by Victoria Raymond
06-04-06
The homes of the future should be eco-friendly, not filled with gadgets,
according to a survey of Brits. Three-quarters of people said they would prefer
homes to be energy efficient, or have some means of generating their own power.
And more than half -- 52 % -- said they would like a property that was built out
of renewable resources, insurer Norwich Union Direct found.
Just one in four wanted the option to be able to control appliances remotely
while they were away from home, 22 % desired a lighting system that could be
adjusted according to their mood and only 10 % wanted a robot that could feed
their pets while they were on holiday.
People also emerged as being security conscious, with 75 % saying they would
like homes of the future to be burglar proof.
Heather Smith, head of marketing at Norwich Union Direct, said: "It's really
important for us to understand the concerns and issues that are front of mind
for homeowners, particularly with regard to their aspirations for the future.”
"It has come as no surprise to us to see how important environmental issues are
as we've already noticed an increase in environmental home additions being used
by our customers. We don't doubt that this is a growing trend."
The group said it had seen a marked increase in the number of eco-, environmentally friendly or energy saving devices being added to home contents insurance policies. It said the most popular things were solar panels, while it was also seeing increasing numbers of solar powered and wind-up gadgets.
Ipsos MORI questioned 2,044 people during March.
Source: www.thesun.co.uk