How to Make Your Property Energy-Efficient for Selling

Energy efficiency is a key concern for households today for two distinct reasons. The first is the climate crisis, which has grown in stature over the last few decades to become the defining issue of our time. The other is the cost-of-living crisis, which has skyrocketed core energy costs for the average household.

Addressing energy efficiency in your home is not only beneficial for your wallet but also for the planet. But how can you meaningfully affect the EPC rating of your home, to improve energy efficiency and cut costs and emissions? 

Double-Glazed Windows

Double-glazed windows are standard in every home today, though numerous older-built homes still feature sash and single-pane windows. Double-glazing is the contemporary standard on account of the insulative benefits of single-glazing. Two panes of glass are arranged with a small air gap between them, from which the air is removed. This vacuum cavity prevents heat transfer from the inside out – or indeed from the outside in. As such, heat loss through the windows is reduced significantly.

Double-glazed windows are also a strong choice for minimizing noise pollution, though they are only so effective. In homes under flight paths, triple-glazing is becoming a new norm and could well become a new norm nationally as a result of its better insulative qualities.

Energy-Efficient Lighting

We do not give much thought to our lightbulbs when considering energy efficiency, but older incandescent bulbs are notably inefficient. Even the halogen bulbs that largely replaced them are not ideal. Recently, LED technology has improved to the extent that LED lightbulbs are becoming inexpensive; they are also extremely efficient, with practically no heat loss.

Underfloor Heating

Generally speaking, addressing your home’s heating system is a deeply effective route to improving efficiency. For one, making the switch from conventional radiators to underfloor heating systems can measurably improve efficiency. These gains can be compounded by making an essential change to the boiler system, too; electric boilers are now readily available on the market, and much more efficient than gas boilers – not to mention safer.

Wall and Roof Insulation

A great majority of homes in the UK are already insulated, and building regulations have long required the insulation of new and renovated homes. But insulation technology, and even the science and understanding behind insulation, has improved dramatically in recent years. This means that there may be scope for new insulative materials to improve the energy efficiency of your home. This might be through the replacement of your stud wall insulation, or through the re-insulating of your attic to improve heat retention in upper floors.

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