Energy Saving New Homes
Energy bills remain one of the most significant pressures on UK household budgets at present, and the home a person lives in has a substantial bearing on what they actually pay each year. The latest analysis sets out a clear running cost advantage for newer housing stock: owners of new build properties spend approximately £420 less on energy annually than those living in older homes rated EPC D, which translates to a new build being around 27% cheaper to run. The gap stretches further when newer stock is compared with the least efficient properties on the market, those rated EPC F or G, where the annual saving rises to about £618, or roughly 39% in relative terms.
The driver behind this is straightforward. Nearly all new builds carry an EPC rating of A or B, the highest tiers of the energy efficiency scale, whereas fewer than 5% of older properties currently meet that standard. For households unable or unwilling to move into a new build, the most cost effective improvements remain the established staples of home retrofit. Loft insulation can deliver annual savings of up to £390, and cavity wall insulation can save as much as £420 a year. Each of these measures is capable, on its own, of lifting a property up a full EPC band, offering owners of older homes a tangible and relatively low cost route to closing the running cost gap with newer stock and easing the long term burden of energy bills.
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