January 25th 2024
UK homes could be decarbonised quicker thanks to new government funding
Perenna has received grant funding to help launch its Perenna Retrofit Mortgage product. The scheme aims to solve the biggest barriers to decarbonising UK properties and encourage people to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes.
According to new research from the UK Green Building council, if homes in the UK are to become energy efficient almost all of them will need some sort of retrofit – this is equivalent to 29 million properties.
Against this backdrop, the Climate Change Committee estimates that an investment of about £250 billion will be needed to fully decarbonise homes by 2050.
However, to help kickstart this process, the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero have provided a grant to Perenna, a leading mortgage advisement company, whose green mortgage strategy focuses on homes that need to be upgraded, rather than homes which are already energy efficient.
The organisation, which was founded in 2018, is set to offer consumers all the benefits of its flexible long-term fixed rate mortgage, launched in Q4 2023, with the additional benefits of a green rate discount being rewarded for lowering energy usage.
Customers who complete a qualifying retrofit will see their mortgage rate switched to a lower rate and will benefit from lower monthly payments for the rest of their term.
As a result of this scheme, some people with larger mortgages could be saved over £60 per month, £720 per year, and £21,600 over 30 years, assuming they don’t remortgage.
Arjan Verbeek, founder and CEO, Perenna said: ‘Perenna wants to change the narrative on renewable energy technologies. There are too many obstacles currently to retrofitting a property, with confusing offers and unclear steps on what to do. This needs to change if we want to solve one of the biggest challenges for achieving net zero.
‘We are delighted to be part of the Green Home Finance Accelerator and have the opportunity to work with Heatio and Energy Systems Catapult to pilot an innovative mortgage product that combines long term security with improvements in home energy efficiency.’
The project will last for 12 months and the consortium plans to launch its pilot in summer 2024.
Image: Catherine Kay Greenup
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