GoGreen Home projects must comply with local permitting requirements. Please contact your local permitting authority to determine if your project requires a permit.

Yes, every project's paperwork (submitted invoice, certificate of completion, completed permits, safety test results, etc.) will be reviewed to ensure compliance with state and GoGreen Home regulations. For a smaller portion of projects, field verifications may be conducted at the property within 180 days of the loan being enrolled to verify that the eligible measures were installed according to program regulations.

Interest rates vary by lender and are based on the length of the term and/or the borrower’s credit history. All lenders have reduced their interest rates in exchange for the benefits provided to them by the GoGreen Home program. Current rates can be found on the GoGreen Home Energy Financing Lending Options chart or through the interactive module on the Apply for Financing page.

The maximum interest rate for GoGreen Home loans is capped at the interest rate on new 10-year Treasury bonds plus 750 basis points (which is equal to 7.5%). For example, if the interest rate on the new 10-year Treasury bond is 3%, then the interest rate on GoGreen Home loans cannot exceed 10.5% (3% + 7.5%).

Any measure listed on the Eligible Energy Efficiency Measures table may be financed through GoGreen Home as long as it meets the stated efficiency requirements (for example, ENERGY STAR certified). Expenses that are legally and practically necessary to complete the installation of an energy efficiency measure can also be included—things like permits, safety testing, electrical panel upgrades and patching.

Additionally, 30% of the total financed amount can be used for home improvements not related to energy efficiency, such as remodeling and landscaping.

The maximum loan amount is $50,000 per unit, for up to four units. The minimum varies by lender but for most, it starts at $2,500 for measures listed on the Eligible Energy Efficiency Measures table. See the GoGreen Home Energy Financing Lending Options chart for details.

Smaller loans ($200 to $5,000) for efficient appliances are available through select utility marketplaces. Visit EcoFinancing.com to see where these are available.

Not at this time. GoGreen Home prioritizes energy reduction (through energy efficiency) over energy production, so the loans are strictly for upgrades that reduce energy use. However, some participating lenders may offer financing for solar projects separately from GoGreen Home, with different terms.

GoGreen Home customers may upgrade a single-family home, townhome, condo, duplex, triplex, fourplex or manufactured home. Renovations for up to four units may be bundled into a single loan. The property must receive electric and/or gas service from any of the following investor-owned utilities: Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, Southern California Edison or SoCalGas.

Affordable multifamily properties of five or more units may be upgraded through GoGreen Multifamily; market-rate multifamily properties of five or more units may be upgraded through GoGreen Business.

No. GoGreen Home participating lenders make the loans. The California Alternative Energy and Advanced Transportation Financing Authority, a public agency in the State Treasurer’s Office, facilitates the financing by providing GoGreen Home lenders with access to a “loan loss reserve”—basically a form of insurance that allows them to offer better rates and terms on GoGreen Home loans than on standard loan products.

You can find participating GoGreen Home lenders on the interactive Find Financing page.

Any project can be financed through GoGreen Home as long as it meets program guidelines and the property receives natural gas and/or electric service from one of the following investor-owned utilities (IOUs): Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, SoCalGas or Southern California Edison.

For example, a customer who receives electricity from LADWP and natural gas from SoCalGas is eligible to finance a project through GoGreen Home because one of the fuel providers—in this case SoCalGas—is a participating IOU.

A GoGreen Home project requires combustion appliance safety testing if the following two conditions are met:

• The project includes either whole building air sealing and/or duct sealing eligible energy efficiency measures (EEEMs).
  and
• An atmospherically vented combustion appliance is present within the sealed building envelope.

Note: A gas range is not generally considered an atmospherically vented combustion appliance. However, CAEATFA recommends that contractors test gas ranges for excess carbon monoxide if a project includes either air sealing and/or duct sealing EEEMs.

