Redrow's brand new houses save buyers almost £1,300 a year on energy bills
Brand new houses could save homeowners up to £1,300 annually, compared to a renovated period home, according to research from Redrow. It compared the energy bills for brand new three and four-bedroom properties to renovated Victorian homes of the same size, and discovered that the savings made in a three-bedroom semi were £915, while a four-bedroom house could reduce energy costs by £1,299. Rob Macdiarmid, group sustainability director for Redrow Homes, said 82% of buyers were willing to pay more for an energy-efficient home.

Latest research from housebuilder Redrow suggests that homebuyers choosing a brand new home over a modernised Victorian property could save up to £1,300 every year on their energy bills.

Redrow has calculated energy-use and costs for three of its house styles: a four-bedroom detached home, a three-bedroom semi and a three-bedroom mid-terrace property. It then compared costs to those for equivalent-sized Victorian homes with modern day improvements*.

Results showed that a new four-bedroom home could save bill payers around £1,299 a year, while savings in a three-bedroom semi are around £915 and a three-bedroom terrace in the region of £709.

Based on these figures, energy cost savings on a four-bedroom home for example would add an extra £108 to the family purse every month. This could make for a welcome contribution to the mortgage payment or other household bills, it could buy around two tanks of fuel a month or could all add up to an extra family holiday every year.***

Rob Macdiarmid, Group sustainability director for Redrow Homes, said: “This kind of saving could make a huge difference when it comes to family budgeting. Our homes are packed with features designed to minimise energy use and maximise efficiency with high quality insulation, double glazing, low-energy boilers and ventilation systems, as well as energy efficient lighting, included as standard in all our properties.

“Energy prices are never far from the headlines and environmental considerations are increasingly high on most homebuyers’ agenda so a brand new home ticks lots of the boxes not associated with the purchase of an older property. In fact, we recently surveyed prospective new homebuyers and they told us that lower energy bills were actually more important to them than a garden, parking space, amenities, external appeal/design of home, and fittings and appliances.

In addition, 63% said they wanted to purchase a more environmentally friendly home, while 82% said they were willing to pay more for one, proving their appeal.

The comparable cost savings across three house types:

House type Energy cost per year Energy cost per month New to old annual savings Victorian 4 bed (with modern improvements) £2,460* £205 Victorian 3 bed semi (with modern improvements) £1,670* £139 Victorian 3 bed mid terrace (with modern improvements) £1,430* £119 Redrow Richmond 4 bed detached £1,161** £139 £1,299 Ludlow 3 bed semi £755** £63 £915 Malvern 3 bed mid-terrace £721** £60 £709

For more information on Redrow visit www.redrow.co.uk.

* Indicative costs calculated by the Zero Carbon Hub

** Indicative costs calculated using Redrow house types modelled in Stroma FSAP (SAP2012)

*** Average prices from www.numbeo.com – Cost of Living Comparison.