How much does it cost to heat your home? If you live in a three-bedroom semi-detached Victorian house with some modern improvements, the UK’s Home Builders Federation estimates that your average yearly energy costs are around £1,670. But did you know that living in an equivalent-sized newbuild home that meets today’s building regulations could cost you £800 less per year?
That’s a saving of over 50%. Why? Leaky older homes lose much of the heat they generate through walls, windows and ceilings into the cold winter night, compared to newbuilds, which are fitted with all the latest energy-saving modern conveniences, including better insulation, double pane, or multi-pane windows and renewable energy features such as solar panels, zonal heating and cooling systems and geothermal heaters. They also tend to come with Energy Star-rated appliances designed to consume less energy. All of this leads to lower emissions and lower bills.
Just imagine what you could do with all that money you’d save. Here are some ideas:
- Treat yourself to a takeaway coffee on every working day of the year (just make sure you take your reusable cup!)
- Cover the entire annual cost of your mobile phone and network contract
- Buy a Premier League season ticket and go to a few away matches.
- Recharge with a spa weekend away every two to three months.
- Cover three and a half weeks of an average mortgage.
New technology and building materials are being developed all the time to maximise the energy efficiency of new homes and meet the demands of discerning home buyers.
With nearly 30% of energy used in the UK now consumed by domestic households, more energy efficient houses can not only save homeowners costs but play a much greater role in relieving pressure on the country’s energy infrastructure network and, critically, the environment.
The future is even more promising for prospective new homeowners. The government’s Future Homes Standard plans to increase the energy efficiency requirements for new homes by 2025 and will require newbuild homes to be future-proofed with low carbon heating, world-leading levels of energy efficiency and be climate resilient.
With more cold weather on its way, now is a great time to sell up and move into a brand-new home. Be sure to check out our latest developments to find out more about the new homes coming to an area near you. Head to our ‘Find a home’ page or contact us for more information.