How to make your Spanish property more energy efficient

In December Spain played host to the COP25 climate summit. The summit was held in Madrid and brought together over 25,000 delegates from around the world. El Pais announced that during the two week summit the nations have been looking to reach agreement on how to tackle the effects of global warming and keep it within manageable limits. Read the full article

Inspired by the summit and knowing that everyone needs to do their bit, we wanted to share some advice on how to make your home more energy efficient. This is good for the environment, but also good for you, as you will reduce your energy bills and can save a lot over the course of a year.

According to the Green Home Guide there’s a lot you can do to improve the energy efficiency of your home.

Step 1 – Make sure your property is well insulated

Spanish properties are not made with insulation in mind and many have poorly fitting windows and no insulation in the walls. This can make it feel cold in the winter and encourage you, or your rental guests to put the heating on when it’s not really necessary. To stop this happening, you should do the following –

1. Check your windows and look at whether they should be replaced. If they are old and leaky, you will be losing a lot of heat this way, so investing in double glazed windows can be a good idea. However, this is an expensive addition, so you could try adding some heavy curtains for use in the winter, as these can make a big difference.
2. Use draft excluders under the doors to stop drafts entering and heat escaping
3. Consider using rugs during the winter to stop the cold from the marble floors coming through. It makes the place look and feel more cosy.
4. Plant trees and shrubs around the house to block the sun during the summer months and keep the house cooler, to reduce the need for air-conditioning

Step 2 – Look at the energy efficiency of your heating and lighting

Change your bulbs for low energy bulbs when they need changing, they cost a bit more, but last a lot longer, so it’s worth the investment.

Look at the energy efficiency of your heating and cooling system and check that the air conditioning system has been serviced and cleaned as this can significantly improve efficiency. If it is time to replace your system, try to get the most energy efficient replacement possible, as we all know that air conditioning and heating uses a lot of energy and significantly increases bills when you have holiday rental guests.

Consider installing a solar hot water tank. Here in Spain, a solar hot water tank will give you all the hot water you need for around 9 months a year, and can save you a lot on energy costs. Utilising the power of the hot Spanish sun makes a lot of sense and can reduce your bills and your impact on the environment.

Here’s some more information on how to cut home energy bills and reduce energy use.

If you are inspired to make some changes to make your property more energy efficient, we can help. Our Costa del Sol property maintenance team can implement any changes for you, as we are your on-the-ground support system for anything you need for your property here in Spain. We can source energy efficient alternatives and get them installed for you and make recommendations on improving your property. Contact us and ask us how we can support you to improve your rental property and increase your rental bookings with our property management and maintenance services.