Eco-friendly refurbishment used to seem like an expensive and difficult option, with just a few, usually expensive, eco-friendly products on the market and little demand from buyers or tenants.
Eco-friendly property developmentThe tide is turning, however, and as environmental issues become increasingly acute, and utility bills spiral ever upwards, tenants and buyers are actively seeking sustainable homes.
Buyers are willing to pay up to £15,000 more for an environmentally friendly home, according to research from the Energy Savings Trust.
With fuel costs rising through the roof and the introduction of energy performance certificates, buyers and tenants are ever more aware of the environmental impact of their homes, and developers should note that it really can pay to be green.
The facts are plain
Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) make it pretty impossible now to hide the fact a property is not energy efficient. An EPC must now be provided to all tenants of a property, and is also included as part of the Home Information Pack that is provided to buyers.
An EPC will rate a property’s energy efficiency and carbon foot print on an A to G rating, with A the best and G the worst. 68 per cent of people would not like to have a home rated F or G. Even more compellingly, 78 per cent would haggle down the price of the property if they saw a poor energy rating and over half of respondents to the Energy Savings Trust survey said that they would pay more for an energy efficient home.
Energy efficiency basics
In the first instance, your considerations should be the straightforward ones: insulation, draught proofing, double-glazing, and installing energy efficient boilers and appliances which carry the ‘Energy Saving Recommended’ logo.
There are many grants and schemes available for environmentally friendly property refurbishment which may help cover some for your costs. If you opt to rent your property after development, the Landlords Energy Savings Allowance is a tax break which allows the landlord to claim on their tax return against the cost of buying and installing energy saving items up to a maximum of £1,500 per property. Local authorities also often provide grants for helping property owners make improvements, so this is certainly worth investigation too.
High-spec eco-builds
At the higher end of the market, some people are actively seeking sustainable property. On one development that I did for somebody else, I was asked to source all materials from sustainable sources, which included oil-based emulsions, like linseed oil paints and wallpapers printed on recycled paper. The client’s approach was certainly expensive, but it was a really interesting challenge for a developer to find the most sustainable products on the market while staying within budget.
Going the extra mile to do a sustainable refurbishment will very likely be appreciated by your potential buyers. Opting to install a highly energy efficient boiler for example may cost you a few hundred pounds more but for your buyers it gives the effect of luxury and knowing that they are going to have lower bills when they live in the property.
The stigma goes that sustainable products are ugly, built for durability and efficiency over good aesthetics. Designers have changed all that over the last few years so you can now get ethically sourced products without compromising your design, including energy efficient spotlights that don’t take half an hour to light up!
Materials and designs
There are a whole range of materials and products you can use to get the eco-refurb effect. Demonstrating this commitment to an eco-build and the attention to detail it requires means your development could command top-end sale prices and strong rental returns.
- Flooring: Reclaimed tiles, linoleum and cork flooring all have good green credentials and natural fibre carpets can be made from natural plant fibres, including hemp, seagrass, jute, paper, coir and sisal. Wooden floors using wood from sustainably managed forests are also readily available.
- Furniture: Reclaimed furniture can be both cost-effective and stylish and be a real selling point for the right kind of buyer. Chandeliers made of recycled glass will be completely unique pieces, and sustainable fabric is becoming increasingly easy to obtain.
- Heating: If underfloor heating is installed alongside a condensing boiler, you can make energy savings of up to 40 per cent. Ground source heat pumps can also be installed in gardens, and will extract latent heat from the ground through a network of underground pipes. This heat can then be converted into energy for heating and hot water.
- Kitchens: A careful kitchen design can save lots of energy for your tenants or buyers. Fridges should be positioned away from heat sources like cookers and dishwashers, as a fridge next to a heat source takes up to 15 per cent more energy to run. A fan-assisted oven heats up 30 times faster than a conventional oven, so consuming less energy. Gas hobs and ovens use half the energy of traditional electric ones.
- Bathrooms: Dual flush toilets are now pretty standard. A mixer tap uses much less water than two separate taps. Install a salvaged bath and fast-flowing taps to reduce heat loss while it is filling. In general, showers use one fifth of amount of water a bath uses, but a power shower will use more water than a bath. An aerating low-flow showerhead saves water, and draws air bubbles into the water so you are not compromising on water pressure.
Doing your research
Taking on an eco-build is a big commitment, as it is often not obvious what the most environmentally sustainable material is to use. If you are doing some serious construction work, this will need some consideration.
Concrete, for example, you might think is a pretty environmentally unfriendly option, but concrete buildings are more durable and need less energy to run than lightweight buildings.
You might also think that timber, as a natural material, would be a better option, but timber buildings can gain and lose heat quickly, meaning that wooden constructions often are reliant on other mechanical forms of temperature control.
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Daniel Peacock