Perenna has launched a retrofit discount, a new product feature designed to incentivise homeowners to retrofit their properties.

Since 2023, Perenna has been investigating ways in which finance providers could help homeowners overcome the barriers to retrofit. Two major barriers identified were a lack of awareness and a perceived lack of financial benefit. Its new product feature aims to tackle both of these.

The retrofit discount is a feature that remortgage customers can opt-in to when they apply for their Perenna mortgage. Customers who complete a qualifying solar panel or heat pump installation at their home within two years are rewarded with a 0.20% reduction in their mortgage rate. The discount applies to the outstanding mortgage amount and across the remaining term.

A homeowner with a £300k mortgage could see lower mortgage payments of over £40 per month, adding up to over £500 per year and £20,000 over the whole term, and that’s before considering any potential benefits from lower energy bills and higher home values.

This pilot project is funded by the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero through the Green Home Finance Accelerator (GHFA). The GHFA was established to support the design and development of innovative green finance products that incentivise domestic energy efficiency and low carbon heating retrofit.

As part of this project, Perenna also enables its customers to get complimentary access to Heatio Flexx. Heatio – Perenna’s partners in the GHFA programme – are a clean technology solutions provider who help homeowners by providing a data-driven approach to making energy-efficient improvements with a bespoke home energy upgrade plan.

Arjan Verbeek, founder and CEO, Perenna said: “We are thrilled to begin piloting our retrofit discount. More than ever, tackling climate change is a social and economic imperative and businesses must collaborate with the Government to accelerate our journey to net zero.

“Homeowners are fundamental to this. This product will enable homeowners to lower their energy consumption, utility bills and mortgage repayments.”.

Simon Roberts, founder and CEO, Heatio, added: “For too long, green technology for the home has only been accessible to the affluent. If we are to help more people lower their energy bills and reach net zero, we need to make it easier and more financially viable for everyone to make the transition to green technology like heat pumps and solar panels.

“Heatio’s intelligent energy platform supports and incentivises consumers to install energy-efficient technologies, providing real-time energy insights and optimising smart home technology to reduce bills and decarbonise new and existing homes. We are delighted to be working with Perenna to ensure clean, renewable energy is affordable and manageable for every home, driving the transition to a sustainable future.”