Energy saving tips on a sustainable investment property
- Aaron
- Dec 8, 2020
- 3 min read
Turning our investment properties into sustainable and energy-efficient homes makes great sense. Quality tenants who enjoy a pleasant environment and lower utility bills are more likely to stay longer. As eco-friendly property investors, we understand that transforming a property sustainably makes the place more desirable to rent and to live comfortably.
Here are some quick and affordable ways to save energy in your investment property:
When buying/leasing or refurbishing a property:
1. Ensure the property is well insulated.
Look into loft insulation and other options under the Green Deal - (only available until March).
Having good home insulation makes a big difference to a property’s energy performance. Sealing joints and double glazed windows can save up to 50% on heating and cooling energy and significantly improving comfort levels.
2. Consider using automatic sensors to turn on and off light switches in hallways, kitchens, and bathrooms.
This is an easy way to cut down electricity bills.
This leaves you with the peace of mind in knowing lights won’t be left on by accident, because it will automatically turn off.
3. Know your appliances’ energy rating.
When buying appliances, make sure you know how much energy it consumes and what energy rating it has.
Electronic Appliances with a good rating reduce energy consumption by up to 80%. In the UK appliances come with an alphabetised rating system. Try to go for something at least A rated if it is affordable. It might be slightly more expensive to purchase initially but over time the running costs will be much lower.
4. Use LED lighting instead of a regular bulb.
LED lights have a much longer life span. It lasts up to 70,000 hours and does not contain toxic elements.
5. Use a smart thermostat, we use Time⭕stat!
When installing a smart thermostat, you can expect the energy consumption to go down 10-30%. In a shared house costs can go down as much 40%.
6. Install a smart meter
In the UK all energy providers are now rolling out smart meters. If you property doesn’t have one contact your provider to request one.
Smart meters are clever devices that allow you to see how much energy is being consumed, live in pounds and pence. This makes it easier for tenants to see what they're doing to use up energy and then make changes to their habits which should result in energy savings and reduced bills.
Conclusion:
As the climate crisis is continuing it is important for everyone to consider sustainability in everything we do. This is why make eco-friendly choices should be on the mind of every property investor. Making environmentally conscious choices can often save more money too. It is easy to forget that even little changes can make a big difference in conserving energy and utility costs.
By following the tips above and considering managing your properties sustainably, you’re not just helping the environment by reducing your carbon footprint, but also helping to reduce your tenancy turn over. Not to mention that you’ll be marketing this in your property’s advertisements as a green home! Now that’s a win-win for everyone!
We hope these tips have helped you. Please share your experiences, thoughts and ideas!
Update:
The UK government recently announced a Green Deal package for UK property owners. The Green Deal helps you make energy-saving improvements to your home and to find the best way to pay for them - typical examples include:
insulation, such as solid wall, cavity wall or loft insulation
heating
draught-proofing
double glazing
renewable energy generation, such as solar panels or heat pumps
Up to £5,000 in grants are available per property.
If you found this useful you can also take a look at our previous blog post” Water Conserving Tips to a More Sustainable Property” where we have outlined some tips on how we save water across our property portfolio.
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