New build buyers save over £2,000 in energy bills - HBF

A new report published today by HBF has found that buyers of new build properties will save an average of £2,000 in energy bills and reduce carbon emissions by more than 2 tonnes per property each year. Collectively, says the report, new build home buyers are saving over £500 million and reducing carbon emissions by over 500,000 tonnes a year.

The report – Watt a Save - analyses government data on the energy efficiency of new build and existing homes and finds that:

· new build properties significantly reduce energy usage, with the average new build using approximately 100 kWh per m² each year, as compared to older properties which require an average of 259kWh per m²

· new build properties save an average of just over £2,000 per property each year, with the average annual running costs for a new build totalling £1,500 as compared to an average of £3,570 for older properties. These savings rise to £2,600 a year when looking at new build houses alone, rather than smaller properties such as flats or bungalows

· 84% of new build homes were rated with an EPC of B or above, while less than 4% of …