A Scottish fintech that helps homeowners plan energy efficiency modifications to their properties has secured a government grant of close to £2 million.
Snugg’s digital app lets users type in their postcodes and draws information from national databases about their energy performance and council tax band.
It then calculates the estimated financial savings that could be made over 10 years with a series of interventions – including insulation, and upgrades to renewable energy systems.
The app even provides access to government home improvement grants to help individuals lower the cost of any building or upgrade work, as well as listing approved installers.
Snugg also works with third party organisations such as banks and utility companies to help their customer base navigate planning and installing energy efficiency products.
The funding will be used to support Snugg’s partnership with finance providers Perenna and Scroll Finance to develop a ‘green home hub’.
That will help users access finance options to enable their eco upgrades to take place. The solution will enable banks and energy providers to guide their customers towards more energy efficient homes using personalised retrofit recommendations and green financing options.
Robin Peters, CEO at Snugg, said: “Receiving the UK Government’s backing to build the Green Home Hub is a win for everyone. Millions of homeowners will be able to improve their home’s energy efficiency more easily and affordably than before. Banks and energy providers will have better opportunity to progress their journey towards Net Zero. And we’ll all benefit from lower energy demand and improved air quality as more homes are retrofitted to higher energy efficiency standards.”
Arjan Verbeek, CEO at Perenna Bank, said: “We’re excited to be partnering with Snugg on this GHFA project as they further develop their Green Home Hub. Perenna offers a unique financing solution – flexible long-term fixed rate mortgages – for homeowners interested in retrofitting and we look forward to working with the team at Snugg to integrate our products into their excellent customer journey. Collaboration across industries is vital for retrofitting to take off at scale in the UK and this project will help drive this forward.”
Ashish Kashyap, CEO and founder at Scroll Finance, said: “We are thrilled to be partnering with Snugg and offering our novel Green Shared Equity Mortgage product in the Green Home Hub. We are grateful for the support of the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, and hope that we can together build a scaled solution for retrofits in the UK.”
The grant was awarded under a net zero scheme from the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security & Net Zero. The initiative follows the earlier success of a £170,000 government grant awarded to Snugg to develop a prototype of the hub during Phase 1 of the programme.