According to the study by aluminium glazing specialists, Express Bi-folding Doorswith, 70% of Brits claim it improves their mood and wellbeing all year round.
The survey of over 2,000 homeowners was conducted to find out the importance of natural light to potential homebuyers and homeowners across the UK and found that 84% value natural light greatly when buying their dream property, with homeowners in Edinburgh (91%) seeing it as being the most vital, closely followed by Liverpool and Bristol (both 89%).
But what price would homebuyers pay to have the luxury of a home with good natural light?
On average, Brits would pay £4,786 on top of their budget, with seven per cent willing to fork out an extra £15,000 - £20,000 above the asking price.
Despite being the age group that places the least value (56%) on natural light, 25-34 year olds are willing to pay the most (£6,031) to have it in their home. Conversely, those aged 55+ deem it the most important (79%) but are only willing to fork out £3,313 extra when purchasing a new home – the lowest amount of all the age groups surveyed.
Plymouth tops the following Top 10 list of UK cities willing to cough up more budget for a home with natural light, closely followed by Glasgow, Birmingham and Edinburgh:
1. Plymouth - £7,522
2. Glasgow - £5,878
3. Birmingham - £5,506
4. Edinburgh - £5,498
5. Leeds - £5,473
6. Newcastle - £5,397
7. Southampton - £5,027
8. Cardiff - £4,983
9. London - £4,786
10. Manchester - £4,674
The survey findings are backed by celebrity interior designer, Linda Barker, who commented: “Most of us crave natural light in our homes. A simple trick to cheat extra daylight into a room, is to position a mirror opposite a window as it will have the benefit of doubling the light effect.
A large window that opens-up onto a garden space serves to enhance our sense of wellbeing and can quite literally connect us to the natural world. There are scientific studies to show that looking out onto greenspace can improve our mental health. Sliding windows are my favourite window style and are most effective at connecting the inside with the outside, allowing light to flood a room and make us feel all the better for it.”
When it comes to improving our mood all year round, 70 per cent believe natural light is the key to our happiness and wellbeing, with a further 12% relying on it in the dark winter months and 11% needing it in Spring-Summer.
Behaviour expert Richard Daniel Curtis supports the findings from a psychological perspective, adding: “Exposure to increased sunlight has been shown to have a huge impact of wellbeing and particularly some mental health problems. During the winter, when daylight hours are reduced, the ability to feel the daylight indoors will brighten the mood and help to avoid the negative feelings associated with being inside with artificial lighting all of the time."
Steve Bromberg, General Manager for Express Bi-Folding Doors, who conducted the survey, added: “The greatest feature of natural light in the home is that it’s completely free! Its importance has always been difficult to measure, however our survey clearly highlights that homeowners view it as integral to their property, are willing to pay a premium for it and heavily rely on it to boost their mood and wellbeing.”
