Since July 2008, to put a house on the market you’ve had to arrange for a Home Information Pack (HIP), containing assorted details about the house, it’s construction, boundary details and planning permission. From April of this year, the HIP must be ready and available by the first day your property goes on the market.
Contained in the HIP is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC), which potential buyers can use to assess your home’s energy efficiency. Today, we’re giving you some excellent tips on how to give your EPC an adrenalin shot and boost your home’s energy efficiency, and so boost its value.
Even if you aren’t selling your home, improving your home’s energy efficiency makes sense: by combining these tips you could reduce your energy bill by over £300 a year!
Fit or Replace Your Double Glazing.
The Government have downgraded the energy rating of all Pre-2002 double glazing to ‘Average’, whilst the newer units can attain a ‘Good’ or even ‘Excellent’ rating. If your double glazing is starting to get past its best you can increase your home’s overall rating by replacing it with modern energy-efficient units. Making sure your double glazing is up to scratch will also help reduce draughts and noise, making your home a quieter, more peaceful place.
It’s also worth thinking about your window frames, since various window frame makes each carry an energy efficiency rating, and there are a multitude of fittings and finishes available.
The BFRC produce a rating system for windows of A-G, so when shopping for energy-efficient windows, make sure the your provider sells windows with an ‘A’ energy rating, and ask about Low Emission (‘Low-E’) coated panes. Also, look out for the logo of the Energy Saving Trust, who give approval to highly energy-efficient windows
You can find quotes for all kinds of windows and locate window companies using WindowQuoter.co.uk.
Insulate Your Loft and Wall Cavities.
If your walls and loft don’t have appropriate insulation you’ll be losing heat, losing energy, and getting a lower energy performance rating than you should be. Loft and cavity insulation is surprisingly affordable and will save you enough on your fuel bill to make back your costs within 2 years. Thanks to your increased EPC rating you’ll also add value to your home when you sell – probably more than it costs to have the insulation fitted.
A very good time to consider getting your insulation check is when your roof needs repair or replacement, and if yours does, head over to RoofQuoter.co.uk for an instant online quote for roofing work.
Upgrade Your Central Heating System
EPC certificates also look at your boiler and heating control system. If you’ve got an out-of-date combi-boiler you might want to consider replacing that with a more modern and efficient model, but you can also score points for having thermostatic control valves on your radiators, which adjust the temperature of each individual room based on your preferences and allow you greater control over your heating.
Change Your Light Bulbs
Not every energy saving measure needs great expense. Probably the greatest saving you can make on your electricity bill is also the simplest: swap your 100W traditional light bulbs for energy saving alternative bulbs. If your living room has 6 lights which you have filled with 100W bulbs, replacing them all with 20W energy saving bulbs will save you 480W, every hour, without losing any brightness. Even across the life of a standard bulb that’s a huge saving, and coupled with the fact that energy saving bulbs last much longer, it’s an easy decision to make.
Showing posts with label eco-friendly houses. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eco-friendly houses. Show all posts
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Thursday, 21 August 2008
eco-homes - go green and save money
Eco-homes - go green and save money
It seems that not a day goes by without some mention of climate change. We all know we should be taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint, but with today's hectic lifestyles, it's hard to know where to start.
But as energy bills, fuel prices and the cost of groceries all continue to rise, there's now an added incentive for making our homes more eco-friendly. Here we show you how you can make small changes that will not just make you feel like you're doing your bit for the environment, but can also save you some serious money!
Lighting and Heating
One of the easiest ways to save a bit of energy is to invest in some energy-saving lightbulbs. They've had bad press in the past, as they used to be bulky, ugly and not as bright as ordinary bulbs, but technology has moved on, and they are now available in a range of shapes, colours and sizes. While the bulbs are more expensive in the first place, they last up to 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs, and use up to four times less electricity, so you will quickly make back your money and start saving.
