Credit: iStock – frazaz
An On the wire story
Nearly two-thirds of UK home movers now say they want their next property to be able to produce most or all of its own energy, according to Rightmove’s 2026 Greener Homes Report.
The property portal found that 63% of buyers are drawn to homes fitted with solar panels, batteries and heat pumps, a sign that energy security has moved firmly into the mainstream of housing preferences.
The report suggests that rising bills and wider concern over dependence on fossil fuels are reshaping what people now regard as an attractive home.
Rightmove’s survey also found that 53% of movers say recent energy price rises have made them more interested in technologies such as solar panels and battery storage.
Greg Jackson, the founder and chief executive of Octopus Energy, said the findings showed a ‘massive shift’ in attitudes towards electrification at home, adding that demand for heat pumps had doubled and that solar and electric vehicles were also seeing stronger interest.
His comments reflect a broader industry argument that greener homes are not only more resilient but can also be cheaper to run over time.
The report points to a rapid rise in the visibility of these features in the sales market. Rightmove said mentions of heat pumps in newly listed homes have climbed by 151% since 2022, while solar panel mentions are up 94% and references to electric car chargers have increased by 79%.
Interest from buyers has grown in parallel, with demand for homes with heat pumps up 83% and for homes with solar panels up 61%, suggesting that supply is gradually catching up with a stronger preference among movers.
Hot weather has also become a more important factor in the property search. Rightmove found that 87% of movers now regard a home’s ability to stay cool as important, while 45% said their current property struggles in high temperatures. Searches for homes with air conditioning more than doubled this summer, rising 104% compared with the same period in 2025, and 61% of movers said they are considering installing air conditioning themselves.
At the same time, the report said nearly half of homes for sale and 61% of rental homes now have an EPC rating of C or above, while 89% of new-build homes are rated A or B, compared with just 6% of the wider housing stock, underlining how uneven Britain’s progress on efficiency remains.
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• This On the wire article was created using Noahwire AI and reviewed by CIBSE Journal’s editorial team
