Credit Crunch / Energy munch

There has never been a better time to invest in energy efficiency, especially in a new home.

Energy bills to heat homes are rising because of a shortage of cheep fossil fuels and due to taxes on fossil fuels - designed to limit CO2 emissions. The best time to invest in any home is on construction this is when the insulation heating system and overall energy requirements are incorporated into the design. Yes it costs a bit more to construct a low energy house ( there are official studies that show the typical costs of compliance to different code for sustainable home levels) however these costs are recuperated in the lower running costs of the home. I feel that it is time that mortgage suppliers took this into account in mortgage assessments when calculating the ability to pay back mortgages.

I also recommend that new buyers read the Energy performance certificate or Predicted Energy Performance notice and consider that energy costs are likely to rise considerably and unpredictably in the future and to consider if the rating is high enough.