Sustainable Homes

We consider the pros and cons of owning a sustainable, efficient and healthy home and what benefits it could have for you.Many people believe that owning an “eco” home will consist of it being a new build, however, that is not the case. There are many ways that your traditional Victorian/Edwardian property can be made to be more efficient.A few beneficial ideas that you could consider; firstly, insulating your loft, using natural or recycled materials where possible would save between £250-£300 within two to three years. Improving the thermal performance of external walls and windows is a very common prospect, especially for older buildings. Another idea would be to install solar panels; they are rather expensive to install, especially if you have a large home, however, you will most probably never have to pay for the electricity in your household and any extra energy that you create from the panels will be paid back to you by the National Grid.Now, there are cons of doing this as you can imagine, the first being the upfront cost. As mentioned above, fully insulating your loft, costs of this depends on the scale of the dwelling but also what materials you use. However, the average to insulate a 3-bedroom house is approximately £500, this seems like a no brainer to us, as after 2/3 years and then you will save £250-£300 per year, why not consider this?The price of a solar panel will vary depending on the quality and size. The cost of solar technology has reduced by 70% in the past few years due to the technology maturing and mass market production. A 3kW solar system, which is enough to power a small home will cost around £5,000 - £6,000. This cost only over 21 sqm within a home, which most installers think is more than enough. The cost of this could put people off, but we think it should be a key consideration within an eco-home, or if you are trying to make your current home more efficient.Tesla, who we have spoken about in previous blogs before, are a transportation and energy company who are trying to invent new products that will be referred to as a long-term investment but good for the planet. They have created Solar Tiles, which is a mix of different types of tiles for roofs along with fitted small solar panels behind each tile. They are the first company to produce these and are readily available today. These tiles work together with the Tesla Powerwall which stores the electricity for usage inside the home. The cost, Elon Musk who is the Tesla CEO has announced during the opening event that it would cost approximately £52,997.30 to install a solar roof with 40% solar tiles on a 241m2 dwelling. This also include the £5,368 Tesla Powerwall as mentioned above, it is a battery unit that stores the energy from the solar panels and powers the home. He explains that over 30-year period, the average owner, can look to save up to £8,000. This equates to around £266 per year!There are many ways you can make your home for sustainable, so why not start today?