How to market home energy efficiency as a selling feature
The following blog post was written based on information provided by the Department of Natural Resources Canada.
Sometimes, what makes a “good” home goes beyond its layout or location. Energy efficiency attributes, such as the insulation in the walls, probably don’t come up that often during showings with your clients or on feature sheets for your listings; but you may want to consider bringing the energy efficiency topic to the attention of your clients, explaining the roles they play in comfort, lower utility bills and saving money and how homeowners can benefit from them. No scientific jargon required.
When you see EnerGuide*, ENERGY STAR® and R-2000* labels in a home, you can be sure it will be less expensive to heat and cool, more comfortable to live in and environmentally friendly, all of this without sacrifices to interior design.
Take windows, for example. They offer a great source of natural light and can be very aesthetically pleasing to the home design; however, they can also negatively impact a home’s energy efficiency. The good news is that with special coatings (known as low emissivity coatings, or “low-e glass”) and insulated frames and sashes, windows can be more comfortable to sit beside and have less condensation on the glass. In other words, these windows would keep homeowners warm in winter and cool in summer. Simple right?
Take a closer look at some of the materials built into and being used in a home and you may find surprising energy efficiency features. Then, translate these features and the science behind them into benefits or perks to the homeowner to sell them on the value of the home’s energy efficiency.
Here’s a closer look at a few more examples:
