Need help reading this page? Click to activate Recite Me popup.

Energy efficient home improvements


Wanting to make energy-saving improvements to your home and not sure where to start? You could look to top up on insulation, install solar or replace your old boiler with a heat pump.

Get started with checking your Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)

An EPC, or Energy Performance Certificate, shows how energy-efficient a property is. A higher rating means the energy bills for that house or flat are likely to be lower.

How do they work?

An EPC report begins with estimates of the property’s current and potential energy bills. There’s a visual comparison of the property’s current energy performance. This is where the EPC is similar to the energy labels on home appliances, with different ratings represented by a multicoloured bar chart.

As well as the current rating, the property’s potential EPC rating is also indicated on the chart. This helps you see what rating you could achieve if you carried out suggested improvements.

Source: gov.uk/energy-performance-certificates


Checking your rating using the EPC register

If you’re in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, use the government’s service to check you have an existing EPC.

If you’re in Scotland, there’s a different way to check for energy certificates.

Energy saving upgrades to consider

Upgrade Insulation

This is usually one of the most cost effective improvements you can make to your home, thanks to the low cost and the savings you could see in your energy bills. 

You could consider checking:

  • Loft insulation - Heat rises so you may want to check how much heat is escaping through your roof.
  • Cavity walls - If your home was built after 1920's it will probably have cavity walls. These can be bad at retaining heat when not insulated.
  • Draught insulation - If you’ve felt draughts in your home, you may already know exactly where you need insulating. Not only will it help to keep warmth in, it will protect against damp and condensation too – so it’s good for your health as well as your heating bills.

Explore Solar

Solar panels will work for most homes, but things like the direction, angle and the size of your roof will affect how much energy you’ll capture.

Your installer should provide a free survey to make sure solar is suitable for your home.

Ideally:

  • Your roof should face south, without too much shade caused by trees or buildings. Panels on east or west facing rooftops will produce 80-85% of this energy.
  • The perfect angle to capture solar energy is between 30-40º, the most typical angle of a UK rooftop.
  • The more panels that can fit on your roof, the better. A roof area between 10-20m2 can usually deliver up to 45% of an average household’s electricity needs.

Heat Pumps

Heat pumps work best in well-insulated homes, so it’s best to check this out before you start thinking about getting a heat pump. An easy way to do this is to find out your home’s Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating. If yours is a D or above and it says you have insulation, you should be good to go.

Most heat pumps use radiators to heat your home, just like boilers do. Sometimes, your existing radiators might be too small for a heat pump to work efficiently and will need replacing, but this isn’t always the case. A heat pump usually works well with existing underfloor heating too.

You’ll need some outside space for most heat pumps though. Around the size of a moped is usually enough for an air source heat pump. Ground source heat pumps take up more space than that, as they usually need a trench or borehole digging, plus a room inside for the operating system.

Apply for a home improvement loan

With Halifax, it’s easy to apply for a home improvement loan. The decision whether to offer you a loan, the amount we’ll lend you and the interest rate, will all be based on an assessment of your individual circumstances. If you hold a Halifax current account, in most cases we’ll tell you how much you can borrow and if you’re likely to be approved when you get your quote. This won’t affect your credit score. Check out how it works for existing and new customers:

I have a Halifax Current Account

  • You can apply for between £1,000 and £50,000
  • Choose to make your monthly repayments over 1 to 7 years
  • Get your quote with no credit searches
  • It takes about 1 minute to get your personalised quote in Online Banking
  • If you’re approved, you should receive the money instantly. In a small number of cases, money will be received up to 72 hours from when the loan documents are signed.

It’s quick and easy to get one step closer to your energy efficient home today. Tap ‘Apply Now’ to log-in and apply through the loans calculator.

Apply Now

I don't have a Halifax Current Account

  • Use our eligibility checker to answer a few quick questions and find out if you're eligible to apply for a loan
  • If approved, get a personalised rate - with no effect on your credit score
  • It takes only minutes to apply online and get an instant decision.
  • You can apply for between £1,000 and £25,000, with monthly repayments over 1 to 7 years
  • If we approve your loan, you should have the money in your account within 2 hours. In some cases it may take a bit longer – but no more than 3 working days.

Check your eligibility now