AFC First Expands National True Fixed Rate EnergyLoan® Program to Help Homeowners Affordably Install Energy Efficient Heating Systems

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Dec. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- For homeowners, colder winter temperatures mean higher heating bills.  With added stress on heating systems during winter, many homeowners are faced with having to make "reactive" energy improvements to quickly address an immediate need, such as faulty or inefficient heating systems.  Today's ENERGY STAR® heating systems, when installed by a professional contractor, can dramatically reduce heating costs while improving home comfort.  Affordability, however, remains a key concern for many homeowners when it comes to installing higher efficiency and other energy-saving improvements. The typical size of these improvements, $2,500 to $25,000, often falls within a consumer's financing "twilight zone" – too big to put on a credit card and too small to go through a time-consuming home equity loan process.  The alternative is that consumers end up either not making the upgrades, succumbing to bait and switch programs such as "zero percent" credit card- type  financing that morphs into 18 to 32% APR or settling for less expensive, lower efficiency items.   As the price of energy efficiency improvement increases, more and more consumers are looking for simple fixed rate monthly payment plans that can be offset by energy savings. 

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AFC First Financial Corporation's National EnergyLoan® program is specifically designed as a simple, low monthly payment financing alternative for energy efficiency home improvements such as heating system upgrades. It is now available in all fifty states through a network of 5,000 approved contractors who have been vetted for financial stability and ethical business practices. AFC First's EnergyLoan® provides simple interest financing with terms of up to ten years for amounts from $1,000 to $25,000, resulting in lower monthly payments than are typically available from banks or other types of unsecured home improvement financing.  As opposed to credit cards, EnergyLoan® is a True Fixed Rate® simple interest loan. The monthly payment and interest rate can never change, no lien is filed on the home, and there is no penalty for pre-payment. EnergyLoan® financing can be used for most types of heating systems installed by an approved contractor including heat pumps, boilers and furnaces. 

For more information on AFC First's National EnergyLoan® program, visit www.energyloan.net. AFC First also administers several state and utility financing programs which offer special interest rates in certain states and locations.

About AFC First
AFC First Financial Corporation, founded in 1947, is a national leader in energy efficiency and renewable energy lending and programs.  AFC First administers Pennsylvania's Keystone HELP® as well as other energy lending programs including the Illinois On Bill Finance Program,  Efficiency Maine Financing, Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance, Richmond Regional Energy Alliance, Connecticut Solar Lease and Kentucky Home Performance as well as its multi-state  FHA PowerSaver loan program through a network of over 5,000 approved contractors, manufacturers and utilities. AFC First was the first private, non-utility Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® sponsor approved by the U.S. Department of Energy and its Green Energy Training Center is an official BPI Test Center. It is an organizer of the Green Energy Federal Credit Union, expected to open in 2014. 

SOURCE AFC First Financial Corporation