Perenna has announced the launch of its retrofit discount – a new product feature designed to incentivise homeowners to retrofit their properties.

The feature is being piloted as part of Perenna’s participation in the UK Government’s Green Home Finance Accelerator.

The retrofit discount is a feature that remortgage customers can opt-in to when they apply for a  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.

According to Perenna, 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 a 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 home energy upgrade plan.

Commenting on the launch, Perenna chief executive Arjan Verbeek said: “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.”

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