Eco-friendly conservatory a good investment

An energy efficient conservatory may be a good investment following recent statistics that show a significant proportion of the UK population place eco-friendliness high on their list of priorities when buying a property.

A survey by leading green energy technology experts the Energy Saving Trust (EST) showed that some people would pay up to £15,000 extra for a home that was energy efficient.

More than half (54 per cent) of those interviewed also predicted that "green" issues will soon outstrip "fashion" in terms of importance in the home.

Following these results, British Eco Energy suggested that homeowners consider investing in eco-friendly additions to help make the home more attractive and to reduce energy costs.

"Yes, gas is going up, electricity is going up, if you can save yourself money and can make yourself more eco-friendly then more people will go for it," said a spokeswoman.

"Try and go for it if you can. If you can afford it, budget, work out what your budget is, work out where you want to be in the next 18 months to two years time and starting moving towards it."

Only recently, a former naval officer who built himself an energy efficient home managed to grow tropical bananas in his conservatory. He claims that the heat generated there heats his whole house for most of the year, meaning he spends just £60 per year on heating.