Think carefully about how an Energy Efficient Home Design will improve your tenant’s lives
Energy efficient home design isn’t just for owner occupiers. Improving your rental properties will
make your property more efficient, easier to let and hopefully mean the tenant will stay longer,
thereby reducing your costs.
As a landlord, the overarching goal for your properties should be a balance between cost-
efficiency and tenant comfort. Both can be achieved by focusing on energy efficiency. From new
builds to retrofits, this guide explores various methods to transform your property into an energy-
efficient property that will be easier to rent out (due to increased efficiency and lower running
costs for tenants) and less likely to be vacant as tenants will want to stay longer if their bills are
lower.
The key to enhancing your property's energy efficiency lies in careful planning and approach.
According to Jeremy, the energy efficiency expert at Eco-Home-Essentials the fabric first
approach should be your starting point. If you can get the fabric of the building right everything
else slots into place much easier. Your primary focus should be on insulation and ventilation
(which also encompasses airtightness). These are fundamental regardless of whether your
property is newly built or refurbished.
There are other issues to consider, if you want to keep going, such as the heating system, but
here we’re going to look at the fabric first approach. However, if you want more information
Jeremy outlines these in his free guide: "Simple Energy Reduction Tips" e-book which is available
on his site, when you sign up for his newsletter, where you’ll also receive regular free tips on how
to make your properties more energy efficient..
When it comes to energy efficient home design, insulation is a crucial aspect of your property's
energy efficiency. The type of insulation you choose will heavily depend on your property's
construction. Factors such as existing insulation, the age of the property (whether it has solid or
cavity walls), and whether you’re refurbishing or building new require different approaches.
In older housing stock it’s important to remember that it also needs to be breathable, not just well
insulated. The last thing you want to do is trap water vapour within the fabric of the building where
it will cause problems.
So what’s wrong with just adding some foil backed plasterboards and studding out the internal
walls. Which is what I see done every day of the week in older solid walled homes? Or just
battening the walls and filling the void with fibreglass or mineral wool!
While this is what the industry has done for years, it will cause problems.
The foil backed plasterboard contains a vapour stop in the form of the foil backing to each
side of the insulation material and that doesn’t allow any water vapour to pass through.
So as water vapour tries to pass through the structure it ends up getting trapped either to the inside or outside
faces of the PIR board. (Water vapour moves outward in winter but it also moves inward in the
summer).
This water vapour can then condense and run to the bottom of the timber frame work where it will
form mould and possibly rot the timbers depending on the extent of the issue.
I always recommend using a natural insulation material such as wood fibre in conjunction with a
vapour control layer (VCL) and/or a breather layer/breathable plaster etc. The VCL allows a small
amount of water vapour to pass through, which the wood fibre can easily deal with (wood fibre
and other natural insulation materials can easily absorb and release water vapour whereas
man made insulants tend to absorb it easily but then struggle to release it).
Ventilation is equally important in an energy-efficient design. While insulation and the use of VCLs
and tapes around windows and doors etc will help you create an airtight property that’s easy to
heat. Without adequate ventilation, this can quickly lead to a property that is stale, smelly and an
unpleasant place to live. So correct ventilation is also essential. An investment in a good
ventilation system will ensure moisture-laden air from the kitchen, bathroom, cooking and drying
clothes doesn't compromise your property's air quality or heat retention.
One of the most common things I come across in rental properties is tenants who tape up
Positive Input Ventilators, trickle vents and anything else that they feel is allowing a cold draught
into the property. This can be a difficult thing to get around. But having an open and honest
conversation with the tenants and explaining what these things are, why they’re there and how
they will reduce the chances of mould in the property can make all the difference to maintaining
your investment and their health. A 20 minute conversation could make all the difference and save
you money in the long run.
Effective insulation and ventilation will significantly reduce heating demands, saving your tenants
a considerable amount in heating bills. But remember, your tenants' comfort extends beyond
winter. As landlords, considering the cooling aspect is becoming more and more important so that
your property remains comfortable during summer months as well. In a super-insulated home,
large windows or patio doors can allow solar gain from the sun to overheat the home quickly,
making rooms uncomfortable. Here, choosing a dense insulating materials (wood fibre is really
good at keeping the heat out in the summer) in conjunction with heat-reflective glass can make a
significant difference to your tenant's comfort.
