Solar panels are the new designer kitchen

Investing in solar panels or a wind turbine could add to the resale value of a property and could be as attractive to house hunters as a new kitchen or solid wood floors.

When arriving at a market value for a property, there are a variety of factors that can add value to a home. Improvements such as a conservatory or designer kitchen, can convince a purchaser to pay more for a home.

However, with an ever increasing emphasis on the environment, it would appear that buyers are willing to pay a premium for a house that has a renewable energy source.

The Energy Saving Trust has just released the results of a poll that they commissioned recently. Over a third (35 per cent) of those polled said they would be prepared to pay more for a home where some of their energy supply came from renewable resources such as wind, solar or hydro-power.

Philip Sellwood, chief executive of the Energy Saving Trust, said: “It seems Britons are willing to pay more for a home with a renewable energy source so investing in a solar panel or a wind turbine could add to the resale value of a property and could be as attractive to house hunters as a new kitchen or solid wood floors.”

The term ‘feed in tariff’ is a direct translation from German. In Germany, the state has for several years encouraged the development of renewable energy sources such as anaerobic digestion plants, by paying the producer a premium per KwH for power generated from renewable sources. This has been a very successful model and is now being copied in the UK.

The poll also indicated that over half (53 per cent) of those polled were put off from installing a domestic renewable energy source by the high initial cost. The Energy Saving Trust can suggest grants that are available for certain green technologies. They feature case studies of people who are acting as “Green Ambassadors” by installing renewable energy sources in their homes.

An analogous situation would be vehicles converted to run on liquid petroleum gas (LPG). This is not only more environmentally friendly but actually costs less than half the price of petrol. Logically, any such vehicle should command a premium price over an identical petrol car. The reality is that neither an insurance company nor a retail purchaser will pay a penny more for an LPG vehicle over and above its petrol driven equivalent.

The research was done across 2696 adults in the UK in March this year. Unfortunately, like most polling exercises, it is deeply flawed. Asking respondents if they would be willing to pay more for a green home is one thing and many people will answer “yes” and bask in the warm, fuzzy glow of “helping the environment”.

Source - Property Confidential

New property will be installed with solar panels

Solar panels should be a fundamental part of all future housing stock built in the UK, the National Energy Foundation (NEF) believes.

The organisation, which helps homes and businesses to reduce their carbon emissions by pursuing energy efficiency measures, also called for new residences to be better insulated to reduce energy consumption.

A spokesperson for the NEF said that biomass could also be a “significant” technology for helping to lower emissions tied to the nation’s energy consumption, but suggested that it is limited by how much feedstock can be grown.

“Solar is an infinite quantity,” he added. “Every single property that is built in the UK, if it doesn’t have solar panels on it then I ask, ‘Why?’”

His comments came after research from UK Climate Projections warned that t

Source - Low Carbon Economy