Upgrading and renovating your home can be an exciting prospect for homeowners, yet knowing which to choose and which will benefit you by adding value to your home can seem confusing.
By looking around, you’ll very quickly find that there are endless possibilities to choose from when it comes to home improvements, so understandably, it’s important to plan and find the right one.
In the below article, we’ll take a look over our top home improvements that can add value to your home, written in collaboration with Summit Energies, leading provider of Air Source Heat Pumps Gloucestershire. We’ve covered the solutions, what exactly they are and some of the different preparations you’ll need to carry out before starting any work.
So, What are the Top Home Improvements to Make?
The home improvement solution that you choose can depend on a variety of different factors. These can include your overall budget, how long you assume to live in your current house, whether you want to boost the resale value or perhaps you’re looking to make your home more energy efficient. Whatever you’re looking to do, these are just a handful of things you should think about before you choose the project you start working on.
Some great home improvements to start on include;
Your Kitchen or Bathroom
If you’re looking to renovate your home, many homeowners typically start with their kitchen or bathroom.
These improvements can include changing the flooring and replacing the bath, and can increase the home’s value substantially.
However, if you’re looking to make smaller improvements, replacing the showerheads and toilets could help you to reduce water waste and resultantly save money on your monthly bills.
Another great solution is underfloor heating, which involves installing heating under your floor and will most certainly add value to your home.
Heating and Cooling Solutions
As mentioned above, underfloor heating is a great way to improve the heating system of your home. However, this is just one of many ways to do this!
If your heating system is outdated, upgrading it can bring you a huge range of benefits.
Other great examples are ground and air source heat pumps, which are environmentally-friendly, and when such a system is installed into your home, you could qualify for an incentive through the Green Homes Grant to cover a portion of the cost of installing the system. What’s more, homeowners who choose to install a heat pump system could see decreases of up 65% in their utility bills annually.
It can also be worthwhile to invest in alternative energy sources such as solar thermal and biomass, two of which help save homeowners money each year. What’s more, they’re also an excellent low carbon option for those looking to replace their existing gas boilers.
Biomass boilers are similar to conventional gas boilers but they produce heat using sustainably sourced wood rather than fossil fuels.
TIP: Another way to improve your heating system without any cost is heating grants. An ‘A’ rated boiler and digital thermostat installation are included in it. Yeah, you read the previous line is right. Under the ECO schemes Government backed central heating grants are available now. Warma UK has helped thousands of households to access a free central heating grant.
Making Energy Efficient Choices
If you are looking for ways to reduce your electricity bills whilst also increasing the overall value of your home, there are various small-scale improvements that you can make alongside larger-scale ones.
For example, choosing LED lighting as opposed to traditional incandescent light bulbs is a cheap method that will only take a few minutes to carry out.
On the other hand, replacing your older appliances with more efficient models can seem like a large investment, however it will be worth it. For example, a dishwasher that is more than 20 years old will waste litres of water with each cycle.
There’s also more substantial updates that you can make, which can cost more upfront, however will add the most value to your home. Solar panels are one of these updates.
Insulation and Draught-Proofing
Another great way to increase the overall value of your home is by insulating your walls and roof. Either loose-fill or batt insulation will be a great way to insulate your loft and either spray foam insulation or rigid foam panels will make a big difference in your walls.
So, if you are looking to take the first steps towards increasing the overall value of your home, whether that’s by making it more energy efficient, choosing a more environmentally friendly heating solution or another method, make sure to get in touch with a reputable contractor today.