A safety test must be performed by someone who meets one of the following prerequisites:

1. Approved to participate in a Home Upgrade or Advanced Home Upgrade Program
2. BPI Certified
3. Certified and proficient in accepted standards for combustion safety and ventilation testing, such as Natural Gas Appliance Testing (NGAT)

Test results will be requested during project QA/QC.

You must use GoGreen Home’s itemized invoice template when submitting projects to GoGreen Home. You can find the invoice template, along with other forms, on the GoGreen Home contractor Resources page under “Project forms.”

Lenders disburse funding within 24 hours of receiving a Certificate of Completion. This and other forms can be found on the GoGreen Home contractor Resources page under “Project forms.”

Take the one-hour training and submit a completed application. You can find links to both on the GoGreen Home contractor Enroll page.

In order to qualify for a GoGreen Home loan, most energy efficiency measures must be installed by an enrolled GoGreen Home contractor. There are some exceptions; you are not required to use a GoGreen Home contractor when:

• The energy efficiency measure is identified as “Eligible for Self-Install” on the Eligible Energy Efficiency Measures table. This includes appliances, lighting measures, smart thermostats and several other measures.
• The work is for measures that are legally or practically necessary to install an energy efficiency measure, such as an electrical panel upgrade.
• The work is for additional home improvements not related to energy efficiency measures, such as remodeling or landscaping.

Your GoGreen Home loan may include both self-installable measures and measures that require installation by a GoGreen Home contractor. Enrolled GoGreen Home contractors are listed through the Find a Contractor page.

Loans of $200 to $5,000 are available for appliance purchases through select utility marketplaces. Visit EcoFinancing.com to see where these are available.

A for profit or nonprofit organization can qualify for the GoGreen Business program by meeting any one of three requirements:

• 100 or fewer employees, or
• Less than $15 million a year in annual revenue, or
• Meeting the SBA definition of a small business

No. While any measure which receives a rebate or incentive from an IOU, REN or CCA automatically qualifies as an Energy Saving Measure (ESM) for GoGreen Business, participation in utility programs is not required. If desired, OBF financing may be paired with GoGreen Business to finance components of projects that qualify for GoGreen Business, but not OBF.

Yes, depending on the finance company and the composition of the project. A qualifying project must include at least one energy-saving measure, and a project where the majority of financing is not for energy-saving measures may not receive the full benefit of enhanced financing terms. Ask a participating finance company for more details.

For a project that consists solely of EV charging stations, please consider the California Capital Access (CalCAP) program.

OBF is administered by the utility companies and the financing comes from ratepayer funds. GoGreen Business is administered by the State of California and the financing comes from private financing companies. The two programs offer a variety of benefits and may also be combined on projects. For more information on these two forms of financing, please review this flyer to learn how GoGreen Business and OBF work together.

GoGreen Business offers a lot of flexibility. Depending on finance company approval, projects can be any size up to $5 million, and can include other measures (e.g. landscaping or remodeling) in addition to Energy Saving Measures (ESMs). Customers have access to multiple products including loans, leases, equipment finance agreements, service agreements and cash-flow positive options. Small businesses that lease or own their space can qualify. Finance companies can provide fast project approval. Some finance companies also provide pre-funding for qualifying projects and contractors.

A customer meeting the definition of a small business who receives service from at least one of California’s four investor-owned utilities (IOUs) - PG&E, SDG&E, SoCal Edison, SoCal Gas, or a Regional Energy Network (REN) or Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) - may apply for financing from a finance company participating in the program. Participating finance companies receive a credit enhancement for the financing they provide. The credit enhancement acts like insurance in the case that a customer defaults on their payment. In turn, the customer receives benefits such as better terms, a longer payback period, or broader approvals.

Visit the enroll page and sign up to take the self-paced online training. Once this is complete, fill out the application (available on the same page as the training link) and submit, along with proof of insurance, to CHEEF@treasurer.ca.gov. When you are enrolled in GoGreen Business, you may present financing through GoGreen Business as an option to your customers.