Tesla on the house? Major bank offers low interest rate for energy efficiency loans

The country’s biggest bank will offer loans of up to $80,000 at 1 per cent interest for three years for people to upgrade homes with solar panels and energy efficiency technology.

The loan could cover heating and insulation, double glazing, ventilation and rain water tanks.

And borrowers will also be able to use the ANZ Good Energy Home Loan to buy electric and hybrid vehicles and install EV chargers.

But there is a catch – it’s only available to those with an existing home loan or who transfer their home loan to the bank.

Those without a mortgage face paying 12.9 per cent per annum for a personal loan.

And those with less than 20 per cent equity may also be ruled out for getting access to the loan.

An ANZ spokeswoman said, generally speaking, there were no loan-to-value restrictions on the loan but last week it made the decision to temporarily pause all new lending for greater than 80 per cent LVR deals.

She said this pause also applied to home loan tops ups.

Ben Kelleher, ANZ managing director for personal banking, said people were increasingly concerned about rising energy and fuel costs as well as environmental sustainability and were looking to make changes where they could.

“Whatever the motivation; saving money on your utility bills, future-proofing your home, collecting rain water to last you through summer, being more energy efficient or reducing carbon emissions, this loan removes some of the cost barrier for people wanting to make a change.”

He pointed to research which showed many of the changes people want to make were connected to their homes.

ANZ data showed eight in 10 people had plans or would like to improve the energy efficiency of their homes and for those who wouldn’t, most said cost was the main barrier.

“Homeowners who invest in good energy initiatives will also benefit from cost savings over time on things like heating and power and the increased wellbeing that comes from a healthier home.”

Meanwhile, the latest EY Mobility Consumer Index showed that the desire to live more sustainably also extended to people’s choice of car, with half of New Zealanders looking to buy a hybrid or EV in the future.