Energy saving improvements are boosting house prices by 14-38% according to a study from the UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC).
The report’s findings, based on 300,000 sales from 1995-2011, suggest energy efficiency is now a major factor in influencing the sale of residential houses in England.
Buyers in north east and west England, regions typically wetter and colder than southern parts of the country, are likely to pay a premium for houses that have high energy performance certificates (EPC).
The government says the report backs its nascent Green Deal scheme, which offers long-term loans for energy-saving home improvement work.
“We have long known the benefits of making energy saving improvements to the home, but this study is real evidence of the huge potential rewards,” Minister for Energy and Climate Change Greg Barker said in a statement.
DECC figures show that the average electricity bill in 2012 across all payment types rose by £26 compared with 2011, to £479
“Not only can energy efficient improvements help protect you against rising energy prices, but they can also add real value to your property.”
The Green Deal initiative was been hailed as groundbreaking by supporters, but has struggled to generate momentum since its launch in January.
It allows people to take out loans for insulation or new boilers and repay it over a maximum of 25 years, but of an estimated 19,000 households who have been assessed, the BBC reports only 200 have signed up.
Celebrity architect Kevin McLoud, co-founder of the Grand Designs Future Living home retrofit company, believes consumers are missing out.
“There are some 26 million homes in Britain, most of them about as well insulated as a rabbit hutch, and they need immediate help to be made less wasteful,” he said.
“This timely report tells us what we suspected all along: that people really value the well-insulated, energy-efficient home; that modest investment in measures to make our homes more comfortable, healthier and cheaper-to-run really pays off.
“The Green Deal is now maturing into a helpful way of financing a lot of the retrofit solutions around. Homeowners can now start to make these changes, alleviate the burden of high energy bills and improve the value of their prime asset.”