and installation.
This huge cost reduction makes home insulation financially sustainable as well as environmentally sustainable. When it comes to home insulation, most homeowners cannot afford not to make the upgrade.
EV Charging Stations
The future of transportation is electric. EVs, or electric vehicles, started to hit the mass market ten years ago and the sceptics have been proven wrong. Faced with ever-increasing oil prices, consumers are making the switch to fully electric and hybrid-powered vehicles every day. The number of EVs on the UK roads is only going to increase in the coming years, and massively.
Charging these cars at home is the most convenient battery charging solution, and buyers are already looking for this feature when searching for their next property. Even if you don’t own an EV, a home charging station can still be a worthwhile investment, but if you do drive one you can enjoy the convenience and the boost in property value.
Choose just one or two of these upgrades, and you will notice a big difference in your household bills and your property value. The profit potential is so huge that you will be back for more of these top tips.
