There was an article posted on the Indian business blog, Trak.in about a concept of Green Mortgages:Wave of the Future, also known as the Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEC).

The article says there is a new wave of lending out there based on the environmental soundness of a home and checks for things like solar power and other uses of technology that lower the carbon footprint of the homeowner.  This wave is based on tax credits and lower interest rates for EEM borrowers. The article mentions it is becoming popular across Europe and the future of lending in India. There is also much hope it will catch on in the U.S.

Reading further, the article mentions a study in Appraisal Journal shows one dollar in energy efficiency will increase the value of a home by twenty bucks! (I was unable to find this article, but will continue to search) Although a simple study, it does seem quite an increase in value- to me. It further mentions that future appraisals will contain an energy efficiency audit which should increase the value of the home accordingly. Moving further it mentions that the loan to value of the mortgage should be based off of the carbon footprint-less value, thus giving the borrower a larger mortgage!

I am all for recycling, curly light bulbs and turning down the heat and air controls, (all of which I am quite diligent with) but not sure if we should increase the amount of housing debt accordingly. Interesting thought process- sounds like the same guys that came up with the no-income verification mortgages.