If you’re buying a house in the suburbs, you might not have realised how important energy efficiency can be. Your energy usage is likely to be one of your largest costs, especially when you’re living out in the suburbs. To combat this, you want your property to operate as efficiently as possible, whether it’s lighting, heating, or another form of energy usage.
If you’re ready to learn why energy efficiency matters when buying a house in the suburbs, keep reading this short article.
Rising energy costs and inefficient building norms
With energy prices rising year on year, heating and lighting your home is only becoming more expensive. You can try to combat these rising costs by investing in your own efficiency measures, such as triple-glazed windows and better insulation, but it’s far more cost-effective to find a home with the measures already installed.
Additionally, certain policy rollbacks in 2016 have led to some new homes being less efficient, which can cost buyers up to £1,000 per year in wasted energy. With this in mind, it literally pays to be careful and selective over the property you decide to buy.
Comfort, health, and weather resilience
With intense heatwaves during summer and plummeting temperatures during the winter, ensuring your new home is both well ventilated and well insulated is crucial. This is especially true once you consider the rising heat-related deaths across England and Wales, as many homes are not designed to deal with extreme temperatures.
When you’re considering a new house in the suburbs, you should make sure it has all the necessary features to keep you and your family safe. Primarily, that means adequate heating, insulation, and ventilation. Key areas you want to monitor are the loft, windows, and walls.
Supporting UK climate goals and energy security
In the UK, there is a drive towards clean and renewable energy, but delays in implementation have created a lag for these energy goals. That’s because the landscape surrounding suburbs and more rural areas can create difficulties for expansion, while cities can be upgraded more easily.
One key way you can support the UK government with achieving these goals is by purchasing a property with high energy efficiency, or installing efficient measures in a property that doesn’t have them.
As more properties become more efficient, this will reduce the demand on the UK’s power grid and may allow for a greater focus on clean energy production.
What to look for in suburban homes
When you’re buying a suburban home, there are several key features you want to take note of. While these features may not be advertised on the property listing, you can ask about them or check when you view a property.
The top energy-efficient features you should look for include heat pumps, MVHR (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery), triple glazing, solar panelling, and airtight construction. Even just one of these features can boost the efficiency of your new home, but the more you have, the better position you will find yourself in.
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Dmitri