Buying A New House? Look For These Low Energy Features

Moving into a new house is an incredibly exciting time for anyone, but there are things to watch out for even if you’ve fallen head over heels in love with the place you’re looking at. Yes, you may have fallen in love with the original wood timbers and the high ceilings, but that will have a big impact on your energy bills.

Most people, when they look to move, will be aware of the things like draughts and damp—all things that cost plenty of money to fix and a quality surveyor should point out to you. But have you thought about your lighting bills? It might not be enough to start using LED bulbs instead of halogen and incandescent.

Here are some things to watch out for as you start searching for your dream property.

Solar Panels

This isn’t just an eco-friendly way of powering your home, you could actually make a profit from it. More and more energy companies are offering to pay homeowners for the excess energy their solar panels make. However, if the individual bought the solar panels through a loan, check to make sure the loan is paid off before making an offer. If the panels are leased, this could create problems too. But if you’ve done your homework, these are a winning solution.

LED Light Bulbs

You might be one of the unlucky number who move in to find the previous homeowners have even taken the light bulbs with them, but if not this could be a big win. LED bulbs typically last for over 50,000 hours, saving you money not just by lasting a long time but by conserving energy that would be wasted on more traditional bulbs.

For bonus points, if when viewing the house you ask what kind of bulbs they are and the seller tells you LED, you can be fairly certain they’ve done other things to make the house more energy efficient for the next owner.

Open The Windows

Of course, if you’ve got plenty of windows without anything blocking them, you won’t need to use as much electricity—because you’ll already have the light streaming in from outside. Natural light has been shown to boost mood, improve sleep quality if you’re exposed to it early enough in the day, and generally improve your quality of life.

Once you’re in your new home, you can set about customising it any way you want. But if you want a little helping hand, these energy efficiency tips are a great start.