New free retrofit advice tool for Ecology renovation borrowers

Partnership with Retrogreen aims to close consumer ‘confidence gap’.

Ecology Building Society is offering its borrowers free access to a new service that helps them understand how green home improvements can enhance comfort, improve energy performance, and lower household bills.

Many homeowners are keen to make their property more energy efficient and save money but can be deterred by a lack of information about their options and uncertainty about costs.

They may worry about finding reliable, practical and independent advice or a reputable tradesperson to install new equipment such as heat pumps and solar panels.

So Ecology has launched a unique new partnership with Retrogreen, offering the company’s retrofit management service to borrowers who have or are applying for its renovation mortgage.

Retrogreen’s online tool helps homeowners to understand their property, review what benefits retrofit work might deliver, and how much it would cost.

The homeowner can filter their choices of potential work depending on their individual priorities and what’s affordable for them. They also receive an illustration of how making changes can improve their property’s EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) rating and potentially even affect the value of their home.

“Time and again we hear that consumers are interested in making green home improvements but often they don’t know where to start,” said Daniel Capstick, Ecology’s Senior Mortgages Product and Proposition Manager.

“That’s why we’ve partnered with Retrogreen to bridge that ‘confidence gap’.

Retrogreen can offer support, from assessing the property’s needs and what changes are right for the borrower, through to finding accredited tradespeople and helping to see the work through to completion.”

The initial assessment process is free to Ecology borrowers, with discounted access to the full surveying and support service to see the project through to the end. Ecology intends to expand Retrogreen’s service across its membership at a later date.

“We’re proud to partner with Ecology to make trusted retrofit advice accessible to more homeowners,” said Colin Calder, CEO at Retrogreen.

“Our goal is to give homeowners the confidence to act – showing them which upgrades make sense, what they’ll cost, how they’ll improve comfort, savings, and energy performance. We connect homeowners with trusted professionals to deliver the work properly.”

Ecology already incentivises its borrowers to make their homes more energy efficient, through its innovative C-Change discount. This rewards borrowers with a reduction of up to 1.50% off their mortgage rate, based on improvements they make. The more they improve the energy efficiency of their property, the greater the discount.

The Society’s two renovation mortgage deals also come with a cashback incentive for installing a heat pump – £500 for an air source heat pump and £1,000 for a ground source heat pump.

Read more about Ecology’s renovation mortgages here.