Home system upgrades | Wickes.co.uk

While a lot of customers are focused on modernising the interior design and aesthetic of their homes, it’s arguably more important to make sure all of their home systems are suitably upgraded to meet modern standards. There has been a real spike in popularity in the last year or two - 47% of the homeowners surveyed in the UK Houzz & Home Report 2023 live in homes built in 1940 or earlier, meaning there’s a real need for modernisation of systems like heating, electricals and plumbing. They found that more than a third of homeowners upgraded heating systems in 2022, followed closely by electrical and plumbing.

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Heat pumps

The two biggest motivating factors for customers considering heat pumps are financial and environmental. Given the cost of heating at the moment, it’s no surprise that people are looking for ways to save money and do things more efficiently. Then you have the climate-inspired reasoning of reducing carbon emissions. Heat pumps work by capturing heat from outside and moving it into your home. While it does use electricity to do this, it doesn’t burn any fuel which means it doesn’t emit any carbon dioxide. They’re more efficient than other heating systems because they produce more heat than the amount of electricity they use.

Solar panels

As well as giving your customers’ homes clean and renewable energy for the long term, solar panels also can increase the resale value of a property for exactly that reason. If customers are interested in having solar panels installed, it's easy to use an online tool to estimate how many solar panels can fit on their roof. The exact price can vary depending on multiple factors, which also affect how long it can take for your customer’s investment to pay off. It generally takes between 8 and 15 years to see a return, but it’s possible to have them pay for themselves in as little as 4 years.

EV charging points

The rise of electric cars and even plug-in hybrids also means a rise in the amount of electric vehicle charging points being installed at customers’ homes. Rated People found that 2022 saw a 169% increase in demand for home EV chargers being installed. Make sure you consider where your customer parks their car and where they want the charger to go, the quality of their WiFi, their available power supply and more.

Draught excluders

Draught proofing is one of the top eco adaptations for saving money on bills, according to Rated People, and for every good reason. The Energy Saving Trust found that just draught-proofing windows and doors can save around £60 and 150kg of carbon dioxide a year. A big part of its popularity comes from how cheap and effective it is. It’s also fairly simple - it involves blocking unwanted gaps that let cold air in and warm air out.