Green mortgages and property-linked energy efficiency upgrade finance

Green mortgages have been around for years for building energy-efficient properties or improving existing homes. Green mortgages incentivise homeowners to reduce their carbon footprint and contribute to environmental sustainability. They work similarly to standard mortgages but can be more affordable, making it easier and cheaper for homeowners to make their properties more energy-efficient. Lenders such as Barclays, Nationwide, NatWest, Virgin Money, and others already offer green mortgage products or benefits, providing homeowners with numerous options. By opting for a green mortgage, homeowners can invest in energy-efficient homes and contribute to a more sustainable future while enjoying preferential fees, interest rates, and cashback on larger loans. 

Green Mortgages Property Linked Finance

These Green mortgage products are often linked to properties achieving specific energy efficiency standards once upgraded, such as A or B-rated for energy performance. EPC’s Energy Performance Certificates help homeowners identify potential energy-saving opportunities, which not only help the environment but also save them money. 

According to research by the Green Finance Institute in 2021, 83% of respondents viewed energy efficiency as important. The primary reason was to reduce energy bills, though environmental concerns were also significant. In early 2022, due to rising energy costs and international events like COP26, held in Glasgow in November 2021, energy efficiency and the urgency of climate change became hot topics for UK homeowners. Nearly 90% now consider the energy efficiency of their property as necessary, a substantial rise from Spring 2021.

2023 saw a tripling of energy bills, leaving many households struggling to pay them. This financial strain is a significant factor driving the heightened importance of energy efficiency. Suddenly, saving energy became sexy! In Spring 2021, only about 25% of respondents were likely to use traditional Finance for energy efficiency upgrades, while nearly 50% were unlikely to use it, citing reasons such as not needing Finance or concerns about using it. Rising interest rates and inflation have also driven up the cost of energy-efficient upgrades, impacting household budgets and leading to a vicious circle of growing energy bills and the cost to mitigate these increasing simultaneously.    

So, whilst the Green Finance Institute (GFI) research indicates a growing consumer interest in energy efficiency, especially amidst the energy crisis, upgrading UK homes for energy efficiency is a significant challenge. Current estimates forecast a bill of £250 billion by 2050. Mobilising private capital alongside public funds is seen as a transformative solution.

Why have previous energy-efficiency government initiatives failed?

The UK Green Deal was a government initiative introduced in 2013 to help people make energy-saving improvements to their homes or businesses without paying all the costs upfront. It aimed to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. One of its fundamental principles, known as the “Golden Rule,” states that the charge attached to the energy bill should not exceed the expected savings, and the payment period should not exceed the expected lifetime of the measures. A challenging concept to sell! It is even more problematic when the Finance is paid for through your energy supplier. 

This “Golden Rule” intended to guarantee that the financing for energy efficiency improvements was cost-effective and fair. It protected consumers by ensuring that the loan repayments did not exceed the expected savings on their energy bills. The Green Deal was designed to enable households to improve their properties’ energy efficiency, creating warmer and cheaper homes to run.

Why did the UK Green Deal fail?

The UK Green Deal failed for various reasons, including poor policy design, unattractive financial propositions, complexity of the process, and a lack of marketing and information. The Department of Energy and Climate Change’s (DECC) design and implementation failed to persuade householders that energy efficiency measures were worth paying for, leading to a lack of demand and low uptake. The scheme’s failure also resulted from the “Golden Rule,” which led to an unattractive financial proposition for most households. Also, there needed to be more effective marketing and information, which was not surprising when those promoting the scheme were the same energy companies that profited from selling energy. All in all, this contributed to low household participation. The scheme’s failure damaged confidence in government efforts to improve energy efficiency in private domestic homes in the UK.

The future of home energy efficiency finance 

In the last year, there’s been a decline in the likelihood of homeowners considering third-party Finance for property energy improvements, coinciding with broader affordability issues and energy bills, interest rates and inflation pressures.

The GFI analysis highlights a critical challenge – while energy efficiency is increasingly essential to consumers, traditional finance choices may need to align with the needs or desires of all those looking to boost their home efficiency rating.

