How electric heating could improve the market value of your property

Price, location, condition, energy efficiency. These are just some of the highest considerations for prospective property buyers.

If you’re able to say your home is powered, heated and cooled using verified renewable technology, this could give you an exceptional advantage against other sellers.

Heating upgrades are a great way to modernise your property without losing the essence and character of your home.

Some customers can just replace an existing oil or gas boiler without spending more on new radiators and components. With any heating installation, your installer should always measure the property’s heat loss to make sure you get the right-sized electric boiler for your property.

Always insist on a heat loss calculation. 

Energy efficiency

Efficiency may not be a buyer’s primary driver, but will certainly interest those looking to reduce their long-term overheads.

An electric heating system is practically 100% efficient and remains so throughout its lifetime. This means every £1 spent produces £1 worth of valuable heat.

Sleek and stylish radiators, heated towel rails or invisible underfloor heating can also complement your fixtures and lighting, improving the look and feel of your property.

New fossil-fuel boilers will always be less than 100% efficient as energy is lost converting the fuel to heat. And as the boiler ages, efficiency reduces further. At the end of its lifetime, a once cost-effective oil boiler might be less than 60% efficient. This translates to less than 60p worth of heat for each £1 spent on your heating bill.

Combining 100%-efficient electric heating with energy-efficient appliances such as A+++ rated washing machines, dishwashers, fridges and freezers is a valuable investment set for buyers demanding sustainability.

Our shop at Northside, the Bridge stocks a range of home appliances to suit every budget. Our team can give you advice on the right appliances to choose from if you’re looking for energy efficiency. And if you’re a landlord, we also offer a discount scheme on shop purchases. 

A smart solution for even better energy efficiency is property insulation. This might be cavity wall, solid wall, floor, or loft insulation. There are also some very cost-effective draught-proofing options that help save energy, such as filling gaps in windows and doors.

Insulation will significantly reduce the volume of heat lost from your property and ultimately the amount you spend keeping a property warm.  

Plug into renewables

We import over 90% of our electricity from renewable sources in France, and plan to be 100% renewable by the mid-2020s.

The future of energy is changing. A property heated by electricity is already integrated with the energy choice of the future, which is an attractive proposition for a serious buyer.

As a rule, most new builds are now 100% electric. To compete, many homeowners are retrospectively installing electric heating systems to prepare for future buyers demanding renewables.

In 2019, the UK government even unveiled plans to ban fossil-fuel heating systems in British newbuilds by 2025 to lessen their environmental impact.

“A Future Homes Standard, to be introduced by 2025, future-proofing new build homes with low carbon heating and world-leading levels of energy efficiency”

Read more from the Energy Saving Trust

Reducing each person’s ability to produce greenhouse gases helps weaken the negative effects of climate change. Carbon-cutting options available include switching to electric heating and insulating our properties against heat loss.

Cleaner living space

Like a car, a property heated by oil, gas or solid fuel emits greenhouse gases and chemicals through flues or chimneys.

Many of us know that vehicles and traditional electricity generation contribute to poor air quality. But often we don’t realise how much pollution in the air we breathe comes from the boilers used to heat our homes.

Pollution is made up of various compounds including sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and fine particulate matter. When we spend time in our gardens or outdoor space, we can inhale these particles into our bodies, and any food that is grown or animals grazing nearby are also at risk of absorbing these harmful chemicals.

A property with electric heating produces zero emissions at point of use, helping nurture a healthier family living space.

Saving space

Electric heating is delivered to your door on demand through underground cables and internal wiring. That means no need for any flammable fuel storage or deliveries to your property.

Say goodbye to the ugly oil tanks in the garden or gas bottles littering your precious outdoor space.

Conversely, if you did want to store electricity, you may be interested in a home energy storage system. Other energy solutions that will help propel your property into the electric future include electric air source heat pumps and electric vehicle charging points.

Smart technology

Plug into renewables and integrate your property with the future of smarter, greener technology.

Smart technology can help reduce your heat loss, ultimately saving you money on your energy bill.

Modern electric heating is designed to automatically adjust according to your individual needs and is highly responsive to changes in external temperature. It can precisely match what you need, when you need it.

Some products can monitor the weather, responding to changing climate conditions and adjusting the temperature needed to heat your home efficiently. Open window technology will automatically reduce the output of your heating to prevent heat loss if a window is left open, saving you money and reducing your impact on the environment.

For example, an Eco Start function uses self-learning technology which learns the thermal characteristics of a room to calculate how long the heating needs to operate to reach the target temperature based on room size, heat loss, and weather.

Heating can be controlled remotely, and your running costs tracked using your chosen system’s smartphone App.

Radiators, heated towel rails, heat pump cylinders, and underfloor heating in selected rooms can be combined to provide a whole-house electric heating and water system powered by renewable energy.