Demand for triple glazing has gone up by 35%, according to the 2022 Rated People Home Improvement Trends Report. Triple glazing is listed 9th in its 10 ‘eco jobs’ that have seen the biggest increases in demand from homeowners (see the full list below.) The research was released to mark Earth Day, later this week (22 April).
1. Roof insulation – 419% (increase in the number of jobs posted to Rated People)
2. At-home electric charging point – 404%
3. Cavity wall insulation – 352%
4. Heat pump (air/ground source) – 312%
5. Underfloor insulation – 265%
6. Smart meters – 49%
7. Living roofs – 48%
8. Thermal insulation – 46%
9. Triple glazing – 35%
10. Electric underfloor heating – 33%
Double glazing was found the 8th of 10 most popular ‘eco adaptions’ for this year, below significant homeowner interest in eco home technology:
1. Installing a smart meter – 20%
2. Draught proofing – 20%
3. Installing smart lighting – 19%
4. Extra insulation – 19%
5. Upgrading old appliances – 18%
6. Installing solar panels – 18%
7. Installing a low flow toilet – 14%
8. Installing double glazing – 13%
9. Creating a compost pile – 13%
10. Installing a smart thermostat – 13%
All in all though, sustainability is a key driver for home improvements, the research suggests. Having analysed move than 800,000 home improvement jobs on its platform, and spoken to 600+ UK tradespeople, the find-a-tradesperson platform found that:
• 63% of tradespeople are making eco changes this year;
• nearly half (43%) of homeowners say they’d be more likely to choose a tradesperson if they were environmentally friendly; and
• almost half (45%) of UK homeowners say they want to make their homes more environmentally friendly in 2022, up from 35% in 2021.
According to the report, 41% of tradespeople plan to improve recycling this year, and one in three (36%) of those that plan to make sustainable changes to their business are driven by homeowner demand for environmentally friendly companies.
Homeowner demand and increased living costs
Almost half of UK homeowners (45%) want to make eco improvements to their homes this year to reduce their impact on the planet, the report revealed, which is up from 35% last year. But, alongside living more sustainably, many have indicated that cost savings are a big motivating factor for getting work done.
More than half of UK homeowners (52%) say they want to make eco upgrades this year to save money on bills. One in three (36%) say they want to make upgrade in order to make long-term financial savings.
Adrienne Minster, CEO of Rated People said: “Awareness around the importance of living more sustainably has never been higher, and it’s brilliant to see how tradespeople are looking to reduce their impact on the planet by running their businesses in a more environmentally friendly way. With rising homeowner demand for eco improvements, there is so much opportunity throughout 2022 for tradespeople to grow their businesses and help homeowners with their work.
“Our homes have so much potential to help the planet – whether that’s improving insulation to prevent energy loss or installing solar panels and wind turbines to create green energy. We look forward to seeing the incredible work that our tradespeople and homeowners complete across the UK this year!” The full 2022 Home Improvement Trends Report is available online.
