family converting to green home

Green Home Improvement Loans

Save on your utility bills and make a positive impact on the planet.

Climate-Friendly Home Improvement

U.S. homes make up 21% of the total energy usage in the country. By making improvements to your home, you can reduce your energy consumption while increasing your savings.

Upgrade Your Home with Flexible Terms & Great Rates

With a green home improvement loan, you can invest in everything from an updated heating and cooling system, LED lighting, energy efficient windows, or installing weatherproofing on your home.

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Low Risk

Depending on your home improvement project, we offer loans with and without required collateral.

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Flexible Terms

With terms as short as 36 months, you can choose whether you want a faster repayment period or extend it all the up to 120 months.

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Affordable Loans

No matter the size of your project, we offer loan amounts from $1,000 to $50,000 to fit your budget and equipment needs.

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Fixed Rates

Keep your payments right where you want them with a fixed interest rate.

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No Prepayment Penalties

Ready to pay your loan off early? We encourage you to prepay your loan payments with no added penalty fees.

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Automatic Payments

Never miss a due date with automatic electronic payments withdrawn from your checking account or credit card.

Is a Green Home Improvement loan right for your project?

The purpose of our Green Home Improvement loans is to help members make their homes more energy efficient. While we work hard to accommodate as many projects as possible, not all projects are a good fit for this loan.

Examples of projects that are a good fit:

  • Energy efficient water heater or heat pump water heater 
  • Air source heat pump 
  • Attic insulation 
  • Energy efficient appliances
  • Energy Star windows and glass doors 
  • HVAC System
  • Batteries

See our full list of eligible products for more details. 

Examples of Projects that are not a good fit:

New Construction and Major Renovations

  • Green Home Improvement loans are intended to be used for relatively small renovation projects rather than new home construction projects or major home renovation projects that would be better suited for conventional construction loans. 

Solar PV Projects

  • We require that a solar PV project be installed by one of our Registered Dealers in order to be eligible for financing.  However, you can apply for an unsecured Green Home Improvement loan for the following: (1) “do-it-yourself” solar PV projects (i.e. self-installing the equipment or self-managing a project that includes multiple contractors under your supervision), (2) community solar garden subscriptions, and (3) solar PV roof tiles (which are not eligible for other loan products).

Multiple Contractors

  • Projects are not a good fit if they involve multiple contractors who may need to be paid at different times and/or for different work scopes. In contrast, our Green Home Improvement loans involve one single loan disbursement at the very end of the project after it’s fully complete. 

Choose An Eligible Upgrade to Save More

Upgrade your home with the latest climate-friendly solutions that help you save on energy bills and protect the planet. Explore some of our options below.

  • Smart Thermostat
  • Duct Sealing, Insulation, and Repair
  • Natural Gas or Propane Furnace
  • Central Air Conditioning
  • Air or Ground Source Heat Pump
  • LED lighting and fixtures
  • Smart electrical service panel
  • Residential Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE)
  • Solar electricity
  • Dishwasher
  • Clothes Washer
  • Induction stove or cooktop
  • Clothes Dryer
  • Refrigerator
  • Freezer
  • Air Cleaner/Purifier
  • Ceiling Fan

Explore other green upgrades you can make to your home when you download our list of eligible improvements.

Today’s Rates

Green Home Improvement Loans

Loan Type

Min/Max Loan Amount

Term

APR as low as

1 Loans must be used for qualifying clean energy products and services – see list here: www.cleanenergycu.org/eligibleproducts.
2 Secured loans only: secured via a UCC-1 filing on any repossessable equipment; you will be charged a flat filling fee that depends on number of filings required, FICO score, loan amount, and project location which shall be either $100 or $250 (or $350 in CA, FL, IL, MD, PA, and TN).
3Loan processing fee: $150 due at funding (secured loans only).
4 Rates shown include a 2.00% discount for automatic loan payments.
5 Rates shown are lowest possible rates for qualified buyers. Rates may change dependent on credit qualifications, underwriting factors, and loan characteristics.
6 Residences in certain counties and states may be eligible for a 0.50% rate discount after providing proof of registration in the following programs:
    a New York State NYSERDA program: 0.50%
    b Colorado State RENU program: 0.50%
    c Clean Energy Advantage “CEA” program in Maryland and Washington DC: 0.50%
d City of Bloomington Green Home Improvement program: 0.50%

