Research from housebuilder Redrow suggests that homebuyers choosing a brand new home over a modernised Victorian property could save up to £1,300 every year on their energy bills.
Redrow has calculated energy-use and costs for three of its house styles: a four-bedroom detached home, a three-bedroom semi and a three-bedroom mid-terrace property. It then compared costs to those for equivalent-sized Victorian homes with modern day improvements*.
Results showed that a new four-bedroom home could save bill payers around £1,299 a year, while savings in a three-bedroom semi are around £915 and a three-bedroom terrace in the region of £709.**
Rob Macdiarmid, Group sustainability director for Redrow Homes, said: “This kind of saving could make a huge difference when it comes to family budgeting. Our homes are packed with features designed to minimise energy use and maximise efficiency with high quality insulation, double glazing, low-energy boilers and ventilation systems, as well as energy efficient lighting, included as standard in all our properties.
“Energy prices are never far from the headlines and environmental considerations are increasingly high on most homebuyers’ agenda so a brand new home ticks lots of the boxes not associated with the purchase of an older property. In fact, we recently surveyed prospective new homebuyers and they told us that lower energy bills were actually more important to them than a garden, parking space, amenities, external appeal/design of home, and fittings and appliances.”
63% said they wanted to purchase a more environmentally friendly home, while 82% said they were willing to pay more for one.
* Indicative costs calculated by the Zero Carbon Hub
** Indicative costs calculated using Redrow house types modelled in Stroma FSAP (SAP2012)
