This New Lending Tool Lets Homeowners Make Energy Upgrades with No Money Down

A mortgage lender has rolled out a new tool that factors utility costs into how much house you can afford to buy, then uses the difference to help pay for solar power and battery storage with no extra money down.

The tool, called Lowtility, comes from Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. (PRMI), a national lender based in Utah. It's built around a new way of looking at mortgage math. Instead of just principal, interest, taxes, and insurance (the usual "PITI" that makes up a monthly payment), Lowtility adds a "U" for utilities. The idea: a home with lower monthly power costs is worth more, financially, than one with high utility bills, even if the purchase price is the same. The lender's argument is similar to comparing an electric car to a gas car — the electric car may cost more upfront, but savings on fuel can make up the difference within a year or so.

In practice, this means a buyer could take out a somewhat larger loan than usual, with the extra amount going toward solar panels and battery storage rather than a bigger house. The lender says this approach could put idle "buying power" to use, since utility bills already eat into what people can afford each month, whether or not that shows up in the loan itself. PRMI developed the tool after fielding calls from homeowners frustrated with confusing or inconsistent solar financing options. Availability and terms would depend on working with this specific lender.