On top of this, it's amazing how much energy you can save just by turning unnecessary lights off. It's worthwhile getting into the habit of switching the lights off when you leave a room - just by switching off one bulb for an hour every day, you'll save enough energy to power a month's worth of telly watching! With the lighting in most homes accounting for 10 to 15 per cent of the electricity bill, this one simple tip could save you up to £25 a year.
There are also several things you can do to save on your heating bills. Consider replacing you boiler with a condensing boiler. Again, this might seem costly upfront, but according to the National Energy Foundation, you would recoup these costs in three to four years. Alternatively, you could insulate your existing boiler for significant energy savings - if we all lagged our hot water cylinders with an insulated jacket, we would save enough CO2 to fill over 4.2million double decker buses! If you have electric-powered heaters, another idea is to fit each heater with its own timer, so that you can heat different rooms at different times, according to use. And if all that sounds too much like hard work, even just turning the thermostat down by just 1°C can cut as much as 10 per cent off your heating bills!
Insulation and Glazing
Now that you've saved money on warming your house, the last thing you want is for all your efforts to go to waste - around half of heat loss in a typical home is through the walls and loft, so it's worth checking whether yours are insulated. If your house was built between 1920 and 1980, chances are yours is one of the eight million homes in the UK that could benefit from cavity-wall insulation. It takes less than a day to install, with minimum mess and disruption, and could save you around £150 on fuel bills, which would make up for the original cost in three to five years. Insulating your loft is even more straight-forward, as it's a job that can be done by a novice DIY-er. Insulation materials can be bought from any DIY store relatively inexpensively, and if you were to put down 250mm of insulation in an empty loft, you'd save £70 to £270 a year.
We couldn't talk about saving energy without mentioning double glazing! However, it can be expensive, especially if you live in a period property and want to retain the original look of the windows. Before shunning the idea though, it is worth bearing in mind that double-glazing should cut heat loss from your home by 50 per cent, and could save you almost £100 a year in heating bills. It is also something that homebuyers often look for, so is a great way to maximise your home's value.
There are several little things you can do to save energy when it comes to heating your home. 20 per cent of heat loss in a typical home is through ventilation and drafts, so invest in brush or PVC seals on the bottom of exterior doors, and perhaps a few draught excluders for other doors around the house. Make the most of natural light by keeping the curtains open while the sun still shines, but as soon as dusk falls be sure to draw the curtains to stop heat being lost through the windows. Also, try to make sure you don't drape curtains over radiators, as this will funnel heat straight out of the windows.
Ways with Water
A good way to save water is to switch to a water metre. Knowing that you’re paying for what you use should make you more mindful of how much water you waste. Your water company will fit one for free and it could save you as much as £200 a year. You could also make the best possible use of the delightful British weather and try your hand at water harvesting. At its simplest level this could just be one or two water butts. They're widely available from DIY stores and garden centres and cost about £30. Simply connect one to a down pipe and use the collected rain to water the garden.
Using rainwater indoors is tricky, but rainwater-harvesting systems are becoming popular. They work by collecting the rain that falls on the roof and putting it to use inside the home. Harvested rainwater can be used for everything except drinking and can reduce your household's mains water consumption by a huge 50 per cent. However, bear in mind that the systems on the market are expensive, so with this tip it would take you quite a while to recoup the initial outlay.
There are several handy gadgets on the market to help you waste less water. You can obtain a cistern displacement device free of charge from your water company. You simply fill it up and pop it in the cistern of your toilet, saving you three litres every time you flush! Also, wherever possible, take a shower instead of a bath - depending on the time it takes you to shower it can use as little as a fifth of the hot water. Even then, showers can use anywhere between six and 45 litres per minute, but by fitting a water efficient shower head you can save water and money.
Household Appliances
Now, we're not going to suggest you rush out and replace all your kitchen appliances with those that are more energy efficient! However, the next time you change or upgrade any of your appliances, keep an eye out for products with an Energy Saving Recommended label, as these can be 20 per cent most efficient. Also, fridges, freezers and washing machines all bare an EU energy label which rates the energy efficiency of the appliance on a scale from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient and G being the least.
