The twin problems of climate change and rising energy bills mean we all need our homes to be as eco-friendly and energy efficient as possible. While the cost of green home improvements can be off-putting, making smart choices means your eco upgrades could quickly pay for themselves.

Draught-proofing

The Energy Saving Trust estimates around 15% of heat loss from the average home is due to draughts. Sealing gaps around doors, windows and elsewhere can directly save you around £55 a year but potentially even more because many of us turn our heating up to compensate for the discomfort causes by draughts. Lowering your thermostat by just 1°C can save you around 10% on your heating, equal to around £85 a year for the average home.

Overall, this means draught-proofing could save you in the region of £140 a year. Given that it is relatively easy to do yourself and can cost as little as £120 for a typical home, this is a bit of a no brainer.

The following video from the Energy Saving Scotland Advice Centre takes you through the basics of DIY draught proofing.

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Roof insulation

British homes are notorious for being some of the worst insulated in Europe and addressing this can go a long way towards cutting your bills and your carbon footprint.

First, take a look at your roof. Many British homes have little if any insulation in their roofs and older forms of insulation tend to degrade after around 20 years. This means even if you think your roof is well-insulated, you could be in for a surprise. Fitting insulation between your rafters is a relatively simple job to do yourself and will cost you around £300 for a typical semi-detached house. This is likely to save you around £140 a year, so is well worth the investment.

Wall insulation

If you have unfilled cavity walls, these should be your next fix. Insulating cavities is relatively cheap and quick (although you will need a professional to do it) and can reduce heat loss by around a third. For a typical semi-detached house you are likely to pay around £475 and save roughly £160 a year.

Older properties (built before 1920) tend to have solid walls with no cavity to be easily filled. Solid walls generally let out around twice as much heat as unfilled cavity walls and are usually much more expensive to insulate. Your options are to add insulating materials to either the inside or outside of the walls. Adding insulation internally can significantly reduce the size of your rooms as it is usually around 100mm thick, while external insulation can significantly alter the look of your room (although you can turn this to your advantage if you think your home needs a facelift).

Internal wall insulation will set you back by £3,000 to £14,000 and external wall insulation by £5,000 to £18,000. For a typical semi-detached house your are likely to save around £260 a year, meaning even at the cheapest end of the price range you’d take over a decade to make your money back.

Solar panels

What if, as well as cutting your bills and making your home greener, you could also generate a profit from your home improvements? This is exactly what solar panels offer.

Currently, three quarters of UK mains electricity comes from burning gas and coal. This means, however little electricity you use, you are still contributing to global warming and subject to ever rising energy prices. Generating your own electricity reduces your dependence on power from the grid, lessening your impact on the environment and your bills while helping to secure you against future energy price hikes.

So where does the profit come from? Thanks to the government’s Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme, your power company will actually pay you for generating energy at home. You will receive a fixed rate for every kilowatt hours (kWh) of electricity you generate, including what you use to power your own home! You will also get paid extra for any excess energy you do not use (which is exported back to the grid for other people to use).

The exact amount you get from FITs depends on the size of your PV installation, your home’s EPC rating and when your system is installed. The level of payments has declined over the years in line with the decreasing cost of PV. You can find a full list of the latest tariffs on the Ofgem website.

So how much can you make with solar panels? Which? estimate an average domestic installation costing £7,000 would net you £559 a year (including savings on your bills). This means it would take 12-13 years to make your money back and generate around £4000 profit over the full 20 years for which FIT payments are guaranteed. The Energy Saving Trust, however, reckon you could pocket between £610-740 a year, while British Gas put the figure at around £850 a year.

Ultimately, a number of factors affect how quickly solar panels pay for themselves. As a longer term investment and way to green up your home, however, solar PV is certainly a bright idea.

Green Deal

If you need a helping hand with the cost of eco-friendly home improvements, you can apply to the Green Deal Home Improvement Fund. Unfortunately, this is currently set to run out on 30^th September 2015 (sooner if the fund runs out) so if you want to apply you need to get a move on.

Metrotile are one of the UK’s top producers of high-quality, light weight roofing and we also specialise in photovoltaic roof tiles. Unlike conventional solar panels, photovoltaic roof tiles blend in with your existing roof, making them more attractive and suitable for areas with planning restrictions where regular solar panels are not allowed.

To find out more or to ask for a quote, call Metrotile today on 01249 658 514 or use our contact form for a swift response.