As we continue to navigate the cost of living crisis and ever-increasing energy bills, many homeowners in the UK are – unsurprisingly – now looking for practical ways to improve their home’s energy efficiency. Making your home more energy efficient offers an array of benefits, from reduced energy costs to higher property valuations should you decide to sell up.
According to the Institute for Government, UK homes are among the least efficient in Europe, with more than half having an EPC rating of D or lower and less than 5% being rated A or B. Based on these findings, it’s likely that your property could benefit from energy-efficient measures such as loft insulation, a new boiler, and storage heaters. Read on to discover exactly what these benefits are and how the team here at UK Energy Management (NE) Ltd can help you access them.
The Benefits of Making Your Home More Energy Efficient
Reduced Energy Costs
One of the main benefits you could experience as a result of boosting your home’s energy efficiency is cheaper energy bills. Energy efficiency measures can help to reduce your overall energy usage, which should cause your energy costs to drop too. In order to maximise these savings, it’s a good idea to check you have the best tariff for your energy requirements and that you don’t get caught out by excessively high standing charges. If you’re looking to go a step further and make the switch to renewable energy sources, you could stand to reduce your energy bills even further. This option can allow you to live partly or fully off-grid, meaning you’ll no longer be reliant on the national grid and can cut your carbon footprint even more.
Increased Comfort
Properties with lower energy efficiency ratings can prove difficult to maintain comfort in, with unreliable indoor temperatures and seemingly unpredictable conditions within the property. If your home isn’t energy efficient, you may even notice a difference in the temperature from one room to another. By improving energy efficiency via insulation or other provisions courtesy of UK Energy Management (NE) Ltd, you can eradicate draughts and air leakage to make your home infinitely more comfortable for yourself, family and guests.
Lower Carbon Footprint
Reducing your carbon footprint may be at the very back of your mind considering the difficulty of simply getting by during this financially limiting time – but this isn’t to say you can’t do your bit for the environment while saving on bills. Every little thing we do to make a small difference towards helping the environment adds up to a big change for us all – and paves the way for future generations to protect our planet from the harmful effects of climate change.
Higher Property Value
Your everyday person in 2023 is much likelier to be environmentally conscious than before, marking out future property buyers as a demographic likely to seek out energy-efficient homes as standard. If you’re thinking about selling your property, you could potentially secure a higher price if you’ve already made it more eco-friendly, with features such as insulation or solar installations. Maximise the resale value and attract a wider range of buyers by accounting for the sustainable features you have installed.
Cheaper House Insurance
When you’re paying for home insurance, there are various factors that affect the price, including the size of your property, security systems installed, and proximity to natural risks. One aspect which may have gone under the radar, is that many insurance companies offer discounts to homeowners who have energy-efficient windows, doors or appliances. Getting a home insurance quote is typically the fastest and most convenient way to find the best price – and you can purchase a policy online or over the phone in seconds.
Better Air Quality
When your home reaches optimal energy efficiency levels, you’ll be using your heating and air-cooling systems less frequently. This can help to enhance the air quality in your home, as well as reducing the number of pollutants that impact the environment. By improving the air quality within your home, you can enjoy a healthier living space, and protect the environment at the same time, with less illness, infections and routine health issues to worry about generally.
Energy-Efficiency Measures You Should Consider
Electric Heating Grants
Gas prices are rising constantly, and this makes electricity an ever-more viable option for the sensible homeowner, especially due to the off-peak tariffs that storage heaters can take advantage of. Our electric heater appliances use the latest energy-efficient SMART technology for the very best results – meaning that no heat is wasted during the times in which you don’t need it. Cheap to run and installed for free by qualified engineers, our installations at UK Energy Management (NE) Ltd last longer than other night storage heaters on the market and these heating upgrades auto-adjust to the climate around them.
Gas Heating
Natural gas is one of the cleanest heat options available, with emissions consisting of mostly water vapour and small amounts of carbon dioxide. This means when you choose natural gas, you’ll heat your home cleanly and leave behind a smaller carbon footprint. From registering you in the ECO4 scheme to organising a visit from a professional installer, we’re with you every step of the way when you opt for this fantastic energy efficiency solution. Our market-leading gas boilers perform to the highest industry standards, and could be yours for free.
Cavity Wall Insulation
Cavity wall insulation is responsible for keeping the cold out and simultaneously keeping the heat in, generally made from foam, bead, or mineral wool. Once one of our specialists have taken a look around your property to find out which type is best for you, you’re good to go. We can even offer cavity wall extraction for faulty insulation if required. Did you know that homes lose up to 35% of their heat through the cavity walls? That means, by installing cavity wall insulation, free of charge, you could retain that lost energy as well as reducing your bills in the process.
Smart Controls
Reliable smartphone access to controls ensures that your heating system can be maintained anywhere and at any time, giving you plenty of flexibility to warm the home for cold Winter nights, or cool down specific rooms from the comfort of your bed. Not only does the app make temperature adjustments easier, but you can even alter your heating schedules and check energy consumption, allowing you to adjust habits accordingly. With a convenient interface and an array of useful features, smart controls are the future.
Make Your Home Energy Efficient With ECO4 Funding
Introduced in April of 2022, the ECO4 funding scheme has replaced previous government-backed initiatives, such as ECO3. This scheme aims to support low-income households by providing them with low-cost, high-efficiency heating and insulation solutions. The primary objective of the ECO4 scheme is to help vulnerable individuals and low-income households to become more energy efficient. Targeted at properties that fall within the efficiency bands E, F and G, the grant can be used for the installation or upgrade of cavity wall insulation, central heating improvements, loft insulation and more.
The best thing about the scheme is that all you need to do is register your interest. Our dedicated team here at UKEM will take care of everything else for you: from checking your eligibility to enrolling you in the scheme, to ensuring all your energy-efficient home improvements are carried out by qualified tradespeople and installers. Interested in finding out if you’re eligible? Simply navigate to the appropriate page on our website, or contact a member of our team.