In the meantime, there are simple steps you can take to start using your current appliances more efficiently. For example, washing clothes at 30 degrees saves energy. Instead of using your washing machine and dishwasher every day, wait until you have a full load - a half load setting uses more than half the energy and water. Fridges and freezers run more efficiently if they are defrosted regularly, and you should also remove dust from the element at the back on a regular basis. Avoid putting food that's still warm into the fridge as it then has to work harder to keep the temperature down, and it's a good idea to make sure the doors are held open as little as possible too.
Even just remembering not to leave appliances on standby can save the average household £37 a year! Electronic goods use 10-60 per cent as much energy when they are on standby as they do when they are in use. To turn off an appliance completely, use the power switch on the appliance itself or turn it off at the plug. Alternatively, for around £30 you can buy a device that will stop your appliances drawing electricity when in standby mode, which will save electricity and increase the life of the appliance by up to 15 per cent. Appliances with a charger, like mobile phones, or an external power pack, such as laptops, will still use power unless turned off at the plug. Many appliances have an LED which lights up when they are on standby. However, some don't, so it is less obvious that they are constantly sat there wasting energy. For example, do you switch your washing machine off at the wall when it's not in use?
Small changes, big savings!
There are lots of little changes you can make around the house that will cost you nothing. In the kitchen, when you're cooking on the hob make sure you match the pan size to the size of the hotplate to avoid wasted energy. Also use a lid on your pan, as this dramatically cuts the energy used. If you have a microwave, always use this to heat small quantities of food as this is much more energy efficient. Kettles are a huge energy guzzler, so make sure you only fill yours with as much water as you need, otherwise you're just heating it up to let it cool back down again. If you have an extractor fan in your kitchen, or indeed in your bathroom, turn it off as soon as it has done its job, otherwise it is simply sucking warm air out of the house.
Drying clothes on the washing line instead of in the tumble drier is an obvious way to save electricity. On rainy days, make sure you separate your load before putting it in the tumble drier – always dry heavier items like towels and jeans on their own. If you have a wood-burning stove, it is worthwhile collecting fallen branches from your garden, or when out for a walk, and using these as kindling. Try to recycle as much of your household waste as possible. By this we don't just mean making the most of your local recycling facilities. For example, a plastic milk bottle with the bottom cut off makes an excellent scoop for dry cat or dog food. Or perhaps use empty wine bottles as candle holders for that restaurant feel! Also, yoghurt pots and empty boxes can be used to store all kinds of things.
So whether you're keen to do your bit for the environment, or you just want to save some cash, there are plenty of things you can do to make your house an eco-home!
It seems that not a day goes by without some mention of climate change. We all know we should be taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint, but with today's hectic lifestyles, it's hard to know where to start.
But as energy bills, fuel prices and the cost of groceries all continue to rise, there's now an added incentive for making our homes more eco-friendly. Here we show you how you can make small changes that will not just make you feel like you're doing your bit for the environment, but can also save you some serious money!
Lighting and Heating
One of the easiest ways to save a bit of energy is to invest in some energy-saving lightbulbs. They've had bad press in the past, as they used to be bulky, ugly and not as bright as ordinary bulbs, but technology has moved on, and they are now available in a range of shapes, colours and sizes. While the bulbs are more expensive in the first place, they last up to 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs, and use up to four times less electricity, so you will quickly make back your money and start saving.
On top of this, it's amazing how much energy you can save just by turning unnecessary lights off. It's worthwhile getting into the habit of switching the lights off when you leave a room - just by switching off one bulb for an hour every day, you'll save enough energy to power a month's worth of telly watching! With the lighting in most homes accounting for 10 to 15 per cent of the electricity bill, this one simple tip could save you up to £25 a year.
