Nationwide doubles down on green home improvements by extending 0% borrowing

04 March 2026

Nationwide doubling number of households who can benefit from 0% Green Additional Borrowing
10,000 customers can borrow up to £20,000 interest free to make energy-efficient home improvements
Around £60m lent since the launch of 0% Green Additional Borrowing in 2023; average loan size of c£13k
Comes as Nationwide joins the government’s new Green Home Finance Strategic Partnership
Around £4.8m cashback given to customers through Nationwide’s Green Reward

Nationwide is doubling the number mortgage customers who will be able to benefit from its interest-free green loans, as part of its ongoing efforts to support energy-efficient homeownership.

The 0% Green Additional Borrowing1 products were initially launched in June 2023 with the aim of supporting 5,000 households with a Nationwide mortgage to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Nationwide is now committing to doubling that amount - meaning that 10,000 households will now be able to benefit from interest-free loans to fund energy-efficient home improvements.

Nationwide mortgage customers can borrow between £5,000 and £20,000 up to a maximum of 90 per cent Loan-to-Value (LTV) across a two or five-year term. Customers can apply for the additional borrowing as soon as their first mortgage payment has been taken.

0% Green Additional Borrowing since launch:

Since the launch of the 0% Green Additional Borrowing, Nationwide has lent around £60 million to customers, with an average loan size of around £13,000. The installation of solar panels and insulation, as well as new windows, are the most popular energy-efficient improvements customers have used loans for.

The South West has seen the highest take up, accounting for 16 per cent of all Green Additional Borrowing completions, followed by the Outer Metropolitan and Outer South East regions2 (both at 12%).

The move to support more Nationwide customers comes as housing continues to be one of the main contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the UK. And while the energy efficiency of the UK’s residential housing stock has been improving3, a fifth of emissions in England come from residential buildings.

According to a recent report by Nationwide and WPI Economics, improving the EPC rating of all residential buildings to band C or higher could bring down total emissions from residential housing in England by up to 47 per cent.

Green Home Finance Strategic Partnership:

Nationwide is also a member of the Green Home Finance Strategic Partnership, an initiative between the government and the Green Finance Institute that was announced as part of the Warm Homes Plan. The partnership brings together financial services providers, the energy sector and consumer groups to ensure green home finance is available for the mass market, helping people to retrofit their homes.

Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s Group Director of Mortgages, said:

“We are committed to helping our members improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Extending our zero per cent Green Additional Borrowing products will help another five thousand households who want to retrofit their home and can afford long-term investment but struggle to meet the upfront costs. However, more is needed and collaboration is crucial if we are to decarbonise the UK’s housing stock. We are, therefore, delighted to be part of the Green Home Finance Strategic partnership, which will play a leading role in helping to unlock the changes needed to make our homes resilient for the future.”

Case study:

Andrew, from Norfolk, used Nationwide’s 0% Green Additional Borrowing to take out a £12,000 loan to install solar panels on his bungalow.

Andrew said:

“I’d been looking at ways to reduce my energy bills and also help green my home. With a large south facing roof, solar panels seemed the obvious choice as they could do that and potentially increase the value of my home over the long term. However, the upfront costs for installing a suitable system were a bit prohibitive, so using Nationwide’s Green Additional Borrowing was the perfect solution. I could borrow the money needed and do so interest-free. I’ve definitely seen the benefit of making this green home improvement in my monthly electricity bill and have even been able to export back to the grid.”

Green Reward:

Alongside the 0% Green Additional Borrowing, Nationwide offers Green Reward, which is aimed at encouraging people to consider buying greener homes, with more cashback available to those purchasing the most energy-efficient properties. Those purchasing a home with an SAP rating of 92 or above (EPC-A rated) will benefit from £500, while those buying somewhere rated at SAP 86 to 91 (high EPC-B rating) will receive £250.

Since its launch, Nationwide has given around £4.8 million in cashback, with more than £1.7 million of that given to customers in the 12 months between February 2025 and January 2026.

Home Energy Efficiency Tool:

Nationwide also offers customers a Home Energy Efficiency Tool, which is supported by the Energy Savings Trust. It outlines cost, energy or carbon savings that can be made over the long term and potential home improvements that can be made based on a customer’s individual budget. It will provide a realistic view of what is needed to improve a specific property.

Homeowners are asked simple questions about their home and their energy bills and then receive an energy profile. This gives a view of what actions could be taken to save money and make their home more energy efficient. Since its launch in 2023, more than 20,000 people have used the tool, with over 80 per cent completing an energy savings plan.