Skipton Building Society has set aside £11mn to give borrowers a free Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) report on their homes.
From this week (November 24), the society will offer all its customers a free EPC which will come with "bespoke" guidance on how they can make their homes more energy efficient and save on future energy bills.
Skipton is also giving 10 of these free EPC reports to buy-to-let customers with property portfolios. Only one of the properties has to be mortgaged with the society.
It worked out that homeowners will be paying on average £1,570 more this year on energy bills alone, according to government data.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has argued cutting energy demand through greening homes could shave around £28bn off the UK’s national energy bill, translating to £450 off the average household bill.
Currently, 60-70 per cent of all homes across the UK currently have an EPC rating of band D or lower, according to the government.
Hunt has committed £6.6bn to energy efficiencies, but Savills data suggests it will cost more than £330bn to upgrade all properties in the UK.
The society's free EPC report for borrowers will provide each homeowner with a current energy efficiency rating of their home, and what the home’s potential EPC rating could be.
Along with these ratings comes a guide on how the homeowner can achieve this, how much it could reduce their energy bills by, and signposts to sources of funding potentially available. It also estimates the tonnes of carbon produced by the household.
“Home energy efficiency is a huge societal challenge where everyone needs to play their part. It is only right that the business community steps up to the mark, and as a customer-owned organisation we’re reinvesting some of our profits to help our members save money and improve the energy efficiency of their homes," said Skipton's interim chief commercial officer, Kris Brewster.
"We understand that making any upgrades to the home can be a significant financial undertaking. For that reason, the reports also include details of any government-funded schemes available through local authorities and installers that customers are eligible for."
He added that the qualifying funding can be used towards the recommended upgrade works listed within the report the society produces.
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