There are also several things you can do to save on your heating bills. Consider replacing you boiler with a condensing boiler. Again, this might seem costly upfront, but according to the National Energy Foundation, you would recoup these costs in three to four years. Alternatively, you could insulate your existing boiler for significant energy savings - if we all lagged our hot water cylinders with an insulated jacket, we would save enough CO2 to fill over 4.2million double decker buses! If you have electric-powered heaters, another idea is to fit each heater with its own timer, so that you can heat different rooms at different times, according to use. And if all that sounds too much like hard work, even just turning the thermostat down by just 1°C can cut as much as 10 per cent off your heating bills!
Insulation and Glazing
Now that you've saved money on warming your house, the last thing you want is for all your efforts to go to waste - around half of heat loss in a typical home is through the walls and loft, so it's worth checking whether yours are insulated. If your house was built between 1920 and 1980, chances are yours is one of the eight million homes in the UK that could benefit from cavity-wall insulation. It takes less than a day to install, with minimum mess and disruption, and could save you around £150 on fuel bills, which would make up for the original cost in three to five years. Insulating your loft is even more straight-forward, as it's a job that can be done by a novice DIY-er. Insulation materials can be bought from any DIY store relatively inexpensively, and if you were to put down 250mm of insulation in an empty loft, you'd save £70 to £270 a year.
We couldn't talk about saving energy without mentioning double glazing! However, it can be expensive, especially if you live in a period property and want to retain the original look of the windows. Before shunning the idea though, it is worth bearing in mind that double-glazing should cut heat loss from your home by 50 per cent, and could save you almost £100 a year in heating bills. It is also something that homebuyers often look for, so is a great way to maximise your home's value.
There are several little things you can do to save energy when it comes to heating your home. 20 per cent of heat loss in a typical home is through ventilation and drafts, so invest in brush or PVC seals on the bottom of exterior doors, and perhaps a few draught excluders for other doors around the house. Make the most of natural light by keeping the curtains open while the sun still shines, but as soon as dusk falls be sure to draw the curtains to stop heat being lost through the windows. Also, try to make sure you don't drape curtains over radiators, as this will funnel heat straight out of the windows.
Ways with Water
A good way to save water is to switch to a water metre. Knowing that you’re paying for what you use should make you more mindful of how much water you waste. Your water company will fit one for free and it could save you as much as £200 a year. You could also make the best possible use of the delightful British weather and try your hand at water harvesting. At its simplest level this could just be one or two water butts. They're widely available from DIY stores and garden centres and cost about £30. Simply connect one to a down pipe and use the collected rain to water the garden.
Using rainwater indoors is tricky, but rainwater-harvesting systems are becoming popular. They work by collecting the rain that falls on the roof and putting it to use inside the home. Harvested rainwater can be used for everything except drinking and can reduce your household's mains water consumption by a huge 50 per cent. However, bear in mind that the systems on the market are expensive, so with this tip it would take you quite a while to recoup the initial outlay.
There are several handy gadgets on the market to help you waste less water. You can obtain a cistern displacement device free of charge from your water company. You simply fill it up and pop it in the cistern of your toilet, saving you three litres every time you flush! Also, wherever possible, take a shower instead of a bath - depending on the time it takes you to shower it can use as little as a fifth of the hot water. Even then, showers can use anywhere between six and 45 litres per minute, but by fitting a water efficient shower head you can save water and money.
Household Appliances
Now, we're not going to suggest you rush out and replace all your kitchen appliances with those that are more energy efficient! However, the next time you change or upgrade any of your appliances, keep an eye out for products with an Energy Saving Recommended label, as these can be 20 per cent most efficient. Also, fridges, freezers and washing machines all bare an EU energy label which rates the energy efficiency of the appliance on a scale from A to G, with A being the most energy efficient and G being the least.
