In the week that Al Gore’s film ‘An Inconvenient Truth’ scooped two Oscars, home owners are becoming increasingly aware of green energy options to grow the appeal of their homes.
Installing solar panels and wind turbines could soon sit alongside the loft conversion as a way to make your home attractive to potential buyers. Greenies may even earn a welcome tax break in the Chancellor’s budget –expected next month. One environmentally aware owner cashes in £2,500 of electricity generated by the turbine fitted water wheel on his converted mill in Frome, Somerset every year.
“Investing in eco-friendly technology and choosing energy from renewable sources is going to be a great way to ensure your house stands out from the rest and appeals to future buyers,” said Sophie Neary, product Director of BeatThatQuote.com. Houses run on renewable power are going to be in great demand if traditional fuel prices keep rising but beyond that, it’s becoming very desirable to flaunt your green credentials. Once it was enough to have a hand built kitchen, now everyone wants to know that the wood came from sustainable forests.”
With government grants covering around 50% of the estimated £9,000 cost of installing energy-saving systems in homes, going green is even subsidised. On the high street, Curry’s are selling solar panels and B&Q are stocking wind turbines.
The annual average utility bill was recently reported as £1,000 for a standard three-bedroom house. Investing £9,000 on an energy-saving system could halve this annual cost, with homeowners recouping the initial £5,000 outlay in just 5 years – assuming a £4,000 government grant was received and excluding any revenue made by selling back excess electricity generated to suppliers.