Making Cents: Need a loan to make your home more sustainable? An Post’s green hub stamps its mark on retrofit

The Green Hub provides two options for homeowners undertaking a project, including a full DIY package

Quantity Surveyor Patricia Power. at the launch of An Post's  Green Hub initiative.  Pic: Marc O'Sullivan

When it comes to the principles of sustainability and how to live in a way that protects our planet, there is probably no bigger step we can take than making our homes energy efficient.

The greener our day-to-day living is, the greater the long term benefit to the environment.

There are a number of supports to help us make our homes more sustainable; I have written before about the numerous grants available from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI). But even with the grants, there can be a substantial upfront cost.

The SEAI grants can cover up to 40% of the cost of works but that still leaves 60% to be paid by the homeowner. With larger jobs like external wall insulation or energy-efficient heat pumps costing thousands, many households will need to borrow to fund the upgrades. In the long term, they will not only be benefiting the planet but should also be rewarded with reduced energy bills.

The good news is that such borrowings may also cost less in the short term, as lenders promote sustainable living by offering reduced loan rates for environmentally friendly projects. Credit unions, AIB, Bank of Ireland and An Post all offer reduced rates for green initiatives, subject to terms and conditions.

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB

For those daunted by the prospect of deciding what are the best works to complete and applying for both grants and loans, An Post goes a step further with its Green Hub. Launched last autumn to play a role in the Government’s National Retrofitting Plan, which has a target of getting over 500,000 homes to a BER B2 by 2030, the Green Hub provides homeowners with support, finance and upgrade solutions to help them start their home improvement process.

Quantity Surveyor Patricia Power described it as ‘a resource that homeowners have been calling out for to bridge that knowledge and action gap when it comes to the home energy upgrade process’.

“It is about offering practical solutions for whatever your ambitions are for a greener, more comfortable home,” she said.

The Green Hub provides two options for homeowners undertaking a project. For those that have no interest in managing a home upgrade project, The One Stop Shop (OSS) solution, in association with SSE Airtricity, takes care of each and every step of a home retrofit process.

A dedicated project manager will oversee each element of the job from initial home assessment and costing of the work, securing finance with a green loan option, procurement of contractors, completion of a quality assessment when the project is complete, submitting grant applications and securing final sign-off and BER certification.

Homeowners should note that, as of time of going to print, the An Post green loan rate is not the lowest rate available for sustainable projects, so they should balance the rate and overall cost against the benefit of additional support from the OSS solution. Borrowers can compare interest rates and overall repayments of various loan options at bonkers.ie.

Anyone interested in the OSS option can begin by checking out recommendations, upgrade costs and potential savings from An Post’s online BER home energy efficiency tool and then scheduling a free home survey with Green Hub partner SSE Airtricity. These can be done virtually if needed because of Covid-19 restrictions.

If you prefer more control over the project, An Post’s DIY Package is for customers that want to wholly manage the project themselves, including the completion of grant application submissions.

For further information on home improvement retrofits, the One Stop Shop, finance options and loan rates, check out anpost.com/greenhub.

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