In the meantime, there are simple steps you can take to start using your current appliances more efficiently. For example, washing clothes at 30 degrees saves energy. Instead of using your washing machine and dishwasher every day, wait until you have a full load - a half load setting uses more than half the energy and water. Fridges and freezers run more efficiently if they are defrosted regularly, and you should also remove dust from the element at the back on a regular basis. Avoid putting food that's still warm into the fridge as it then has to work harder to keep the temperature down, and it's a good idea to make sure the doors are held open as little as possible too.
Even just remembering not to leave appliances on standby can save the average household £37 a year! Electronic goods use 10-60 per cent as much energy when they are on standby as they do when they are in use. To turn off an appliance completely, use the power switch on the appliance itself or turn it off at the plug. Alternatively, for around £30 you can buy a device that will stop your appliances drawing electricity when in standby mode, which will save electricity and increase the life of the appliance by up to 15 per cent. Appliances with a charger, like mobile phones, or an external power pack, such as laptops, will still use power unless turned off at the plug. Many appliances have an LED which lights up when they are on standby. However, some don't, so it is less obvious that they are constantly sat there wasting energy. For example, do you switch your washing machine off at the wall when it's not in use?
Small changes, big savings!
There are lots of little changes you can make around the house that will cost you nothing. In the kitchen, when you're cooking on the hob make sure you match the pan size to the size of the hotplate to avoid wasted energy. Also use a lid on your pan, as this dramatically cuts the energy used. If you have a microwave, always use this to heat small quantities of food as this is much more energy efficient. Kettles are a huge energy guzzler, so make sure you only fill yours with as much water as you need, otherwise you're just heating it up to let it cool back down again. If you have an extractor fan in your kitchen, or indeed in your bathroom, turn it off as soon as it has done its job, otherwise it is simply sucking warm air out of the house.
Drying clothes on the washing line instead of in the tumble drier is an obvious way to save electricity. On rainy days, make sure you separate your load before putting it in the tumble drier – always dry heavier items like towels and jeans on their own. If you have a wood-burning stove, it is worthwhile collecting fallen branches from your garden, or when out for a walk, and using these as kindling. Try to recycle as much of your household waste as possible. By this we don't just mean making the most of your local recycling facilities. For example, a plastic milk bottle with the bottom cut off makes an excellent scoop for dry cat or dog food. Or perhaps use empty wine bottles as candle holders for that restaurant feel! Also, yoghurt pots and empty boxes can be used to store all kinds of things.
So whether you're keen to do your bit for the environment, or you just want to save some cash, there are plenty of things you can do to make your house an eco-home!
Tuesday, 5 February 2008
Timeline - Eco friendly interior design
Timeline - Eco friendly interior design
We all paint, wallpaper, carpet and furnish our homes because we want them to look nice and reflect our personalities, while some take it a step further and revamp their home’s interior whenever a new trend or fashion takes shape. But when you consider the materials, chemical ingredients and pungent smells involved in the process, you can’t help but wonder what it’s doing to the environment – let alone what it’s doing to your health!
Being kind to the environment – and yourself – doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style and fashion when decorating your home. Here, we look at five eco-friendly ways to give your home that all important make-over.
To read the full article - click here
We all paint, wallpaper, carpet and furnish our homes because we want them to look nice and reflect our personalities, while some take it a step further and revamp their home’s interior whenever a new trend or fashion takes shape. But when you consider the materials, chemical ingredients and pungent smells involved in the process, you can’t help but wonder what it’s doing to the environment – let alone what it’s doing to your health!
Being kind to the environment – and yourself – doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style and fashion when decorating your home. Here, we look at five eco-friendly ways to give your home that all important make-over.
To read the full article - click here
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
News: What’s hot for the world of property in 2008?
News: What’s hot for the world of property in 2008?
We look at eco-friendly houses, multigenerational homes, shared properties and other trends.
