Self-build green homes 'may change face of UK property'

People who want to buy a house in Scotland as well as being environmentally-friendly may like to choose a self-build green home. The benefits of such properties have recently been highlighted by Julian Brooks, managing director of Greenmoves, specialists in the eco property market. Mr Brooks commented that the aesthetics of green homes may begin to change the face of the UK’s buildings, with the addition of solar panels and other energy saving devices. He added, however, that many changes will occur on the interior structure of the buildings, meaning that they will not be seen. “To future proof for climate change there’s quite a lot of talk about external shutters,” he said. “It’s something that you might think is more common in the south of France but you might start to see it here. That’s purely to keep the buildings cool in hot summers, especially if they’re super-insulated buildings, which they will be in order to meet the carbon standards.” Some 92 per cent of people surveyed in the Sponge Sustainability Network report for 2007 said that they wanted to see environmentally-friendly features added to new homes – a sentiment that may be echoed by some people looking to buy a house in Scotland.