Energy Saving Smart Home Features Can Boost Property Value Up to 38%
Smart home technologies; including heating/cooling, lighting control, security and entertainment; can add great energy saving benefits to residences with the function and convenience they bring to households. Surveys find, however, that the benefits of smart home are far bigger than that, including the added value for properties.
The fame and appeal of smart home is no longer just an hyperbole. Surveys conducted among homeowners in the UK indicate the empowering status of smart home when it comes to putting the properties in the market. Barclays Mortgage found that 28% of the prospective buyers would be willing to spend an average of £3,000 more for a house if it had smart home technologies installed.
Probably the biggest benefit that comes with having a smart home system is energy saving features. Especially with the increasing number of smart thermostats available in the market, it is becoming much easier to save energy. With the addition of smart lighting systems that offer dimmable and remote-control lighting solutions; it is possible lower annual energy savings by 10% to 30%. This, of course, makes houses with smart technologies installed much more valuable. Research by Department of Energy and Climate Change reveals that a smart home system could increase the value of houses by 13% on average, and up to 38% in some parts of England.
How Smart Energy Saving Works in Practice
The biggest revolution of smart home technologies is integration, which allows devices in your home to talk to and trigger each other. For instance, with the help of an app-enabled smart thermostat such as Nest, your smartphone can trigger the thermostat to turn on the heating as it uses its GPS to detect your departure from work. Your thermostat can also adjust the temperature to reduce power usage during peak times.
Your lighting can adjust or dim itself based on the time of the day, weather outside or the occupants in the home. You can even integrate your lighting control system with window blinds. With such a setup, as the sun sets, blinds can be lowered and lights can be turned on automatically.
Low Cost, High Return
Having these smart home features can add great energy saving benefits and value to your home. The cost of installing these systems are relatively low in comparison to the added value. Research by This is Money reveals that improving your home’s energy efficiency can boost its value by £25,000.