In response, the UK government is also considering measures to facilitate by offering Property-Linked Finance for Home Energy Efficiency, demonstrating the country’s commitment to reducing emissions, achieving environmental targets, and releasing billions of pounds of private investment.   

What are Property-linked Finance (PLF) financial solutions? 

PLF solutions are yet to be available in the UK. Yet, they are thriving in the US and globally, showing promise in meeting the rising consumer interest in energy efficiency. It offers a way of linking long-term energy efficiency investment finance that stays with the property when it changes hands. 

Expanding Home Energy Efficiency with Property-Linked Finance 

PLF is an innovative financial model that offers a promising solution for enhancing home energy efficiency in the UK. This model, inspired by the success of the Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) program in the United States, presents numerous benefits for homeowners, the environment, and the economy.

Financial Innovation and Consumer Benefits:

  • Flexible Financing: PLF allows homeowners to finance the total cost of energy efficiency upgrades, easing the financial burden.
  • Property-Linked Approach: The unique aspect of the Finance tied to the property and not the owner ensures that the investment continues to pay off even if the property changes hands.
  • Attractive for Property Buyers: Properties with energy efficiency upgrades will likely be more attractive to buyers, potentially increasing their market value.

Addressing the Payback Period Barrier:

  • Immediate Benefits, Long-Term Payoff: Homeowners can enjoy the primary benefits of energy efficiency without worrying about the payback period, as the financial obligation transfers with property ownership.

Enhanced Home Comfort and Health:

  • Combatting Poor Living Conditions: PLF addresses issues like dampness, mould, and excessive cold, which affect a significant portion of renters in England, including many households with children. Improved building efficiency means healthier living environments.
  • Reducing Healthcare Costs: By mitigating health issues related to poor housing conditions, PLF can also reduce healthcare costs.

Economic and Employment Benefits:

  • Job Creation: Similar to its impact in the US, PLF can stimulate the creation of green jobs in the UK. The US example showed substantial job creation through investment in commercial and residential building upgrades.
  • Market Growth: The potential market size in the UK for energy retrofitting financed through PLF is estimated between £52 billion and £70 billion, indicating a significant opportunity for economic growth.

Environmental Impact:

  • Reducing Carbon Footprint: By funding energy-efficient upgrades, PLF helps lower greenhouse gas emissions from buildings, which are a significant contributor to the UK’s carbon footprint.
  • Supporting Net-Zero Goals: The initiative is aligned with the UK’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions, especially considering the substantial investment required to upgrade the country’s building stock by 2050.

Security for Financial Providers:

  • New Investment Opportunities: Financial institutions have the chance to participate in a growing and potentially lucrative market.
  • Reducing Risks: Enhanced energy efficiency can reduce risks for lenders by increasing the value and resilience of the property portfolio.

Policy and Regulatory Support:

  • Leveraging Public and Private Funds: PLF schemes can be capitalised by public funds and institutional investment, allowing a transition to private financing as the market scales.
  • Consumer-Centric Design: PLF must be designed with strong consumer protections and in alignment with existing legislative frameworks.

Property-linked Finance could be a solution. 

PLF represents a transformative approach to addressing the energy efficiency of buildings in the UK. Its potential to improve living conditions, stimulate economic growth, create jobs, and significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions makes it a key component in the UK’s strategy to tackle climate change and energy challenges. The success of PLF, however, hinges on effective collaboration among stakeholders, including financial institutions, government bodies, and the retrofit industry, to ensure its widespread adoption and impact.

For more information, visit Green Finance Institute.

What is the Circular Economy?

In a circular economy, resources are kept in use for as long as possible, maximising their lifespan (and therefore their value) before the materials are eventually reused and recycled. Unlike the traditional linear economic model in which raw materials are mined, processed to develop a product and then disposed of, a circular economy has several essential benefits such as reducing waste, preserving resources and driving a more sustainable production process. The short-term consumption associated with the linear model contributes to an unsustainable society where materials are used for one purpose and waste is an inevitability. On the other hand, the cyclical nature of the circular economy allows for longer-term growth and maximisation of value by using resources more efficiently.

In 2019, the European Commission adopted a report on the implementation of the Circular Economy Action Plan, a 54-action package aimed at helping the EU transition to a circular economy. This includes measures such as improved labelling on electrical appliances, encouraging remanufacturing of waste products and economic incentives for innovative product design that enables better recycling opportunities.

