CUSTOMERS with Lloyds Bank, Santander and other major banks can get £2,000 cashback for making a few key changes to their home.
Several lenders offer cashback incentives to reward those who carry out energy-saving improvements to their properties.
A host of lenders offer cashback offers to customers making their homes more energy-efficient[/caption]
Lloyds and Halifax customers can get up to £2,000 towards the cost of heat pumps and solar panel installation.
Meanwhile, Santander customers can get up to £500 in cashback for improving the energy efficiency of their homes.
Virgin Money dishes out £250 to households carrying out green improvements as well.
Lenders are increasingly offering these incentives as they see energy-efficient properties as less risky for them and more likely to hold their value over time.
Homeowners spending less on their energy bills every month should be able to meet regular mortgage payments more easily too.
We’ve rounded off what some of the major lenders offer in terms of cash incentives for improving the energy-efficiency of your home.
Halifax
You could be eligible for £2,000 cashback if you’re with Halifax and having a heat pump installed in your home.
You may also qualify for £1,000 cashback for installing solar panels or batteries and £500 for double glazing or insulation.
To qualify, you’ll need to be taking out a new mortgage or remortgage with Halifax and have a Halifax or Bank of Scotland current account at the time of claiming.
You also have to have installed the energy-efficient measure within one year of completing on a mortgage deal.
You can find out more via www.halifax.co.uk/mortgages/help-and-advice/green-living/green-living-offers.
LLoyds
Lloyds, part of Lloyds Banking Group like Halifax, also offers up to £2,000 cashback to customers getting a heat pump installed in their home.
The same cashback amounts of £1,000 and £500 are paid out if you install solar panels or a battery, or double glazing or insulation.
The same eligibility criteria applies as it does if you’re with Halifax.
However, you also need to have a Club Lloyds current account when claiming your mortgage.
The account comes with a £3 monthly fee that is waived every time you pay £2,000 or more into the account.
You can find out more via www.lloydsbank.com/mortgages/help-and-guidance/eco-home-hub/eco-home-offers.
Santander
Santander mortgage holders can get up to £500 cashback for carrying out green improvements to their home.
The lender also offers preferential interest rates to those remortgaging to a property that has an EPC rating of A or B.
However, these rates are only available via a broker and your loan-to-value (LTV) needs to be between 60% and 85%.
The LTV is the percentage of a property’s value that is borrowed.
You can find out more via www.santander.co.uk/personal/support/greener/support/greener-living/greener-homes/our-partners.
Virgin Money
Virgin Money offers £250 cashback to existing borrowers who need extra money to carry out green home improvements.
Mortgage holders can also get preferential interest rates if buying a home with an EPC rating of A or B.
You also need to have a maximum LTV of 85%.
You can find our more via uk.virginmoney.com/mortgages/green-reward.
Are heat pump and solar panels worth it?
Heat pumps work by taking in heat from the air, ground or water and then passing this through a heat exchanger and then into your radiators or hot water cylinders.
They use less greenhouse gases to create energy making them much better for the environment than gas or oil boilers.
Solar panels work by converting energy from the sun into power in the shape of electricity and heat.
The cost of having a heat pump installed is generally much higher than a traditional combi boiler.
Checkatrade says an air source heat pump will cost on average £15,000 to have installed while a gas combi boiler will set you back just £3,000.
You can get grants worth up to £7,500 from the government towards the cost of installing a heat pump through the Boiler Upgrade Scheme though.
Average cost of having heat pumps or solar panels installed
Here is how much they cost according to Checkatrade…
- Air-to-air heat pump – around £3,000
- Air-to-water heat pump – £15,000
- Ground source heat pump – up to £11,000
- For a two to three bedroom house – around £8,000
Combined with a cashback deal worth up to £2,000, you could wipe £9,500 off the cost of having a heat pump installed.
But you’d still be paying around £5,500 out of your own cash whereas having a new combi boiler installed is around £2,500 less expensive.
However, heat pumps can save you money on your energy bills over time, meaning you can make that money back then start saving on your electricity and gas.
Of course, how much you could save depends on what type of system you’re replacing with a heat pump.
The Sun spoke to one reader who saved more than £400 on his energy bills over three months after replacing his old-style heating oil heating system with an air source heat pump.
Solar panels can also save you money on your energy bills too, but can cost up to £12,000 to have installed.
You may be able to get money off the cost of installation though via a local council scheme.
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