Ashman Bank has been awarded a £200,000 grant by The Green Home Finance Accelerator to support the UK Government’s Net Zero Innovation Portfolio (NZIP) and help homeowners decarbonise their properties.
Working in partnership with ThermaFY Eco Solutions — which provides specialist software designed to detect any heat loss, poor insulation or equipment failure in heating systems — Ashman will use the funds to develop a product for the BTL mortgage market, known as Impact Buy-to-Let (IBTL).
The product is currently in the development stages and is aimed at the non-regulated BTL market —with granular property specific data to create a net zero road map and provide added value to the tenant with crucial energy consumption data.
NZIP — the government’s £20m scheme — aims to grant funding to support the design, development and piloting of a range of finance propositions, which encourage domestic energy efficiency, low carbon heating, and micro-generation retrofit in the owner-occupied and PRS.
Ashman’s IBTL product will be piloted in the second half of this year, assessing the retrofitting works needed to enhance the energy efficiency of a property now and in the future — providing landlords with verified data on how they can be improved based on Standard Assessment Procedure (SAP) score protocol.
Landlords will also be provided the evidence on the overall effect on decarbonisation of the asset, ensuring they have the knowledge to prioritise and manage the phasing of the required work.
Caroline Luxmore, chief commercial officer at Ashman Bank, commented: “Convincing landlords to invest in energy efficiency has been notoriously hard, as it is often seen as a huge expense with little knowledge of the impact they could have or where to start.
“This grant will allow us to develop a digital product that will lead to property owners having the data and insight they need to manage retrofitting works and understand the impact on energy they will have.
Lord Callanan, minister for energy efficiency and green finance, added, "The government has put in place long-term commitments to ensure homes across the country have greater energy efficiency to reduce bills, drive down energy use and lower emissions.
“We are supporting these organisations to develop fresh and innovative ways of helping more people get better access to energy efficiency measures, such as loft insulation, double glazing and heat pumps."
