Homegrown, climate fintech firm Helios is offering to the market a unique opportunity for homebuyers and homeowners to switch to renewable power through a solar mortgage program, a first in Asia.
Alex Aronson, co-founder of Helios, said through the program, a customer gets access to loans for solar panel installation as a top up to its home loans.
As an aggregator, Helios links the customer with a bank and the solar panel solutions provider in fitting their home, eliminating the hassle of coordinating individually with these parties.
The company gets a commission from the bank and the installer for the transaction.
In October, Helios partnered with Bank of Philippine Islands (BPI) and just recently with Security Bank to offer this solution as a bundle to a housing loan, either for a new home, the repair of an existing home or a restructuring of an existing loan from another bank. The solar mortgage could range from as low as P400,000 to more than P10 million.
Helios is in talks with five more banks.
Aronson said the loan for solar mortgage practically pays for itself through electricity savings.
“The loans are
cashflow positive… the payment for solar is always going to be less than the amount you save. For example, you have a 7 percent interest rate (on a loan). You’re paying that for 15 years. Maybe your additional payment is P2, 000 per month. But that eliminates a P10,000 payment on (electricity) bill,” he said.
For this program, there is no upfront payment.
“Our value proposition for customers is you pay nothing today. And on month one, we’re going to put more money back in your pocket, because whatever you pay for your solar is going to be less than your savings,” Aronson said.
According to Aronson, Helios partners with the most reliable supplier of solar panels based on track record. These suppliers carry brands rated Tier One.
Helios now has five suppliers with an extensive nationwide network.
Because of the aggregation of customers, Helios is able to bring down the cost of the system to a very competitive level.
The cost of a typical system is around P250,000. The home loan, however, would have a minimum amount, depending on the bank.
The solar power system is customizable and can be installed in as short as three days.
Aronson said solar panels are a low maintenance product because they have long warranties.
For maintenance, Aronson likened the solar panels to washong one’s car. “You want to make sure there’s no dust, no bird droppings, you want to keep it clean to make sure you are maximizing efficiency.”
The system goes through yearly checkup where the panels are cleaned and electrical connections are checked.
A startup that was initially backed by Wavemaker venture capital, Helios chose the Philippines because Filipinos pay the highest power rate per kilowatt hour in Southeast Asia. Worse, the rate fluctuates all the time.
According to Aronson, the Philippines has a favorable and progressive regulatory environment for homeowners shifting to solar. “Here, you’re allowed to export and sell power back to the grid. So…there’s an incentive,” Aronson said.
Aronson said Helios has partnered with a housing developer in Davao where power rates are 30 percent higher than most provinces. Residents in the area experience 8 hours of power interruptions every week.
About 100 new homeowners have already benefited from the solar mortgage’s introductory offering. Helios has a healthy pipeline, with some undergoing loan assessment.
Moving forward, Helios is poised to
digitize its product to make the journey a little smoother for customers, from enrollment process to the actual planning.
“You can use Google Maps and pin your house. You can actually circle the sections of your roof where you want to add a panel,” Aronson said.
Aronson said Helios has a big target.
“When WaveMaker invested in us they build what’s called 100 by 100 company, which means the company has to ambition for a $100 million revenue… but also to (take) 100 million tons of carbon. So by design, I think we have to do 20 million homes over the next 10 years starting in the Philippines,” he said.
