As the regulatory price cap for electricity and natural gas rose by 54% on 1 April, British households are in the grip of an energy price emergency. In England alone, there are 2.1 million households in fuel poverty, a number that could triple to 6.3 million – or a staggering 27% of the population – by the end of this year.
Amidst this crisis, many homeowners are thinking about installing renewable technologies and other energy saving measures. However, despite the plethora of advice, grants, installers, and financial solutions available, they struggle to act.
Homeowners’ inertia can be attributed to a number of reasons, including a limited understanding of their home energy use and how to make improvements that align with their personal goals, a poor grasp of the advice and financial support available, and an often disjointed and complex customer journey. In addition, many simply have low confidence in projected savings and, as such, are averse to making large investments in energy saving measures with little understanding of the benefits.
For lenders looking to help their customers make sense of the advice, government support and financing available around home energy improvements, the answer lies in technology.
Benefits of white-label technology
To attract potential customers, generate more revenue, stay ahead of the competition and position themselves as trusted advisers, lenders must adopt innovative, user-friendly technology. However, developing technology from scratch is time-consuming and expensive.
White labelling offers a quick and affordable solution to this problem as it enables lenders to provide their customers with a cohesive experience from end to end, without having to invest in time-consuming development work.
One solution which is available to lenders as a white-label option, is HEERO Technologies’ software as a service (SaaS), a software application designed to streamline the user experience and guide homeowners through the entire energy retrofit process. The technology can be seamlessly integrated into lenders’ existing offering, enabling them to offer their customers personalised home energy insights and recommendations, as well as valuable information on the financing and installation of energy-saving home improvements.
The benefit of using an independent energy platform is that lenders can deliver agnostic, bespoke property information to guide their customers. In fact, it offers the ideal solution for lenders looking to differentiate themselves by offering financial products that are both personalised and specifically targeted at home energy improvements.
For example, lenders will be able to use the platform to present homeowners with targeted finance offers, to highlight specific measures based on their ability to improve the thermal efficiency of the property and to generate energy/heat from renewable sources, as well as to show the cost of installation and energy bills savings associated with the suggested measures. Furthermore, they will also be able to recommend installers based on customer feedback, estimated cost of work, and proximity to the householder.
In addition, lenders can use the technology to help homeowners realise how energy efficiency measures can reduce their cost of living, thereby increasing affordability and potentially greater uptake in green mortgages.
Furthermore, as the need to quantify carbon emissions and to show verifiable reductions continues to grow in importance, the technology provides a validation tool that ensures lenders are meeting Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) objectives that go beyond internal sustainability goals.
The tool measures the amount of carbon saved, specifically lifetime carbon savings, which is valuable as besides regulatory compliance, customers are increasingly choosing service providers based on their ESG credentials.
Leading the way
Approximately 19 million homes will require energy efficiency improvements before 2035 to ensure the UK is on track to meet its CCC 2050 net zero ambition and an 80% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
Lenders who embrace technology will not only lead the way in sustainable finance, but will also strengthen public trust, stay ahead of regulatory expectations, and be able to capture significant growth opportunities in new markets.
Nicola Kennedy is chief executive at HEERO Technologies
