Moving house is the best time to make renovations on your property, before years’ worth of accumulated furniture make any major work seem too great an undertaking.

Ham & High: Solar panelSolar panel (Image: Archant)

This is why the 21st century homes event in Highgate is so keen to target home buyers as part of this year’s event.

Jackie Jones, one of the organisers of the event, said: “One of the things that got us going is that we’d all had the experience of putting in a new kitchen or bathroom in our houses and then realising that actually it’s a bit cold, or wishing we’d done things a bit differently.”

With that in mind, information packs have been provided to all Highgate estate agents to give out to people when they first buy a property and they will be showcasing various case study homes for people to pick up ideas.

As Jones says: “Getting the right advice before embarking on improvements can result in a warm and energy efficient home, whilst retaining the heritage of an historic house.”

Ham & High: LogsLogs (Image: Archant)

Here are some of their top tips for future-proofing your home before, or just after, you move in.

Insulate properly before putting down those (expensive) ceramic floor tiles – which are cold underfoot

Put in LED lighting instead of halogen bulbs (which use 10 times as much electricity)

Add a solar PV roof when you get the roof done

Insulate the walls before installing fitted shelving and cupboards

Use skylights instead of conservatories, which are freezing in winter and overheat in summer.

To plan your visit and book viewings, visit the website here