Energy Efficiency and Mortgages

Anybody that has ever applied for a mortgage knows about the "debt to service ratio". It's a calculation that determines whether you can afford make your mortgage payments based on the total cost of building ownership (tcbo). A lower tcbo means that you can afford to spend more on your mortgage. As a potential homeowner, initial cost is an important factor. Unfortunately, it's one that often discourages or excludes people from investing in an energy efficient building even though they recognize the lower cost of owning one. Imagine going to the bank with an analysis that shows that your energy consumption will be 90% less than a code built house and that your tcbo will be 14% of what a comparable code built house would cost over a 60 year lifecycle. Using the Passive House Planning Package (PHPP) to model the energy usage of your new home combined with a SEEFAR© analysis to show the tcbo will be essential tools for potential homebuyers. Lenders are already starting to see the inherent value in building to Passive House and are now working with us to create unique mortgage products to reward our clients for their choices. I think we all know the decision to build to the Passive House standard would be an easier one to make if securing the funding was not an issue.

Evan Proven

Added: Fri April 13th 2018