Other services such as WRAP are aiming to support organisations in their efforts to improve resource efficiency by providing advice and tools to help businesses make necessary changes.

Climate Change: The science

The so-called greenhouse effect is essentially the trapping of reflected solar energy (infra-red radiation) by ‘greenhouse gases’. We actually need greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, otherwise the average temperature on earth would be about -18°C and so too cold for life. Unfortunately, in the last 200 years or so, human activities like the burning of fossil fuels have pumped huge amounts of extra greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, enhancing the greenhouse effect and so warming up the planet. Continue reading →

Make a career out of saving the planet

The choice of going to University is becoming an expensive option, with the new fee system leaving many young people seriously considering whether it’s worth the investment, exacerbated by a very shaky job market. There is one business sector that’s booming – the renewables arm of building services engineering (heating, plumbing, air conditioning, refrigeration and electrics) – with legally binding carbon reduction targets and government funding streams driving forward alternatives to fossil fuels for Britain’s homes and businesses.

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Climate Change: Your questions

Q: Is there any truth that temperature rose during the three day no fly policy after 9/11 and that vapour trails cause cooling?

A: Yes, in the day time at least. Because the skies were almost entirely free of contrails more energy from the sun was able to reach the earth’s surface, rather than being reflected back towards space by the contrails. This was used by some to argue that air travel actually helped to cool the planet through the reflection of sunlight by contrails. However, this overlooks what happened at night. With no contrails the infrared (heat) energy emitted from the earth’s surface is able to escape much more easily and so the surface is able to cool to a much greater degree. When there are contrails these act like strips of blanket – trapping the radiated heat and keeping the surface temperatures higher. So, when both day and night time temperatures are considered, contrails have a net warming effect on our planet, even before we consider the greenhouse gas emissions that they represent. An interesting recommendation made recently was to restrict night time air travel, and so confine the formation of contrails to the day time – where they have less of a positive climate-forcing effect. For more detailed information see this paper from the European Geophysical Union.

Continue reading →

Climate Change: Our choice

Given the scale of the problem that we face, it is all too easy to feel powerless. How, without running for political office, can we as individuals make any difference? Surely, cutting greenhouse emissions to the extent required is the job of our governments, industry and big business. The truth though, is that the real power to tackle climate change lies not with Prime Ministers, Presidents or Chief Executives. It is in the hands of the homeowners and the car drivers, the holidaymakers and the shoppers of the world, that the destiny of our planet’s climate truly rests. Continue reading →

Tackling climate change

Transport

For many of us, our transport emissions are dominated by car-use. Your average 1.3 litre run-around will, in the space of a year, clock up somewhere between 4 and 6 tonnes of greenhouse gas. Drive a gas-guzzling 4-wheel drive though and your emissions can be more than double this. For decades, any advances made in engine efficiency have been undermined by demand for bigger, more powerful cars. Add to this the growth in the number of cars on the road – there are now more cars in the US than people to drive them – and it’s little wonder that cars have come to play such a leading role in human-induced climate change. Continue reading →

Climate Change: The impacts

Sea-level rise

A warming planet causes sea-levels to rise for two main reasons. First of all there is increased melting of glaciers and ice sheets, whose melt waters continually add to the total volume of the oceans. Secondly, there is thermal expansion of the oceans: as the water warms up it takes up more space. Continue reading →

Climate Change: What is being done?

In 1997, with ever-stronger evidence for an enhanced greenhouse effect driven by human activities, and deepening concern over the impacts the resulting changes in climate might have, over 150 nations came together in Kyoto in Japan to agree the first binding agreement aimed at cutting global greenhouse gas emissions: The Kyoto Protocol. But in 2009 the United Nations Climate Change conference in Copenhagen failed to agree on a binding agreement for all nations on reducing emissions. Continue reading →

WWF – “What wood you choose?”

WWF are asking the Green Choices community – What Wood You Choose?

WWF, the world’s leading conservation body, have just launched a study which has found that companies in the UK are selling items such as kitchen worktops, doors and decking that come from places where illegal logging is having a devastating effect on people and wildlife. Continue reading →