The ‘Green’ Pound has given a lucrative boost to the home improvement sector over the past few years, with consumers queuing up to prove their environmental credentials by implementing the latest eco measures in their homes.

However with the credit crunch and subsequent recession, saving the planet has given way to saving money as the main motivation for conserving energy. 

There is one sector though that all the bad economic news could hold some very positive future trends - those companies with the kind of product portfolio that can help consumers take the sting out of rising fuel prices.

The energy efficient sector will outperform the rest of the sector over the next couple of years as people take action to combat their fuel bills.

As long as those companies can demonstrate that an investment in energy efficient home improvements will save more money than it costs have an opportunity like never before to help the country go greener. 

They need to be clear about their capabilities (and their limitations) and offer good quality at an affordable price.  The focus needs to be firmly on demonstrating proven energy efficiency benefits and translating those into hard financial facts, ie: ‘this is how much it will cost to install and this is how much you can expect to save over this period of time’. For those companies that can do this without confusing the messages it is likely that a reduction in the number of people prepared to spend on their homes to ‘go green’ will be more than replaced by the number of people willing to invest in their homes in order to save on their fuel bills.

The challenge for energy efficient building materials suppliers is to remain one step ahead and ensure we have the right products for them – at the right price - when they do.

Certain product areas that are likely to see substantial growth as a result:

- Underfloor heating – the benefits are numerous but efficiency wise it is ideal for large spaces as they can be uniformly heated and help reduce energy usage and bills by about 5%.

- Condensing boiler - condensing boilers are highly efficient and have lower fuel and running costs than conventional boilers, working on the principle of recovering as much as possible of the waste heat normally rejected into the atmosphere, thus reducing fuel bills and carbon dioxide emissions.

- Temperature control – installation of a thermostat that enables rooms to be kept at constant temperature (at least 1 degree lower than you are currently used to!) as well as controlling each room individually – these will be quite advanced heating systems monitored and controlled by electronic keypads within the home.

- Insulation – cavity wall and loft insulation could be mandatory to defined minimum levels).

- Radiant heating panels - Use of these panels enables the thermostat temperature to be turned down by as much as 6 degrees without compromising comfort. The Carbon Trust has calculated that a reduction of just 1% in the thermostat temperature can save as much as 8% on the typical bill. Unlike standard heating systems, radiant heat is emitted in rays as opposed to convection currents, warming the occupants and objects of a room directly as opposed to heating the air. In layman’s terms, it works in a similar way to the sun – although air temperatures remain the same, it is much warmer standing in direct sunshine than it is standing in the shade.

- Render – External wall insulation reduces energy costs. It insulates external walls to produce the appropriate U-value without condensation risk, and allows the fabric of the building to act as a heat store to increase thermal efficiency and prevent cold bridging and mould growth.

- Ground source heat pump - Ground source heat pumps are devices that extract heat from the ground, raising the temperature of water to a level suitable for heating and hot water requirements. The ratio of the output energy (contained within the water retrieved from the ground) to the input energy (required for water pumping) is typically 3 or 4, this means that, by using 1kW of electricity, the owner of a ground source heat pump can gain 3 - 4kW of usable heat.

- Construction boards with thermal properties - When used throughout a room or with underfloor heating it can maintain a near constant temperature and help prevent heat loss through floors, therefore reducing heating requirements.

- Solar hot water panels - They collect heat from the sun's radiation. Solar water heating can provide you with about a third of your hot water needs. The average domestic system reduces C02 by around 325kg per year and about £50 a year of your hot water bills, when installed in a gas heated home.