It offers a "turnkey" service that includes the online simulation of home renovations and the management of European grants and the energy efficiency loan.

The bank will grant up to €100,000 to individuals with a grace period of 12 months, a fixed rate of 4% and no-cost repayment.

Actions include improving the insulation of flats, cottages or buildings and reducing the energy consumption of heating or air conditioning systems.

Madrid, 1 June 2022.
Banco Santander has launched a turnkey energy efficiency service for homes, which aims to facilitate the transition to a greener living model for its customers and to reduce their energy consumption. This new service is another step in the bank's plan to support its customers, individuals and SMEs, in the transition towards a more sustainable economy.

The first feature of the "turnkey service" is an innovative simulator, which is completely free and can be accessed online. This simulator can be used to determine the type of home, the actions that can be taken and provides an approximate automatic calculation of the cost of the chosen renovations, as well as the energy savings the customer could make, the grants available and the estimated personal income tax deduction.

Santander offers consumers three different and accredited providers - Iberdrola, Effic and Reformanerr- who can provide personalised quotes. These providers will also manage the subsidies and grants provided for in Royal Decree 853/2021 on Residential Renovation and Social Housing, both in terms of actions to improve energy efficiency in homes and in terms of building renovation.

Energy efficiency loan

A study into works is free and once the request has been analysed and the necessary steps have been taken with the provider, the bank can offer customers one of the most competitive energy efficiency loans on the market: up to €100,000, with a grace period of up to 12 months, a fixed interest rate of 4%, a repayment period of seven years and the option to repay the loan in advance, partially or in full, free of charge.

These grants, which come from the EU's Next Generation Funds and fall within the Government's Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR), will be granted based on the energy savings achieved as a result of the renovation work, which must reduce energy consumption by at least 30%. For flats and homes, the subsidy is set at €3,000; for buildings, grants may range from €6,300 to €18,800 if energy savings exceed 60%.

The overall objective of actions taken as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan is to reduce the consumption of non-renewable energy in Spanish homes by at least 30% and "decarbonise and reduce the demand for heating and air conditioning by at least 7%".

According to official sources, almost 50% of residential buildings (9.7 million dwellings) were built before 1980 and more than 84.5% of existing buildings have an energy rating of E, F or G, which highlights how much of an impact energy-related renovations could have. Indeed, only 0.3% of buildings have an energy rating of A.

Sustainable Santander

In addition to these energy efficiency solutions, another functionality has been recently launched on the Santander app and website, which customers of the bank can use to measure their carbon footprint based on purchases made with their cards and direct debits. They can choose to offset this carbon footprint by supporting sustainable projects that aim to limit new emissions or absorb existing emissions, such as a reforestation initiative in Teruel.

There is also the bank's recent initiative to recycle expired One Santander debit and credit cards and turn them into street furniture in conjunction with the company G+D, which will turn them into benches, litter bins or flower pots, putting the cards to a new use in a clear commitment to the circular economy. The bank will donate these items to various public institutions for their cities and municipalities.