A third of house buyers would pay more for a home that had been fitted with a renewable energy source

(25/11/2009)

According to research released by the Energy Saving Trust reveals, a third of Britons (35%) said they would be willing to pay more for a home where some of their energy supply came from renewable resources such as wind, solar or hydropower. And it seems that Britons are more interested than ever about installing a renewable energy source to their property. Almost half of those surveyed (49%) said they would like to know if their home is suitable for renewable energy.

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 househunters as a new kitchen or solid wood floors.”

Mr Sellwood added: “Twenty-six per cent of carbon emissions are from the home, and with depleting fossil fuels, government are looking at ways to incentivise householders to install domestic renewable energy. Next year will see the introduction of feed in tariffs – where householders will receive a set payment for the electricity generated and exported.”

The research also reveals that more half (53%) of Britons said that the price of renewable energy is putting them off investing in them but there are solutions to help lower the initial cost.

However there are grants available to help with the cost of some installations. Householders can call the Energy Saving Trust and find out which grants they qualify for. These grants will help with the cost of purchase and installation of renewable technology. The Energy Saving Trust can help advise and sign post householders to the right support.

John Rithings, a Green Ambassador for the Energy Saving Trust, from Bidefode, recently invested and installed a solar hot water system in his home with the help of a grant from the Low Carbon Buildings Programme to to to install twin PV arrays – 65 panels in all – which now provide about half of his annual power consumption. Installation was “fairly painless” and half of the total cost of £33,000 was met by the grant. John estimates that he will probably make a small return on his investment over 25 years.

Shortly before retiring, John and his wife sat down and budgeted for their long-term energy consumption. “We knew that energy was going to be a major cost over the next 25 years,” he says. “We had work to do on the house anyway, so it seemed sensible to invest in energy-saving technologies where possible.”

There are two ways to capture solar energy for use in the home: by installing a solar water heating system or fitting a solar electricity system. Solar panels collect free energy from the sun converting this in to heat or electricity for the home.

Solar water heating systems cost between £3,000 and £5,000 and typically save around £50 a year when replacing gas. Typical solar electricity systems cost (around 2kW) between £8,000 and £14,000 and can save around £200 a year. Investing in both together can save a household around £250 a year off bills. And if using the solar electricity system, any excess electricity produced can be sold back to the national grid for cash.

Related categories:  Cogeneration, combined heat and power   Environmental technologies for Residential and Green homes   Ground and air source heating   Solar power and photovoltaics   Wind power