A new Home Energy Efficiency Tool promises to help landlords and homeowners make their homes more energy efficient and reduce bills.
The Nationwide Building Society initiative aims to provide information about their current energy use and will then outline the cost, energy or carbon savings that can be made as well as potential home improvements, highlighting the potential costs and impact on the property’s energy efficiency and EPC rating.
The tool will ask simple questions about the building and their energy bills, using the information to generate an energy profile. It’s available to all homeowners, regardless of whether they are a Nationwide customer.
A Nationwide spokesman tells LandlordZONE that the tool includes BTL properties – as long as the questions can be answered.
He adds: “There are some questions that might be more difficult for a landlord though, such as the energy bill they usually get.”
Green mortgages
It comes as the society launches its 0% Green Additional Borrowing products, allowing up to 5,000 households with a Nationwide mortgage to borrow between £5,000 and £15,000 up to a maximum of 90% Loan-to-Value across two or five years.
This must be used to fund non-structural, energy-efficient home improvements, such as solar panels, air source heat pump, window upgrades, boiler upgrades, cavity wall insulation, loft insulation or an electric car charging point. Members can use any local or national contractor or supplier for the work.
Henry Jordan (pictured), director of home, says: “Our research tells us that people want to make green home improvements to lower their energy bills and make their property more energy efficient.
“But they need support. With the UK striving to reach net zero by 2050, the time to act to make our homes more energy efficient is now.”
