Five eco-friendly homes for Earth Day
Any home listed for sale in the UK now has to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which tells you how energy-efficient the property is. Properties are marked from A to G. Homes graded A are the most energy efficient and should have the lowest energy bills, those graded G are the least energy efficient.
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Data from property website Rightmove (RMV.L) shows that the number of highly energy-efficient homes for sale is steadily growing. Properties with an EPC rating of between A and C have risen 104% since 2019. A-grade EPC-rated homes are still few and far between, however, with less than 1% of homes on the site achieving that highest score.
Here is a selection with A-star quality in honour of Earth Day on Monday:
An alluring lake house, £495,000
On the market for £495,000, this Huf Haus-designed home in Southampton is built like a bridge over a lake. It has an air-source heat pump, solar panels on the roof, triple-glazed windows and an electric vehicle (EV) charging point.
A luxurious pool house, £3.975m
Solar panels and air-source heat pumps power Oaklands in West Sussex and heat the home's outdoor pool. Excess energy is stored in two Solar Edge batteries, which discharge to provide power for nighttime use and the cycle begins again the next day. The seven-bedroom, seven-bathroom home is priced at £3,975,000.
A contemporary Dutch barn, £600,000
Raven House is a semi-detached four-bedroom, two-bathroom home in the Carlisle countryside. With a £600,000 price tag, it boasts VELFAC triple glazing and the latest generation of solar panels with intelligent controls, plus an EV charger point.
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An eco-friendly cottage, £750,000
While this West Sussex home looks like a vintage cottage, it has been upgraded with 6.6kWp solar panels that produce all its electricity and hot water. On sale for £750,000, it has a combined KNX and Control 4 smart home system that controls all heating, lighting, and AV equipment to maximise energy efficiency.
A family farmhouse, £800,000
This four-bedroom family farmhouse in Witnesham is priced at £800,000. It has a striking grey slate fibre-cement exterior, a Fleming Homes frame and triple-glazed aluminium and wood windows. Plus, it is fitted with solar panels for electricity and air source heat pumps for hot water and underfloor heating and a mechanical ventilation heat recovery system that maintains fresh air while saving on heating bills.
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The majority of UK homes still have a long way to go on the road to net zero. Over half (57%) of homes on Rightmove still score below a C on the EPC scale.
“It’s promising that an increasing proportion of agents are using higher EPC ratings as a key selling point in their listings, as awareness continues to grow over the importance of going greener in all areas of society," said Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science.
"However, there is still work to be done to improve the availability of more energy-efficient homes and help inform movers of the benefits of eco-friendly home features.”
Watch: How you can make an existing home more sustainable
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