Being environmentally friendly and reducing emissions is an area that is becoming more and more of a key concern for everyone today.
There are lots of things you can do to make your home more energy efficient, cutting down your bills and reducing your carbon footprint at the same time. Whether you are buying or selling, these improvements can make a huge difference to your everyday life and can also add value to your property in the future.
All Home Reports in Scotland include an EPC (Energy Performance Certificate). An EPC gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years.
Whether you are thinking of selling, want to reduce your carbon footprint, or save on your electricity bills, here are our tips on how to improve your EPC rating:
- Insulate your house – loft and cavity wall insulation are easy to install and can have a considerable impact on improving the energy efficiency of your home.
- Install double glazing on your windows – older windows can be responsible for 40% of the heat loss in your house.
- Lighting – replace your old halogen spotlights with LED bulbs which have a much higher working lifespan and can give you considerable savings over the long-term.
- Replace an old boiler for an energy efficient version with a programmer and thermostat to save on heating bills and energy costs.
- Renewable energy – from solar panels to biomass boilers to ground source heat pumps, installing renewable energy sources will increase your EPC rating dramatically.
- Appliances – if you are shopping for new appliances, make sure they are energy efficient (they will also save you considerable money over time). In addition, don’t overuse your appliances when you really don’t need to.
- Switch off gadgets and appliances (e.g. printers, coffee makers, microwaves fitted with clocks) when they are not in use, because they still use energy by being plugged into the wall even if they aren’t powered on.