RESEARCH shows that buyers are willing to pay more for an environmentally-friendly home.

Though some may be initially swayed by a lick of paint or a mowed lawn, more than two thirds look past cosmetic improvements to more important factors, such as the condition of the boiler or the quality of the windows.

Rising fuel prices and greater environmental awareness are encouraging more and more buyers to pay closer attention to a home's running costs and its impact on the planet.

"Every home going on the market now has an Energy Performance Certificate so buyers know exactly what they are getting," says Leeds estate agent Alan Cooke.

"Everyone is looking to make savings at the moment and if they can see that a house will cost less to run than another it's a big selling point."

There are five simple things you can do to unlock the hidden value of your home, attract buyers, and save money on your bills.

What's more, you may be eligible for grants from the Government, energy suppliers and local authorities to help you do them.

Loft insulation

Insulating your loft is not very expensive and is a real selling point for buyers.

It acts as a blanket, trapping heat rising from the house below. You should also consider lagging your pipes at the same time for optimum efficiency.

Insulation is simply laid over the floor of the loft, between and then over the joists if they are visible.

It can be carried out as a DIY task or by a professional installer. There are grants and offers available to help you pay for loft insulation.

The savings: If you currently have no loft insulation and you install the recommended 270mm depth you could save around £155 a year on heating bills. Upgrading your existing insulation could save around £45 a year. That's bound to impress would-be buyers.

Cavity wall insulation

In most houses built after the 1920s, the external walls are made of two layers with a small air gap or 'cavity' between them.

If your home has unfilled cavity walls, a considerable slice of your energy bills will be spent heating the air outside.

Around a third of all the heat lost in an un-insulated home is lost through the walls.

Filling the gap between the two walls of a house with an insulating material massively decreases the amount of heat which escapes through the walls.

It will help create a more even temperature in your home and help prevent condensation on the walls and ceilings.

The savings: If you have cavity walls, insulating them will make a great difference, and it could save you around £120 a year on fuel bills.

Energy efficient boilers

As the current lifespan of a boiler is around 15 years, choosing a heating system with a high efficiency condensing boiler with the correct heating controls can make a huge difference to your heating bills over time.

A high efficiency condensing boiler works on the principle of recovering as much as possible of the waste heat which is normally wasted from the flue of a conventional boiler.

The savings: By fitting a new high efficiency condensing boiler with full heating controls, you will significantly cut your home's carbon dioxide emissions and could save as much as £270 a year.

Heating controls

When it comes to heating your home efficiently, a full set of heating controls is just as essential as the right kind of boiler.

Using heating controls correctly is the easiest way to keep your rooms at a comfortable temperature. And in doing so, they'll help to reduce your household's fuel bills and CO2 emissions, too.

As their name implies, heating controls allow you to choose when the heating is on, how warm it is, and where you want the warmth. They will also make sure that the boiler is only turned on when it needs to be.

They can include: a programmer, a room thermostat, a combined programmable room thermostat, a cylinder thermostat and Thermostatic radiator valves, which allow you to adjust the heat from radiators in each room.

The savings: Fitting the correct heating controls could typically save you around 15 per cent of your heating bill. What's more, fitting a condensing boiler along with a full set of heating controls could save as much as 45 per cent of your heating fuel bill, around £250 a year.

Heating from renewable energy sources

Did you know that you can use natural – or renewable – energy sources like heat from the sun or wood to heat your home and water?

There are three main options suitable for home use.

Ground source heat pumps take natural warmth from the ground and can potentially use it to meet all your heating needs at home.

Biomass is made up of plants and untreated wood or wood waste. With a special biomass boiler, this fuel can be a cost-effective way to heat a home.

Solar water heating uses heat from the sun to work alongside your conventional water heater. It works via solar collectors on the roof, which soak up the sun's energy, then transfer it to the hot water cylinder - warming it up throughout the day.

The savings: Installing a ground source heat pump could save you up to £800 a year on heating bills. A biomass boiler could save you up to £550 a year on heating bills. Solar Water Heating could save you around £40 a year in energy bills.

You can get free, impartial and expert advice about making your home more energy efficient from your local Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012.

Back to the basics

Draught proofing: In a typical home 20 per cent of all heat loss is through poor ventilation and draughts. If everyone in the UK adopted a few simple draught proofing measures in their homes, such as fitting brushes to letterboxes, we would save around £160m per year.


Tanks and pipe insulation: Both tank and pipe insulation keep your water hotter for longer by reducing the amount of heat that escapes. If everyone in the UK fitted a hot water cylinder jacket that was at least 75mm thick, there would be enough carbon dioxide saved per year to fill nearly 5.2 million double decker buses.


Glazing: Double glazing cuts heat lost through windows by half. Installing Energy Saving Recommended double glazing could save around £110 a year on your heating bills.