Once Christmas is out of the way, the tree is back in the loft, the decorations are down and we’ve all put on a few pounds, something ignites in the minds of the British consumer – we all want to shop. And most of us want to shop for home improvements, with sofas, kitchens and bathrooms top of the shopping list.
According to research by The British Retail Authority, poor sales in the run-up to Christmas will force stores to slash prices by up to 75 per cent, and sales will starts as early as Boxing Day. But what will we be buying? Here, Mark Cooper, Managing Director of Homeimprovementquotes.co.uk, takes a look at some of the shopping trends for home interiors in 2008, as well as the bigger investments some of us will be making into property.
Eco-friendly housing will be even bigger
You may take a lead from Gordon Brown who recently doubled his plans to build eco towns and is now set to build ten around Britain in the coming years, two of which are planned for 2008. The new environmentally friendly towns aim to reduce the carbon footprint, with houses running on self-generated power and the families being more self-sufficient. One village in Shropshire is already acting as a model for how the new eco-towns will look and function – 20 houses have already been built, and this will double to 40 by 2009.
Every house in the village is made from timber, and resembles a Scandinavian log cabin. All the other material used in the build is renewable or reclaimed – lime mortar, timber cladding and clay roof tiles. The key to these eco-friendly houses is the insulation – triple glazing, underfloor cladding and walls over one foot thick keep the heat in, and reduce excess emissions. The walls are lined with plywood, membrane and recycled newspaper, and extra warmth is provided by wood-burning stoves. The house’s water supply is heated by solar panels on the roof.
The carbon footprint for these houses is minimal, and to top it all off, families who live here are each provided with an allotment, so they can even grow their own food as well! However all this self sufficiency comes at a price. At the moment, eco-homes cost 30 per cent more than a standard family home, but with the introduction of more of these villages in the future, that price will have to decrease.
I’ll huff and I’ll puff…
But this house made of straw won’t blow in! Keeping on an eco-theme, you could build your own eco-friendly mobile home out of, of all things, straw! Apparently this is a trend which has already taken off in Canada, France, Germany and Austria, and could be set for Britain in the coming year. The end structure looks a lot like a caravan, but is in fact made from bales of straw and sheep-fleece insulation. The straw is stacked onto metal spikes to form load-bearing walls, and the rest of the straw is stacked onto a wooden framework, which is removed later. Once the straw is in place, the walls are plastered with lime render which strengthens it so that the wooden frame can be taken out.
Insulation is once again the key to keeping the carbon footprint of these properties low. The heat is generated through solar panels on the roof and cannot escape due to the thick underfloor, wall and roof insulation made from sheep’s fleece. The straw itself makes the structure at least ten degrees warmer than a conventional mobile home. However you may want to stick to your chilly caravan once you see the price – at the moment, a mobile home made of straw will set you back £30,000.
Will we ever leave home?
At the opposite end of the scale to self sufficiency is the next trend to reach our shores for 2008. Already popular in America, the “multi-generational” home could be the answer to teenagers who want their own space, but can’t afford to step onto the property ladder. “Multi-generational” homes are based on the same idea as having an annexe but have their own front door, and are specifically targeted at older children who need their own space, particularly if they have just returned from a gap-year or university.
A new development in Rochdale, aimed for completion at the end of 2008, primarily contains “multi-generational” houses. Most are three storey houses with two front doors, one to the main house, and another to a separate section of the ground floor. As well as this, each house has a first floor terrace apartment, with a separate staircase entrance. The idea is that grandparents live in one self-contained section, children in another and the rest of the family in the main house. Other houses in the development include five-bedroom properties with a two-bedroom house in the back garden – either for children and their young families, or again for grandparents.
There are similar developments cropping up all over the country, all due for completion in 2008. However if you’re not keen on having your whole family living under one roof, a new luxury development in Cambridge has houses with separate annexes on the opposite side of the road!
