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Published on April 5th, 2023
Energy efficiency upgrades or home retrofit is a critical process for homeowners and landlords looking to reduce their property’s bills, carbon emissions and improve their home’s comfort.
Energy efficiency upgrades or home retrofit is a critical process for homeowners and landlords looking to reduce their property’s bills, carbon emissions and improve their home’s comfort. This involves upgrading and modifying a number of aspects of the home; be it the home’s structure and insulation; its heating, ventilation and cooling systems; or appliances around the house such as energy saving lighting or washing machines and fridges.
The reason people install home energy upgrades is usually because energy efficient homes need less energy to operate, leading to a reduction in carbon emissions and bills. This means that homeowners can save money and contribute to mitigating climate change. As we’ve explored before, home energy upgrades can also have a positive impact on your home’s value as its future-proofness will mean less costs to the buyer when they move in, and generally more comfort while living in it.
If you’re looking for advice on how to make your home more energy efficient you can book a home assessment with us, where an accredited surveyor will tell you exactly where your property can be improved and provide you with a plan on how to take the property forward and make it more energy efficient. You can book an assessment here.
1. Insulation
Upgrading the insulation in the walls, attic and floors is one of the most effective ways to reduce energy consumption. Insulation can help keep the home warm in winter and cool in summer, reducing the amount of energy needed to heat or cool the home.
2. Air sealing
Air sealing is the process of sealing gaps and cracks in the building’s structure (Be it windows, around doors or cracks in the wall). By doing so homeowners can reduce energy loss and improve indoor air quality. This can have knock-on effects too for your own health, with less draughts and breezes you can avoid aches and pains or coughs and colds.
3. Improved heating systems
Not many people have checked their boiler themselves in the last year, but often an inefficient boiler is the route cause of higher bills and inefficient energy consumption. A tip from us is to see if you can lower the air flow, often boilers can heat a home on a lower air flow than is set by the installer. Although generally it’s worth getting these checked by a professional or upgraded to a newer model. The government’s boiler upgrade scheme (BUS) helps lower the initial cost of these installations.
4. Window upgrades
Upgrading to double or triple glazed windows can significantly reduce heat loss in winter and heat gain in summer, not only avoiding discomfort for yourself but also contributing to lowering your energy bills.
5. Renewable generation
Solar panels (or if you have the space turbines) can harness the natural energy from the sun, rain or wind providing you with your own source of low cost energy. The only cost you pay is the upfront cost of installing the generation in the first place. After this the energy you generate should contribute to lowering your bills as you produce your own. It’s also a clean source of energy meaning no emission from what you generate.
It’s not always easy to connect the upgrades people make to their home to the benefits those upgrades bring, but a lot of work has been done to make this clearer. Here we look at a few examples of how home energy upgrades help your wallet
1. Insulation
According to the Energy Saving Trust, upgrading the insulation in an uninsulated loft can save a homeowner up to £215 per year on energy bills. For an uninsulated cavity wall the savings can be up to £160 per year. In addition, insulated upgrades can reduce carbon emissions by up to 1 tonne per year per household.
2. Air Sealing
In the same study the Energy Saving Trust found that sealing draughts and gaps around the doors and windows can save up to £50 per year on energy bills. In addition, it can help reduce heat loss and improve indoor comfort.
3. Improved heating systems
The Government's Green Homes Grant found that replacing your old inefficient boiler with a modern efficient one can save you up to £205 per year on your energy bills. If you also install a smart thermostat you can save yourself another £75 per year.
4. Window upgrades
The Energy Saving Trust also found that upgrading your windows from single glazed to double or triple glazed can save you £115 per year as well as improving the comfort of your home with better retained heat and ventilation (so no more condensation on your windows).
5. Renewable generation
According to the Renewable Energy Association installing solar can provide some pretty significant savings on energy bills. For example a typical 4kWp can save a homeowner up to £260 per year on energy bills and reduce carbon emissions by up to 1.3 tonnes each year.
If you’re looking for advice on how to make your home more energy efficient you can book a home assessment with us, where an accredited surveyor will tell you exactly where your property can be improved and provide you with a plan on how to take the property forward and make it more energy efficient. You can book an assessment here.
Written by
Oisin Teevan