Eko sklad, Slovenia’s environmental public fund, lends to citizens for green investments at 1.2%, fixed for the whole repayment period. A loan for a heat pump, solar panels, facade insulation or energy-efficient household appliances is therefore much cheaper for larger amounts than a bank green loan, where rates today range from roughly 4 to 7%. On €30,000 over ten years you save about €4,800 compared with the best bank green loan. The price is a bit more paperwork and two steps instead of one, and for small amounts the fees almost cancel out the advantage.
Since September 2026 the Eko sklad loan is also part of our green loan comparison, where you can set it against bank offers for your own amount and term.
What the Eko sklad loan is
Eko sklad is a public fund that promotes environmental investments. Besides grants, it offers low-interest loans, announced in public calls. The current one is public call 87OB26, Loans for citizens’ environmental investments, published on 22 May 2026. The call is open.
Eko sklad approves the loan, and Banka Intesa Sanpaolo, chosen by the fund as the intermediary, executes it. That is why there are two steps: first an application to Eko sklad, then a contract with the bank.
What you can use it for
The call covers a wide range of investments in residential buildings and households:
- efficient heating, ventilation and hot-water systems,
- heating from renewable sources, such as heat pumps and biomass boilers,
- equipment for producing and storing electricity, such as solar panels and batteries,
- reducing a building’s heat loss, such as facade and roof insulation and new windows,
- building nearly zero-energy homes,
- energy-efficient household appliances,
- electric bicycles and electric motors,
- wastewater and rainwater drainage and treatment,
- replacing hazardous materials and handling bio-waste,
- efficient water use and drinking-water supply.
The loan can cover up to 100% of the recognised cost of the investment, but no more than €100,000 per building.
Who can apply
Citizens who are not running a business and have permanent residence in Slovenia can apply. You must own or co-own the building, hold a building right, or have the owner’s written consent. For appliances and electric bikes it is enough to be named on the invoice or contract with the supplier.
The bank checks your creditworthiness as with any other loan. The Bank of Slovenia rules also apply, such as the minimum living costs you must keep after repayments. You can check in advance what repayment you can afford in the credit capacity calculator.
The terms at a glance
| Eko sklad loan (87OB26) | |
|---|---|
| Interest rate | 1.2% a year, fixed for the whole term |
| Amount | €1,500 to €100,000 per building |
| Term | up to 10 years, up to 20 for a comprehensive renovation or a nearly zero-energy house |
| Approval fee | 1.5%, at least €40, at most €175 |
| Administration | €35 a year for a loan up to €4,000, €45 a year above that |
| Loan insurance | 0.83 to 1.68% of the insured base |
| Payout | to the contractor: up to 40% in advance, the rest on completion |
What the loan really costs
The low rate is not the only cost. With an Eko sklad loan you also pay the approval fee, the annual administration fee and a one-off loan insurance premium. The premium is calculated on the principal plus interest and depends on the term, so our comparison leaves it out of the APR and marks the row with †. We treat bank loans with mandatory insurance the same way.
On €10,000 over five years the payment is €171.80, or €175.55 including the monthly share of the administration fee. The APR without insurance is 2.70%, and with insurance 3.06 to 3.44% depending on the premium. Even in the worst case that is below the best bank green loan, which currently has an APR of 4.58%. Why the APR is a better yardstick than the nominal rate is explained in APR: what your bank won’t tell you.
Example: Maja and Žan replace their heating
Maja and Žan have a house from the 1980s. They want to replace the old oil boiler with a heat pump and put solar panels on the roof. The quotes add up to €30,000, which they would repay over ten years.
| Eko sklad loan | NLB green personal loan | DH green loan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Interest rate | 1.20% | 4.49% | 4.10% |
| Monthly payment incl. fees | €269.17 | €310.77 | €309.06 |
| Total repaid | €32,476 | €37,292 | €37,538 |
With the Eko sklad loan they would repay about €4,800 less over ten years than with the best bank green loan. The Eko sklad insurance, around €260 to €540 on this amount, still has to be added, but the saving stays above €4,000. The monthly payment is about €40 lower.
Bank offers are from our comparison as of 25 September 2026. You can check your own amount and term in the green loan comparison or the loan calculator. How bank green loans work and what they cover is explained in the article on green loans.
At what amount the Eko sklad loan pays off
Because the approval and administration fees are partly fixed, the advantage of the low rate only shows at larger amounts and longer terms. A comparison with the currently best bank green loan, without Eko sklad insurance:
| Amount and term | Repaid with Eko sklad | Repaid with the best bank | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| €3,000 over 3 years | €3,206 | €3,212 | €6 |
| €10,000 over 5 years | €10,683 | €11,183 | €500 |
| €30,000 over 10 years | €32,476 | €37,292 | €4,816 |
The Eko sklad insurance on these amounts costs roughly €25 to €50, €85 to €175 and €260 to €540. At €3,000 it wipes out the advantage, while from €10,000 up a clear saving remains. The term matters most: for short loans of up to three years the Eko sklad loan costs about the same as a bank even at €5,000 to €6,000, while over five years or more it pays off from a few thousand euros. For short terms, calculate both options.
Eko sklad or a bank green loan
In most cases the Eko sklad loan is cheaper. A bank green loan can still be the better choice when:
- you need a small amount, say a few thousand euros over a short term, where the fees cancel out the lower rate,
- you are in a hurry, because the two-step process with Eko sklad takes longer than a loan straight from a bank,
- the investment is not an eligible measure or you do not meet the call’s conditions,
- you need more than €100,000 or are financing a purchase or new build, where a green mortgage makes sense,
- the call is closed or its terms have changed.
You can also combine them. For projects above €100,000 you can fund part with the Eko sklad loan and the rest with a bank green mortgage.
How the process works
- Get a quote for the investment from the contractor.
- Submit a loan application to Eko sklad with the quote and the required attachments.
- Eko sklad reviews the application and issues its approval decision.
- With Eko sklad’s decision you go to a Banka Intesa Sanpaolo branch, which checks your creditworthiness, and you sign the loan contract.
- After signing, the bank can pay up to 40% of the loan to the contractor, and the rest, at least 60%, once the investment is completed.
The money always goes to the contractor, not to you. That is why it matters that the contractor is reliable and that the quote lists the work and equipment precisely.
What to watch out for
- Check the status of the call. Public calls can change or close. Before applying, check the current terms on the Eko sklad website. We check them by hand for our comparison and show the last-check date under the table.
- Do the maths for small amounts. The approval fee (at least €40), annual administration and insurance noticeably raise the APR on a small loan. On €3,000 over three years you repay €3,206 with Eko sklad and €3,212 with the best bank green loan. Once you add the insurance, Eko sklad is even slightly more expensive. Other things to check in the contract are covered in hidden loan costs.
- Plan the time. Because there are two steps, start early, especially if the contractor’s quote is only valid for a limited time.
Summary
With a fixed 1.2% rate, the Eko sklad loan is currently the cheapest way to finance larger household green investments in Slovenia. On larger amounts and longer terms it can save several thousand euros, while on a few thousand euros the gap to a bank is small. The process takes longer than at a bank and the money goes straight to the contractor, but for most investments it is worth it. For a quick comparison with bank offers, use our green loan comparison, where the Eko sklad loan is shown next to the banks. If you are looking for a general consumer loan, see our article on the cheapest consumer loan.