A problem shared
For those first-time buyers desperate to fly the nest, a huge trend in 2008 will be shared ownership, a house buying scheme first set up by the Government in 1990. The scheme was originally targeted at key workers such as nurses and firemen, but has recently been re-launched to benefit those first-time buyers who are finding it increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder. Now a sizable proportion of every new housing development has to be given up to “affordable housing”, which means a shared ownership scheme.
The process works by letting buyers purchase a percentage of a new home, say 25 per cent, and pay rent on the rest. The rented part of the property is owned by the Registered Social Landlord (formerly the Housing Association). As the buyer becomes more established, they can buy a bigger share of the property, for example, 5 per cent more per year, in a process known as “staircasing”, until the property is theirs. Any first-time buyer can qualify for the scheme in their local area, provided they genuinely cannot afford to purchase a house in the conventional way.
Mortgage lenders are already beginning to offer provisions to help buyers set up home in this way, and as the scheme expands in the coming year, more and more lenders will begin to offer loans on shared ownership basis.
Shop, shop shop!
So what will we be buying for our homes come Boxing Day?! The eco-trend looks set to continue past energy saving – Fairtrade furniture and fabrics will be everywhere. Designers are increasingly producing their goods in an environmentally friendly way, and using eco-friendly materials like grasses and recycled wood. One design company is even offering customers the opportunity to return their furniture when they no longer need it – the company then refurbishes the items and sell it again.
Also hot for 2008 will be leather upholstery and metal finishes. Lamps and curtain rails made from copper and brass will be the highlight of the design year, complemented by metallic wallpapers and silver accessories.
As always, the biggest savings to be made this January will be in the DIY stores. Kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms are all expected to be slashed to half price as soon as the doors open on Boxing Day. Sofas will be reduced to less than half price and carpets will have almost 70 per cent off! Huge savings can also be made on appliances and electricals in the sales, so save your money ‘til then and grab some bargains!
For more information please visit www.homeimprovementquotes.co.uk
We look at eco-friendly houses, multigenerational homes, shared properties and other trends.
Once Christmas is out of the way, the tree is back in the loft, the decorations are down and we’ve all put on a few pounds, something ignites in the minds of the British consumer – we all want to shop. And most of us want to shop for home improvements, with sofas, kitchens and bathrooms top of the shopping list.
According to research by The British Retail Authority, poor sales in the run-up to Christmas will force stores to slash prices by up to 75 per cent, and sales will starts as early as Boxing Day. But what will we be buying? Here, Mark Cooper, Managing Director of Homeimprovementquotes.co.uk, takes a look at some of the shopping trends for home interiors in 2008, as well as the bigger investments some of us will be making into property.
Eco-friendly housing will be even bigger
You may take a lead from Gordon Brown who recently doubled his plans to build eco towns and is now set to build ten around Britain in the coming years, two of which are planned for 2008. The new environmentally friendly towns aim to reduce the carbon footprint, with houses running on self-generated power and the families being more self-sufficient. One village in Shropshire is already acting as a model for how the new eco-towns will look and function – 20 houses have already been built, and this will double to 40 by 2009.
Every house in the village is made from timber, and resembles a Scandinavian log cabin. All the other material used in the build is renewable or reclaimed – lime mortar, timber cladding and clay roof tiles. The key to these eco-friendly houses is the insulation – triple glazing, underfloor cladding and walls over one foot thick keep the heat in, and reduce excess emissions. The walls are lined with plywood, membrane and recycled newspaper, and extra warmth is provided by wood-burning stoves. The house’s water supply is heated by solar panels on the roof.
The carbon footprint for these houses is minimal, and to top it all off, families who live here are each provided with an allotment, so they can even grow their own food as well! However all this self sufficiency comes at a price. At the moment, eco-homes cost 30 per cent more than a standard family home, but with the introduction of more of these villages in the future, that price will have to decrease.
