Making your home more sustainable can increase its value - here's how!
Sustainability is becoming an increasingly bigger focus in people's life and so it's unsurprising to see this trend reflected in property, as people move toward making their homes more environmentally friendly. Aside from the obvious benefit this can have on the environment, coupled with the money you'll save in the long run, it can also have a big impact on your home's market value.
Regardless of whether you've got immediate plans to sell your home, increasing your property's value is never a bad thing, so here are four ways to add value to your home using green technology.
1) Install solar panels
Home buyers have a set of features that they want their prospective property to have. Historically, things like parking, a garage or a garden have taken precedence, but more than ever, prospective buyers in Leeds are adding solar panels to that list.
Buyers are prepared to pay more for a property with Solar Panels installed, with the extra they are prepared to pay commonly exceeding the cost of installation. With recent estimates suggesting the average home in Leeds saves over £470 annually with Solar Panels installed they are not a good only a good way to increase your property’s value but also a great way to save on energy costs.
2) Get electric charging points at your property
As previously mentioned, renewable energy and environmental technologies are being utilised by more and more people, and the uptake of electric vehicles is a fantastic example of this. The increased demand for electric vehicles brings with it a newfound demand for electric chargers, and people love convenience. Installing one at your property on the driveway is a sure way of appealing to electric vehicle owners, and the best thing is, they're rapidly growing in numbers! They're also cheaper than you might think, with a local supplier in Leeds offering them for as little as £29 a month.
3) Adopt smart technologies throughout your home
Smart Technology is growing in popularity. Smart meters, for gas or electricity, help to track consumption automatically and are designed to give homeowners easy access to their consumption data via smartphone apps. Convenience is king in the household, and with apps now allowing you to control things like your heating, lighting, electronics, and even kitchen appliances from your phone whilst, on the fly, more and more people are seeking to make the most of it.
4) Embrace environmental quick-wins
Some of the bigger home installations, such as solar panels or electric vehicle charging points, are desirable features in their own right, but other more minor additions are also important in the eyes of prospective buyers, especially those with a conscious eye on the environment. Using LED Lightbulbs, in isolation, isn't going to increase the value of your home, but adopt best practices across the board, and you might just tip the odds in your favour. LED lightbulbs, programmable thermostats, insulation and double-glazing can all combine to produce improved sustainability and one that's greater than the sum of its parts.
Efforts to make your home more environmentally friendly are a win-win. Sustainable practices save you money in the long run and even the bigger installations like solar panels pay for themselves in no time at all! Combine these bigger installations with minor improvements across your property and you'll find your home is much more appealing to those environmentally conscious buyers. For more Leeds energy insights and advice from local experts, be sure to check out Egg Energy's blog - it's full of great information for home buyers, sellers, and the environmentally conscious alike.