While cutting-edge technologies like photovoltaic panels and backup battery systems could
enhance your property's energy efficiency, don't invest blindly. Investing in the fabric first
approach (insulation and ventilation) means less reliance on the pricier technology.
Plus, if you get the fabric right and then you decide to install one of the other technologies such
as a new boiler, you should find that you will require a smaller boiler because the property is more
efficient and has a lower heat demand.
The kind of glazing used also plays a crucial role in energy efficiency. Investing in better-quality
glazing or triple-glazed windows can contribute considerably to heat retention. But it is an
expensive investment and payback can be quite a long period of time. If you have single glazed
windows it is worth upgrading. But if you have functional double glazing I’m not sure I’d spend the
money changing it unless I was doing a total refurb.
It's essential that you, as a landlord, be actively involved in the design or refurbishment process.
Providing your architect or builder with a detailed list of requirements can help focus on what's
important for energy efficiency and ensure that you get what want and what your tenants will
want.
Make a list of your priorities in descending order, (1) being the most important, such as:
1. A warm and correctly ventilated comfortable home
2. Low running costs
3. A healthy environment within the home, free from condensation and damp
4. The work is future proofed and long lasting
5. The work is good value for money
6. A low carbon footprint.
An architect and many builders will have more information to help you make decisions regarding
the systems, materials and technologies which can be used within the build/refurbishment. But
it’s always a good idea to do your own research as well. Read up on the different manufacturers’
products – the Internet is a good place to start.
Here are some topics to consider at an early stage of new-build or renovation:
1. Draught proofing.
2. Natural insulation.
3. Vapour control layers and how they work.
4. Mechanical ventilation and heat recovery (MVHR)
5. Positive Input Ventilators (PIV).
6. Smart thermostatic radiator valves (TRV’s).
7. Air source heat pump for heating and possibly solar thermal panels for hot water.
8. Photovoltaic panels or wind turbine to generate electricity (depending on site suitability) and a
battery storage system so that you don't have to export any surplus to the grid (and only
receive pence for it).
9. Cat 6 cabling and smart home controls.
10. Cost effective build techniques such as Insulated concrete form (ICF) or Structural Insulated
Panels (SIP) construction etc.
It’s always a good idea to try to source materials locally and use recycled materials where
possible.
Next, list the things you don’t like, or that don’t work very well about your existing rental property.
Try to imagine yourself living in each room of the house, using them as your tenants normally
would. For example:
1. You don’t want to be facing the main window when watching TV.
2. Will the sun reflect on the TV screen?
3. Will there be enough natural light in the kitchen?
4. Where can I add more storage in the property?
5. Will there be enough sockets behind the TV for future gadgets – you can never have enough
sockets?
Once you receive your plans make scale cutouts of your furniture to make sure it's all going to
fit. Think about where you need to place sockets for lighting etc. A few minutes spend doing this
will make a huge difference and hopefully avoid having to change things once the work starts.
The next step is to let the professionals (your Architect and builder) take over. But don’t rest on
your laurels. You should monitor the entire process like a hawk because parts of the construction
will get hidden behind other things on a daily basis and you need to be on top of everything if
you want to get the best results.
It’s also worth having a conversation with potential builders before appointing one in order to
make sure they are happy to do things the way you want them done. I see builders all the time
who are dyed in the wool and do not want to change the way they do things. They’ll say “Yes
we’re happy to install VCL’s etc” but when it comes to it they might think, “They’ll never know we
didn’t tape the seams and joints as it will be hidden behind the plaster” and they take shortcuts.
It’s up to you to make sure they don’t!
In conjunction with the practical measures above, part of the energy efficient home design
process is to educate your tenants as to why these things are in the property and how to use
them correctly. You should also encourage your tenants to adopt energy-efficient behaviours for
an all-round energy-efficient property. Your investment in making your rental properties energy
efficient will not only provide monetary benefits but will also create a healthier and more
comfortable living environment for your tenants. And happy tenants tend to become long term
tenants!
A new article provided by Jeremy Brady,
Get more detail in one of their ebooks, or book a consultation here.
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