EPC is worth it if I won't buy your house at all at a below-C rating.

Nationwide claims ~10% uplift in value from renewables.

Likelihood of random SUV/4x4-driving estate agent knowing what they are talking about on this point is minimal IMHO. A *good* agent would up-sell based on your measures, especially to clients who give a sh*t.

On the previous house I had a spread of valuations of ~15%, all from well-known agents in good standing.

Rgds

Damon

Current high levels of mobility, rootlessness, and hunger for ever more and better of everything (including houses and location) belongs to a world of cheap energy and high GHG emissions. Housing market? Why worry about something you can't control? You might as well love where you live and plan to stay there. Think in terms of amenity value to you, rather than speculating on housing futures.

Last agent I spoke to said 'green' = increased sale-ability but not increased price for 'average' punter but felt that as more high performance properties came on to the market and the 'uninitiated' actually started to experience the benefits (financially and otherwise) then the market would start to recognise the benefits via price.

J

My guess is that it adds value to those looking for renewables, but possible devalues it for those not looking for them. We all know fuel prices are going up but sales of gas guzzling cars arent dropping. A few hundred pounds extra a year on energy costs to run a house wont compute with most people. They would rather have a gas combi that does what it says on the tin, and not a collection of expensive renewables that they dont understand, possibly involve complex paperwork with grant schemes to tie them up etc etc.

Just as a remote location doesnt always add value, if someone wants it they will pay extra for it, I suggest add your own value to it and sit and wait.

EDF just said they are putting prices up 2.6%.
Not sure how you work out a 31%pa increase from the 2003-7 data from the DECC data.

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/statistics/source/prices/prices.aspx

Just came across this from http://www.bne.uwe.ac.uk/cssb/brundtland.asp mentioned in http://www.aecb.net/forum/index.php/topic,2681.0.html :

"In Western Europe, sustainable development first became a matter of public policy during the 5th century BC. Archaeological evidence shows that Greek settlements of the period, such as those at Delos and Olynthus, were carefully oriented to allow each citizen equal access to the winter sun. The ancient Greeks adopted solar planning because they were keen to reduce their dependence on imported firewood for heating. This was documented by, amongst others, the author Xenophon (431-355 BC) who quotes Socrates on some of the principles involved:

'in south-facing houses, the sun enters through the portico in winter while in summer the path of the sun, as we have described, rises overhead and over the roof, thus there is shade', VIII ff.

He also mentions the importance of closing the house to the north as a barrier against cold winds. The ancient Greeks were unusual in planning for sustainability: concerted efforts to reduce energy consumption in buildings did not begin in earnest in Britain until 1970s. This followed dramatic oil price rises, and concerns about the security of energy supplies. But as fuel prices dropped in the mid-1980s, so did much of the drive to produce low-energy buildings. Now, twenty years later, the decline of North Sea oil and gas reserves means that the UK will soon become heavily dependent on imported energy. This is at a time when global demand for energy is increasing and prices are rising."