VA Energy Efficiency Loans

What are VA Energy Efficiency Loans?

VA Energy Efficiency Loans are loans from the Department of Veterans Affairs that people with existing VA Loans can qualify for to make their homes more energy efficient. If you already have a VA Loan, you can get up to $6,000 for energy improvements and repairs. VA Energy Efficiency Loans can also be a part of VA Streamline Refinancing Loans.

Over time, older houses can be in severe disrepair and use unnecessarily large amounts of energy to function. Heating, air conditioning, ventilation and plumbing systems can easily go awry with wear and tear. Even relatively-new construction homes have complex systems that can cost well into the thousands of dollars to fix. VA Energy Efficiency Loans can help.

Features of VA Energy Efficiency Loans

  • Up to $6,000 regardless of your equity in your home
  • Lower interest rates
  • No penalty for pre-payment
  • Ability to combine it into a VA Streamline Refinancing Loan
  • Only available when purchasing existing homes, not for building a new home

VA Energy Efficiency Loans Save Money

Though it sounds counter-intuitive that taking out a loan could actually save you money, VA Energy Efficiency Loans can do just that. How? Well, if your current heating and air conditioning systems are in disrepair and using an excess amount of energy, fixing them could dramatically reduce your monthly heating and air conditioning bills. With a VA Energy Efficiency Loan, you can save money as well as benefiting the environment with your efforts.

Acceptable Energy Efficiency Improvements

  • Repairing or replacing outdated heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
  • Weather-stripping or caulking
  • Vapor Barriers
  • Improvement to furnaces, including replacing boilers, burners and furnaces
  • Clock Thermostats
  • Installing solar heating and cooling systems, including solar water heaters
  • Heating pumps
  • Water heater insulation
  • Thermal doors or windows
  • Storm doors or windows
  • Insulation for walls, flooring, ceilings and attics

Note: You can only modify a furnace with a VA Energy Efficiency Loan if the changes you make will reduce the amount of fuel it consumes or reduces its firing rate, put mechanical or electrical furnace ignition systems where standing gas pilot lights once were, or put in flue openings that improve the furnace's efficiency.