Of course, you probably know that by making your home more energy efficient, you’ll start to save money on those expensive fuel bills. The question is, how should you pay for the improvements to your home?
Whilst the question itself is pretty straightforward, the answer is a little more complicated. After all, there are several ways you could go about funding energy efficient upgrades.
Before we list five possible routes to go down, we would first recommend paying for any home improvements in full, with cash. This isn’t possible for everyone though and depending on your investment, could be rather expensive.
However, if you can squeeze your pockets and pay in full, all the savings you make will go straight to you. And this can be worth hundreds of pounds every year.
But if you can’t invest your own cash, take a look at what you could do:
1. Use your mortgage
If you need to borrow money, this should be one of the first things you explore, as it’s by far the cheapest. Obviously your mortgage is attached to your home, so the more you borrow, the greater your repayments will become.
However, energy efficient upgrades can add up to £25,000 in value to a property, so you’ll be able to recoup the initial outlay later down the line.
2. Invested money
Have you had money sitting in bonds or an ISA for a long time now? If so, perhaps now’s the time to finally withdraw it and put the money to good use. By doing this you may even enjoy a better return by investing in your home rather than letting it get cold in an account.
3. Use the Green Deal
The Green Deal is a Government-run scheme to help fund energy efficient upgrades to properties around the UK. Included in the scheme are insulation measures, replacement boilers and solar panels, so there’s plenty to consider. Green Deal loans worth up to £10,000 are available and repayments are made with the money saved on your energy bill.
4. Short term loan
There are short-term loans out there which offer pretty good rates, but always try to stick with a recognised bank. Avoid the payday loan companies as well which charge a super-high interest rate.
5. Credit card
If you’re confident using a credit card this is another option, as there are some cards which will offer a 0% interest rate for up to 24 months. This gives you plenty of time to pay back the borrowed money.
Facts & Figures You’ll Love To Share
- [tweetable alt=””]Increase the value of your home by up to £25,000 with energy efficiency upgrades.[/tweetable]
- [tweetable alt=””]The Government will provide you with a low interest Green Deal loan to help cover the cost of improving energy efficiency.[/tweetable]
- [tweetable alt=””]Investing in home energy saving measures is a better deal than putting your money into a savings account such as an ISA.[/tweetable]
- [tweetable alt=””]There are dozens of ways to save money on your energy bills and you can save hundreds of pounds every year.[/tweetable]