I’ll huff and I’ll puff…
But this house made of straw won’t blow in! Keeping on an eco-theme, you could build your own eco-friendly mobile home out of, of all things, straw! Apparently this is a trend which has already taken off in Canada, France, Germany and Austria, and could be set for Britain in the coming year. The end structure looks a lot like a caravan, but is in fact made from bales of straw and sheep-fleece insulation. The straw is stacked onto metal spikes to form load-bearing walls, and the rest of the straw is stacked onto a wooden framework, which is removed later. Once the straw is in place, the walls are plastered with lime render which strengthens it so that the wooden frame can be taken out.
Insulation is once again the key to keeping the carbon footprint of these properties low. The heat is generated through solar panels on the roof and cannot escape due to the thick underfloor, wall and roof insulation made from sheep’s fleece. The straw itself makes the structure at least ten degrees warmer than a conventional mobile home. However you may want to stick to your chilly caravan once you see the price – at the moment, a mobile home made of straw will set you back £30,000.
Will we ever leave home?
At the opposite end of the scale to self sufficiency is the next trend to reach our shores for 2008. Already popular in America, the “multi-generational” home could be the answer to teenagers who want their own space, but can’t afford to step onto the property ladder. “Multi-generational” homes are based on the same idea as having an annexe but have their own front door, and are specifically targeted at older children who need their own space, particularly if they have just returned from a gap-year or university.
A new development in Rochdale, aimed for completion at the end of 2008, primarily contains “multi-generational” houses. Most are three storey houses with two front doors, one to the main house, and another to a separate section of the ground floor. As well as this, each house has a first floor terrace apartment, with a separate staircase entrance. The idea is that grandparents live in one self-contained section, children in another and the rest of the family in the main house. Other houses in the development include five-bedroom properties with a two-bedroom house in the back garden – either for children and their young families, or again for grandparents.
There are similar developments cropping up all over the country, all due for completion in 2008. However if you’re not keen on having your whole family living under one roof, a new luxury development in Cambridge has houses with separate annexes on the opposite side of the road!
A problem shared
For those first-time buyers desperate to fly the nest, a huge trend in 2008 will be shared ownership, a house buying scheme first set up by the Government in 1990. The scheme was originally targeted at key workers such as nurses and firemen, but has recently been re-launched to benefit those first-time buyers who are finding it increasingly difficult to get on the property ladder. Now a sizable proportion of every new housing development has to be given up to “affordable housing”, which means a shared ownership scheme.
The process works by letting buyers purchase a percentage of a new home, say 25 per cent, and pay rent on the rest. The rented part of the property is owned by the Registered Social Landlord (formerly the Housing Association). As the buyer becomes more established, they can buy a bigger share of the property, for example, 5 per cent more per year, in a process known as “staircasing”, until the property is theirs. Any first-time buyer can qualify for the scheme in their local area, provided they genuinely cannot afford to purchase a house in the conventional way.
Mortgage lenders are already beginning to offer provisions to help buyers set up home in this way, and as the scheme expands in the coming year, more and more lenders will begin to offer loans on shared ownership basis.
Shop, shop shop!
So what will we be buying for our homes come Boxing Day?! The eco-trend looks set to continue past energy saving – Fairtrade furniture and fabrics will be everywhere. Designers are increasingly producing their goods in an environmentally friendly way, and using eco-friendly materials like grasses and recycled wood. One design company is even offering customers the opportunity to return their furniture when they no longer need it – the company then refurbishes the items and sell it again.
Also hot for 2008 will be leather upholstery and metal finishes. Lamps and curtain rails made from copper and brass will be the highlight of the design year, complemented by metallic wallpapers and silver accessories.
As always, the biggest savings to be made this January will be in the DIY stores. Kitchens, bathrooms and bedrooms are all expected to be slashed to half price as soon as the doors open on Boxing Day. Sofas will be reduced to less than half price and carpets will have almost 70 per cent off! Huge savings can also be made on appliances and electricals in the sales, so save your money ‘til then and grab some bargains!
For more information please visit www.homeimprovementquotes.co.uk
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