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Predicting the human response to Eco Financing | Enervee Blog

Written by Anne Arquit Niederberger | 8/12/21 7:00 AM

How will shoppers respond to Eco Financing? We sat down with behavioral scientist Guy Champniss to explore what the science says about paying for energy-efficient appliances with simple monthly payments at checkout. If you’re designing a modern utility marketplace or evaluating Eco Financing, this Q&A is for you.

Guy leads the behavioral science unit at The Creative Engagement Group in London. With 25+ years’ experience, he’s recognized for innovation and impact, teaches at IE Business School (Madrid), is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, and a Chartered Member of the British Psychological Society. Guy was also a close colleague of mine at Enervee and remains an investor and advisor. Lucky us!

What is Eco Financing?

Eco Financing lets customers get instantly underwritten loans for efficient products during checkout on utility marketplaces (for example, the SoCalGas Marketplace, which launched in August 2021). Customers can buy with no money down and low monthly payments instead of a large, one-time charge.

These marketplaces use Enervee’s Choice Engine® (developed during Guy’s time at Enervee) to overcome market, cognitive, and psychological barriers—backed by peer-reviewed research we published together: “A simple efficiency score vs. energy bill savings information…”. Independent evaluations since then have shown the platform increases efficient purchases.

Eco Financing addresses the financial barrier left over. As part of the online flow, it:

  • Spreads payments over up to 60 months, with no early-payoff penalties.
  • Extends access to borrowers with credit scores as low as 580.
  • Offers competitive APRs versus common alternatives.

For a household replacing a broken washer, turning a $750 purchase into ~$15/month can close the attitude–behavior gap, while cutting bills and emissions over the product’s lifetime.

Q&A with Guy Champniss

What does behavioral science have to do with consumer lending?

GC: Finance is a core applied area. Three points matter for Eco Financing:

  1. Costs vs. benefits over time. We abandon choices when up-front costs loom larger than benefits that arrive later. Monthly payments align costs with benefits, making efficiency benefits more salient.
  2. Effort is a cost. If choosing requires effort (discovery costs), perceived value drops. A clear, in-flow financing option reduces effort costs and tips decisions toward action.
  3. Identity & signaling. Many of us want to “do the right thing.” A visible Eco Financing marker can signal pro-efficiency identity and act like a soft default—especially if only certain high-quality products carry it.

Have buying behaviors changed post-COVID?

GC: COVID disrupted habits and accelerated expectations for near-frictionless digital experiences. Consumers compare every UX to the best they use elsewhere (think Amazon), not just to other utilities. There’s also a heightened sense of shared vulnerability—climate is the next, larger challenge—which creates a timely opening to engage people in better purchases.

Does it matter why someone is buying?

GC: Yes. In “replace-now” events, efficiency typically gets deprioritized under stress. Eco Financing can help by lowering cognitive load and acting as a decision aid—keeping efficient options in the set when time is tight.

Is Eco Financing only for those who can’t pay upfront?

GC: No. Auto purchasing shows that financing is mainstream when it’s well designed. Monthly payments match cost and benefit streams for any buyer and can proxy quality when offered on a curated set of models.

Behavioral tips for the offer & UX?

GC: Prospect Theory reminds us reference points matter. Make Eco Financing the default frame so alternatives look like losses. Also:

  1. Sort to surface Eco-eligible models first (primacy effect).
  2. Make the Eco badge visible and “portable” (customers can carry the signal).
  3. Use purposeful disfluency in moments that challenge the status quo, then remove friction to complete the purchase.
  4. Anchor monthly costs to familiar expenses (“≈ five coffees/month”).
  5. Close the loop after purchase—celebrate impact and invite advocacy.

Bottom line—will Eco Financing work?

GC: The mechanisms are there. Execution is everything: introduce a moment of reflection to break habits, then make the efficient choice fluent to complete the journey.

Wrap-up

Eco Financing plus an energy-aware marketplace (with the Enervee Score) turns intent into action—especially in replace-now moments and for customers historically left out by lump-sum pricing.

See it live: Explore what a modern utility marketplace looks like in 2025 and how Eco Financing removes the up-front barrier at checkout.
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