In the UK the average 85m2 home spends almost £600 a year on heating and around £1350 on energy as a whole. It may seem incredible but reducing your heating bill to the cost of a cup of tea per day is entirely possible, saving many hundreds, even thousands of pounds per year for many.

Some Passivhaus buildings cost around 14p per m2 per year to heat which would equate to £11.90  in an 86m2 home, something that is to be dreamed of by owners of the average house in the UK.

In addition to this reduction in heating, use of rainwater or even grey water can reduce the cost of water bills, Solar thermal panels can reduce water heating costs and PV can help reduce electricity costs.

Beyond this it is down to the appliances and systems used within the building which determine energy consumption. If you’re building a sustainable house then it also needs low energy appliances and fittings.

WHAT’S NEXT?

If you want to find out more about how to effectively manage your sustainable building project, check out The Self-Build Series. This series of guides has been put together to you understand sustainable construction. We hope you find them useful!