The Smart-E residential loan program is a financing program developed in partnership with Energize CT and local lenders that uses a US$1.8 million loan loss reserve and interest rate buy-downs (US$4.3 million total) to stimulate the market for residential energy efficiency and solar loans in Connecticut. Through the product, the Connecticut Green Bank lowers the cost of capital for Connecticut residential customers seeking to install solar PV, high efficiency heating and cooling equipment, insulation or other home energy upgrades and reduces the loan performance risks to lenders. The US$1.8 million loan loss reserve is used to encourage lenders to offer below market interest rates and longer terms for unsecured loans, mitigates their losses, and encourages customers to undertake measures that would prove uneconomical at higher interest rates.