Over $415 million in energy-efficient units installed using Hero financing
LAS VEGAS — Renovate America, a provider of residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing, announced that its HERO Program has now made possible the installation of energy-efficient home central air conditioning units worth more than $415 million. More than half of the sales volume involves equipment that exceeds the minimum energy-efficiency standards of the federal Energy Star® program.
The figures, announced on the eve of the International Air-Conditioning, Heating, Refrigerating Exposition (AHR Expo) in Las Vegas, show how HERO® financing is expanding deployment of high-efficiency HVAC equipment, which in turn lowers homeowners’ utility bills and reduces greenhouse-gas emissions.
By nature, products installed using HERO financing must carry a high government efficiency rating, such as those in the Energy Star program. To qualify for the Energy Star label, for example, central air conditioning units must carry a minimum seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) rating of at least 15.
Since launching five years ago, HERO has helped install more than $415 million in air conditioning units. Of the total sales volume, over $215 million has involved equipment rated SEER 16 or higher – above the Energy Star minimum.
“No other financing source has helped me sell so many high-SEER units,” said Rusty Cochran, owner of We Care Plumbing, Heating, Air and Solar in Murrieta, California. “HERO is enabling consumers to save more on their utility bills while driving my company’s profitability and allowing me to hire more skilled contractors.”
The HVAC equipment financed by HERO is projected to save homeowners more than $750 million on their electricity bills over the useful life of the products installed.
HERO financing, which is already available in California and Missouri and will expand to Florida later this year, enables owners to make home energy and efficiency upgrades and to pay for them over time at a fixed interest rate through an additional line item on their property taxes.
HERO addresses a problem conventional financing products have not solved. Each year, one in six homeowners replaces a system in the home that affects energy consumption. Most of the time, they choose a less efficient option based on upfront sticker price, instead of factoring in the total cost of owning and maintaining the product or system over the course of its useful life. HERO only finances efficient solutions, and converts the moment when a homeowner needs to replace or upgrade a failing system into an opportunity to upgrade a community’s housing stock.
HERO finances up to 100 percent of the home improvement, requiring no upfront cash outlay; HERO interest rates are competitive with other options; the term of the financing is based on the useful life of the product, up to 25 years, spreading costs out over time; and HERO keeps other existing credit sources available to help meet goals and emergencies. Moreover, interest on HERO payments may be tax-deductible, and the upgrades themselves may increase home values.
