A study conducted by Redrow revealed that 63% percent of home buyers want to purchase an eco-friendly home, and 82% would pay more for a home that allows them to go green. As a landlord, reducing the negative environmental impact of your property is very important. In addition to appealing to many renters, you can also save a lot of money. The average eco-home cuts energy bills by 30%, and you can even reduce the bills drastically by cutting the wastage of water and installing energy-saving appliances.
Control Heating
Heating and cooling are two of the most energy inefficient processes, and they largely affect the amount of bills payable. You can replace inefficient water heated radiators with smart thermostats, and this will make a significant difference in your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating. Most outdated cooling and heating systems are misused when people leave them on, especially when they are away from home. This simply isn’t eco-friendly. A programmable thermostat will enable your tenants to monitor and regulate home temperature only when necessary. Tenants can also turn off the thermostats remotely if they accidentally leave them on. If utilities are included in your tenants’ rent, this solution will drastically reduce your heating bills and save energy in the process. As an added bonus, most smart temperature control devices do not require regular maintenance, and they are easy to install.
Making Upgrades
If the need to upgrade your rentals’ appliances arises, look to install those that are energy efficient. Appliances with the ENERGY STAR label (a government trusted symbol that ensures energy efficiency in appliances) are manufactured with standards that ensure greenhouse emissions resulting from the inefficient use of energy are reduced. So installing such appliances will make your home eco-friendly, and will appeal to renters who want to save on energy costs. When it comes to appealing to renters, going green just isn’t enough. You have to make your rentals accessible to persons with disabilities. Doing this will also ensure that you are conforming to the law as a landlord, especially when a disabled tenant asks you to make reasonable adjustments to your property. Generally, a rental that is conducive to disabled tenants and to those who want to go green will definitely boost its curb appeal. You will also boost your own reputation as a landlord and attract more potential tenants to your property.
Reduce Water Consumption
In a typical household, 70% of water is used in the bathroom, with toilet flushing taking up to 30% of the total water use. Low flow toilets use 6 litres of water per flush compared to the 9-13 litres that other toilets use. If your buy-to-let is home to a large family, or it has more than one bathroom, installing low flow toilets will result in a significant reduction in wastage of water and save on water bills. You can go further by upgrading to low flow faucet caps and showerheads that reduce the amount of water used, without compromising on water pressure. Also, tenants tend to waste a lot of water when watering the plants in the yard. If you’re keen to have plants in your yard, aim to use drought resistant ones that require less water. A research by Waterwise revealed that the energy used to pump and heat water in the average household in one year produces the carbon equivalent of a return flight from London to New York. So by conserving water, you will greatly reduce your tenants’ carbon footprint.
Switch To Solar
Using solar power to generate electricity in your rentals can dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It will help you to save money on electricity bills and even make money. If you have any surplus electricity being generated by your solar panels, you can sell it to an energy company. The UK government is also planning to introduce a Smart Export Guarantee, which will require energy suppliers to pay you at least something for any electricity that you generate for them.
Making your rentals eco-friendly is worth it because you will appeal to a lot of renters, and any money spent will be recovered through an increase in rent. Join the movement and help protect the environment.