South Carolina Co-ops Implement “Help My House” On-Bill Financing Pilot

The "Help My House" pilot program in South Carolina used on-bill financing to enable homeowners to fund energy efficiency retrofits, achieving 125% of its goal by February 2012. Supported by a $740,000 USDA Rural Utility Service loan, the program provided 2.5% financing tied to the electric meter, bypassing traditional credit checks. The pilot resulted in an average loan of $7,684 per home, with projected annual energy savings of 11,593 kWh and an average energy reduction of 35% per home.

• The "Help My House" pilot program exceeded its target, completing 125 home retrofits (including 53 single-family detached and 72 mobile homes) by February 2012, which represented 125 percent of the original goal of 100 retrofits.
• The program utilized on-bill financing, which allowed homeowners to borrow for energy efficiency improvements and repay the loan via their electric bills. This mechanism, supported by South Carolina legislation, tied repayment to the meter rather than the borrower, eliminating the need for credit checks.
• Financial support for the pilot included a $740,000 loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utility Service program, which allowed the program to offer a 2.5 percent interest rate to participants.
• The pilot achieved significant energy reductions, with an average of 35 percent savings per home, which the document describes as "deep impact" savings.
• The average loan amount was $7,684, with a projected simple payback period of 5.98 years and estimated annual savings of nearly 11,600 kWh per home.

APA

Environmental and Energy Study Institute (2012). South Carolina Co-ops Implement “Help My House” On-Bill Financing Pilot. https://www.eesi.org/files/Help_My_House_Pilot_070512.pdf

Chicago

Environmental and Energy Study Institute. South Carolina Co-ops Implement “Help My House” On-Bill Financing Pilot. 2012. https://www.eesi.org/files/Help_My_House_Pilot_070512.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |title=South Carolina Co-ops Implement “Help My House” On-Bill Financing Pilot |date=July 2012 |url=https://www.eesi.org/files/Help_My_House_Pilot_070512.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{environmentalandenergystudyinstitute2012south, author = {{Environmental and Energy Study Institute}}, title = {{South Carolina Co-ops Implement “Help My House” On-Bill Financing Pilot}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2012}, month = jul, url = {https://www.eesi.org/files/Help_My_House_Pilot_070512.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }