Plain language and low-cost solutions are the way to get homeowners interested in improving the efficiency of their properties, says Alexander Hall boss Richard Merrett.
Driving small behavioural changes will lead to bigger actions in the future, Merrett (pictured) said at a panel debate at the Green Mortgage Summit in London.
“We need to encourage the curiosity of homeowners, and this is where we’ve got quite a lot of things wrong,” said Merrett, who is also the chair of the Green Mortgage Advice Initiative steering committee, formerly the Mortgage Climate Action Group.
“We talk about retrofit. It’s time to simplify the language and talk about saving money on your bills, sustainability and cost effectiveness.
“We can encourage consumers to focus on the cheap affordable solutions and behavioural change. We talk more about heat pumps and solar panels and barely at all about energy-saving light bulbs and basic insulation or using off-peak energy,” he added.
The event, held at 15 Hatfields, London, was a collaboration between AE3 Media – the parent company of Mortgage Solutions – the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI), the Green Finance Institute and the Green Mortgage Advice Initiative.
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Starting small
When the Green Mortgage Advice Initiative was first formed in 2022, Merrett said he told lenders that by offering free or discounted energy-saving light bulbs, for example, it would encourage homeowners’ curiosity around using less energy and the cost benefits associated with that.
“It’s a little nudge to [do] something, a small behavioural change, that can have a positive impact,” he added.
Coined ‘the gateway drug’ by the team, Merrett hopes that by offering a cheap solution such as energy-efficient light bulbs to homeowners, they will be motivated to make further green choices.
“If you help people to save money, they’ll go out and spend money. It’s as simple as that,” he said.
Also speaking at the event was the chief executive of the AMI, Robert Sinclair. Sinclair told attendees how brokers had no choice but to get involved in energy-efficiency discussions with borrowers or risk getting left behind.
