The UK’s property market is known for blowing hot and cold, but now new figures have revealed a sure-fire way to turn up the heat on the value of your home.
According to research conducted by comparison site Moneysupermarket.com, homeowners can boost the price of their property by as much as £24,000 by increasing their Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating from D to A/B.
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Using average property prices in UK regions, the study found that homeowners in the South West see the biggest monetary increase from making this change, upping the value of their home by £19,576 (or 7.7 per cent).
Further figures showed that homeowners in the North West stand to gain the most in terms of greatest percentage increase in value, boosting the asking price for their property by 12.2 per cent (or £16,219).
Looking at the five cities across the UK that stand to make the biggest property gains from increasing their EPC rating, Lichfield in Staffordshire came out on top. Here property prices are given a healthy lift of £24,766. Following closely behind is York, where the increase comes in at £23,684.
Here are four ways you can improve energy efficiency in your home, according to the site:
Boiler replacement
Replacing your existing boiler model for a more energy efficient model will have a significant impact on your home’s energy consumption.
EPC certificate
Your current EPC certificate – which gives a rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient), will already offer up a guide as to how you can improve the energy efficiency in your home. This includes estimates of how much it costs to heat and power your home, as well as potential costs over three years if you were to make energy efficiencies.
Cavity wall insulation
Keep those nasty draughts out and your home much warmer in the process by installing cavity wall insulation. This could help you save as much as £160 a year.
Water pipe insulation
Improve the energy efficiency of your hot water tank by using a ‘lagging jacket’ to insulate your water pipes to insulate your water pipes.
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Is there anything on the above list you could action to up your EPC rating?
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