Loan Type

Secured Green Home Improvement Loans1 2 3

Min/Max Loan Amount

$3,000 to $50,000

Term

3 years

APR as low as

6.25%4 5 6

Loan Type

Secured Green Home Improvement Loans1 2 3

Min/Max Loan Amount

$3,000 to $50,000

Term

5 years

APR as low as

6.75%4 5 6

Loan Type

Secured Green Home Improvement Loans1 2 3

Min/Max Loan Amount

$3,000 to $50,000

Term

10 years

APR as low as

7.75%4 5 6

Loan Type

Unsecured Green Home Improvement Loans

Min/Max Loan Amount

$1,000 to $35,000

Term

3 years

APR as low as

8.75%4 5 6

Loan Type

Unsecured Green Home Improvement Loans

Min/Max Loan Amount

$1,000 to $35,000

Term

5 years

APR as low as

9.75%4 5 6

Loan Type

Unsecured Green Home Improvement Loans

Min/Max Loan Amount

$1,000 to $35,000

Term

10 years

APR as low as

10.75%4 5 6

How to Apply

Looking to get started with your Green Home Improvement project? Follow these steps to secure financing.

Choose a Contractor

Select a contractor and solicit a detailed proposal for a qualifying green home improvement. Please note: In your contract, your contractor must provide at least a 1 year workmanship warranty.

contractor installing insulation

Complete Our Loan Process

  1. Apply for a loan via our easy, online application.
  2. Get pre-approved
  3. Join Clean Energy Credit Union
  4. Send us required documentation to get fully approved
  5. Complete your project
  6. Sign your loan documents via DocuSign to disburse proceeds to your contractor.

See full instructions here.

a member applying for a loan on clean energy cu website

Got Questions? We’ve Got Answers.

Click here to see a list of eligible products.

If you are applying for a non-solar clean energy loan, there is no requirement to work with a Registered Dealer. Please note: For Green Home Improvement projects, your contractor must have at least a 1 year workmanship warranty.

If you are applying for a solar loan, please ask your solar contractor (aka dealer) if they are a Registered Dealer with Clean Energy CU before you apply. Click here for more details about our Registered Dealer requirement.

We recommend checking the Database for State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency (DSIRE): dsireusa.org. We also recommend asking your clean energy contractor, vendor, or service provider as they can typically help you explore what incentives may be available in your area.

First, see if you’re already eligible to join Clean Energy Credit Union by being a part of our “field of membership,” which currently includes:

  1. A member of one of the following organizations:  
    1. African-American Credit Union Coalition
    2. American Solar Energy Society
    3. Association of Energy Service Professionals
    4. Colorado Renewable Energy Society
    5. Denver Electric Vehicle Council
    6. Electric Auto Association
    7. Engineers for a Sustainable World
    8. EVHybridNoire
    9. Georgia Solar Energy Association
    10. Green America
    11. GreenHome Institute
    12. Illinois Solar Energy Association
    13. Midwest Renewable Energy Association
    14. Northeast Sustainable Energy Association
    15. Polar Bear Sustainable Energy Co-op
    16. RENEW Wisconsin
    17. Renewable Energy Owners Coalition of America
    18. Solar United Neighbors
    19. Texas Solar Energy Society
    20. Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy
  2. An employee or volunteer of one of the following organizations:  
    1. Clean Energy Credit Union
    2. Our Climate
    3. 350 Colorado
  3. A member of the immediate family or household of someone who is eligible via one of the above options or of someone who is already a member of Clean Energy Credit Union

If you’re not already eligible to join Clean Energy Credit Union, you can consider joining one of the above organizations. On your membership application, you can request that Clean Energy Credit Union sign you up for a membership with the Solar United Neighbors free of charge or request that Clean Energy Credit Union sign you up for a one-year membership with the- American Solar Energy Society and deduct the associated $10 membership fee from your opening account balance. Click here to learn more about the field of membership partner organizations listed above.

After confirming your eligibility, you would then open a “share account” (i.e. savings account) with a $5 minimum deposit which would serve as your ownership share in Clean Energy Credit Union. Once someone becomes a member of the Credit Union, they are a member for life. Click here to join Clean Energy Credit Union.

In case it helps, here’s some background on what a credit union “field of membership” is: although credit unions provide similar services as banks, they are different from banks in many ways. For example, a credit union is a not-for-profit, financial services cooperative that exists solely to serve its members and to fulfill its mission, whereas a bank exists to maximize financial returns for its stockholders. Another difference is that a bank can serve the general public whereas a credit union can only serve its “field of membership,” which is defined by regulators as the people and entities that are legally eligible to join the credit union. Ultimately, a credit union’s field of membership is comprised of one or more groups of people and entities that all have something in common that binds them together in some way. Many credit unions have a field of membership that includes people who work for a certain employer, or who live in a certain geographic area, or who are members of the same professional association or religious organization.

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