The key to knowing which green home improvements will help your clients most
September 2023
Making the right choices
There’s a broad range of schemes available through the mortgage market to incentivise homeowners to make green home improvements. At Coventry for intermediaries, our Green Further Advance gives clients a lower interest rate if they use at least 50% of additional borrowing on improvements designed to make their property more efficient.
The maximum loan amount that can be taken out is £25,000 – and our usual further advance LTV limits and criteria apply. The Green Further Advance is available for both BTL and residential clients as long as they’re not on an Offset mortgage.
These energy efficiency improvements can vary in terms of what qualifies and in terms of price. For example, higher cost examples would include the installation of improved hot water controls, a new boiler or energy generation changes (such as solar/wind turbine installation). But lower cost improvements also matter, including energy efficient window glazing or topping up loft insulation.
But when it comes to the real impact of these measures, the results can vary from property to property. For example, insulation in walls, roofs, and floors can improve the energy efficiency of a home with a poor EPC rating at a lower cost, but might not be as effective for homes with higher EPC ratings. Instead, these properties may better benefit from major changes like solar panel installation. So where do homeowners turn to for advice on what changes to make?
How brokers can support clients making green improvements
In many situations, consumers may reach out to their mortgage broker for guidance on what home improvements they should make, particularly if they are in the process of remortgaging or buying. While brokers don’t need to be experts in energy efficiency, it’s important that they are aware and have the tools available to point their clients in the right direction.
At Coventry for intermediaries, we have created our broker branded Home Energy Efficiency Tool to quickly generate an energy saving plan, highlighting to homeowners how they can make their property more efficient. This can be used by brokers in meetings with clients to effectively navigate how such changes can be made in accordance with the customer’s budget.
Through our work with Energy Saving Trust, the Home Energy Efficiency Tool can be used by brokers to help their clients to understand their current and potential EPC rating (the tool will also give an estimated EPC rating if there is no up-to-date certificate on the EPC register).
The Home Energy Efficiency tool also reveals the carbon emissions of the property and can provide estimated energy costs, as well as the potential savings that could be made by making changes. For example, by spending £16 on extra insulation for a hot water tank, the typical home can save £70 each year on energy bills1. Also, if clients can provide details of their energy usage via a bill from their supplier, the Home Energy Efficiency Tool can calculate even more accurate energy savings predictions.
Brokers don’t need to be experts on energy efficiency, but they are positioned well to help guide clients in the right direction towards the changes to a property which could have the biggest impact. By making use of the right tools, brokers can play a central role in helping consumers and their part in moving the country towards net zero by 2050.
For more information, why not take a look at our Home Energy Efficiency Tool information page
1 Energy-Saving-Trust-Warm-Home-Hacks-guide-final.pdf (energysavingtrust.org.uk)
