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Energise your property’s value

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Save money on bills and boost your property value with energy efficient home improvements

We all want to do our bit to reduce our carbon footprint and combat climate change. As we see more and more freak weather events around the globe, it is clear that something needs to be done and every little helps.

The good news is that making your home more energy efficient will not only help to save the planet we all call home, but it will also help to save you money in the short term too. What’s more, energy saving home improvements could significantly boost your property value, and lead to a faster home sale.

Saving money every month

According to figures from Confused.com and EDF‍, there are lots of simple, affordable ways to improve the energy efficiency of your home and cut down on your energy bills. Many of us already have these in our homes, but we just aren’t making the best use of them or enjoying the benefits we should be.

For example, setting the timer correctly on your central heating, and turning it off during the summer months, can make a big difference to your bills. However, many homes simply don’t bother, preferring to turn the heating on and off manually or simply leaving it on all day, whether they are home or not. If you don’t use your timer because it is faulty, broken or you have lost the manual with instructions on how to set it, it is well worth getting a replacement, as this will pay for itself in energy savings very quickly.

Top energy-saving home improvements

Far and away the best energy saving home improvement is insulation, in your loft and in your cavity walls. There are a number of Government schemes that can help with the cost of this, and it could even be free depending on your circumstances. However, even if you have to pay full price, insulation is well worth the investment as it can save you around £250 per year on your heating bills, as well as giving you a warmer and more comfortable home.

Double, or even triple glazing, will also insulate your home, as well as significantly improving its appearance, however the payback on your bills will be slower and the initial cost much higher. Replacement windows can cost around £400 each, and deliver an energy saving of approximately £115 per year for the average home.

Replacement boilers also deliver a slow but steady return on your investment when it comes to energy bills and once again, there are grants available. A new boiler will be far more efficient and reliable, reducing the risk of an inconvenient breakdown, but will set you back around £2,000. You can expect to save around £300 per year on your energy bills, so your boiler will pay for itself in seven years, with the added benefit of peace of mind during the cold winter months.

Heat up your house price

Not only will energy efficiency improvements help save you on your energy bills, figures suggest that they can boost your property price too. A recent report from YesHomebuyers.com crunched the numbers from the Office for National Statistics on home energy bands and compared these to average property prices. The results were quite remarkable.

Areas with properties predominantly in the lowest energy efficiency band, Band D, had an average house price that was 62% lower than areas in Band C. Areas with predominantly Band B homes had an average house price 24% higher than Band C. Even more remarkably, Band B home areas had property prices that were 102% higher than Band D area. That’s more than double the price.

Obviously, there are a wide range of factors that influence property prices. For example,

 and new homes, which command higher prices, will naturally be more energy efficient. However, the correlation between energy efficiency rating and prices is clear to see in existing properties and should not be ignored by anyone thinking of selling their home.

Better price, faster sale

Investing to increase the energy efficiency rating of your home will inevitably be reflected in the market value, and it could also make your home sell faster too. Energy Performance Certificates are a standard part of the process these days, so potential buyers will have all the information they need to compare homes on a like for like basis. If they are choosing between two very similar properties, then energy efficiency could be the deciding factor.

“It certainly pays to be more energy efficient when it comes to your property, with homes in the higher energy efficiency bands going for a fair bit more when it comes to sold prices,” agrees the report’s author Matthew Cooper, founder and managing director at Yes Homebuyers. “A more desirable property achieves a higher price, and often leads to a faster sale too.

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