The study, undertaken as part of N&P’s annual eco self-build competition, showed that 81 per cent of people would be willing to incorporate green features into homes they built themselves.
However, 19 per cent would not and, of those, nearly half stated it was because items such as solar panels and wind turbines were expensive.
A further 19 per cent believed these features would not make a difference, while 17 per cent felt they did not know enough about them.
Richard Lloyd, managing director of Hockleys Professional, and one of the judges for N&P’s eco self-build competition, said: “Although it is encouraging that people are happy to back the government’s zero-carbon homes commitment, it’s sad to see that they’re not so keen to make a difference using their own properties.
“It’s great that the government is making steps to cut the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions, but we’d really like to see more being done to encourage individuals to make changes to existing housing too, such as removing VAT on energy efficient home improvements, or reducing council tax for properties with a high energy efficiency rating.”
Roy New, a London-based sole broker, commented: “It’s excellent to be green, but when there’s cost involved, it’s all very well saying the next generation will recoup it, but they are not the ones paying for it. If the government was to give grants and look at paying for the majority of the work, people would go down the green route.”
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