How green is your home? The government increases grants for homeowners
Many homeowners and home movers are seeking a higher Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating because they know that it leads to lower monthly bills.
By doing this, it also increases your home’s value significantly. Improving the EPC rating of your home from D to C could see an increase in value of 3%, from E to C a 7% increase, and from F to C could increase your property’s value by an average of an additional 15%.*
What is an EPC rating?
An Energy Performance Certificate measures the energy efficiency of your home and is graded from A to G. A is the highest or most energy efficient, while G is the least energy efficient.
How do I get an EPC?
You will need an accredited assessor, which you can find online on the GOV.UK website. They will assess each part of your home’s energy efficiency, such as lighting, insulation, and the potential for heat loss, and then calculate the overall rating of your home by adding the various scores to get an average overall score.
Climate change
With rising sea levels and the increased frequency of bad weather, insurance companies have been hit with a larger number of claims. Climate change makes the weather less predictable, and more claims can lead to higher premiums. Calculating risk, an already complex process, becomes even more so. The agricultural sector has also suffered, as have transport companies. Wildfires are also becoming more frequent, causing damage running into millions of pounds.
How do you improve your home’s EPC rating?
Energy-efficient lighting
Simply using more energy-efficient lighting can reduce the energy consumption of your home. LED bulbs may cost a little more, but they last so much longer than old-fashioned lightbulbs and use a fraction of the energy.
Double glazing
Triple glazing is even better. Your home can trap a lot of heat throughout the day as the winter sun shines through your windows. The heat you create from your heating system is then trapped inside your home.
Better insulation
Insulating your attic or walls also helps to stop the heat in your home from escaping. This means you will not have to keep your boiler running quite as much to heat your home, saving you on costs.
Install a heat pump
Replacing your boiler with a more energy-efficient system can add a lot of points to your score. It could be that you have relatively recently replaced it but neglected to get your rating upgraded. You could also install a heat pump. In October, the government increased its grant for the installation of heat pumps to £7,500.**
Solar panels
You could reduce your carbon footprint with a renewable energy source by installing solar panels. Large energy suppliers will install these in your home. With finance packages available and the opportunity to sell surplus electricity back to the grid, it’s worth considering.
Final thoughts
There are lots of ways to make your home greener. Adding an electric car charging point, using wind-powered methods to create energy, installing a smart meter, to adopting more healthy living practices. This can be achieved by sourcing sustainable food and clothing. And if you would rather move to a home that is kinder to the environment, it could be less than you think. Talk to your friendly local estate agent.
Do you need a valuation for your home? Get in touch today.
Rightmove Greener Homes report 2023*
GOV.UK**
This article was originally published by BriefYourMarket and is reproduced here with their permission.
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