Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program
The E3 Mortgage program
A way to buy a Shield home that counts its lower energy bill toward the mortgage. We published it in a four-minute video in August 2026. This page explains it in plain words, and every figure on it comes from that video.
Lender terms and eligibility are to be confirmed with Guardian.
The numbers below are our example for one house in Massillon, Ohio. They are not a quote or a loan offer.
How it works, in plain words
A lender decides how much you can borrow by setting your income against the monthly cost of owning the home: principal, interest, property taxes and insurance. The energy bill is a monthly cost too, but it usually sits outside that sum, so on its own a lower energy bill does not change what you qualify for.
The E3 Mortgage program, as our video explains it, brings the energy bill in. The house's energy savings are certified before it is built, and the certified monthly amount is added to the payment the buyer qualifies for. Three parts make it work.
Guardian Shield™ panels
The envelope: walls and roof built from our steel and EPS panels. The video calls it the essential first step, because without it there are no savings to certify.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 0:30
A Chiltrix heat pump
An air-to-water heat pump for heating and cooling. The video credits it with world record efficiency, and our E3 Quotient for Build sheet says Chiltrix holds a certified world record efficiency rating among air-to-water heat pumps.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 0:50 and E3 Quotient for Build
EnergyWise certification
A pre-construction energy analysis of the house that certifies the monthly savings before anyone moves in.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 2:05
The three steps
- 1 Build the envelope with Guardian Shield™ panels.
- 2 EnergyWise runs a pre-construction energy analysis and certifies the monthly savings the Shield envelope will deliver.
- 3 The certified savings, $251 a month in our example, are added dollar for dollar to the qualified monthly payment. The video says this expands buying power by up to 15% without a higher income.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 1:58
Guardian's example
One house in Massillon, Ohio
A 1,340 sq ft home with a 30-year mortgage at 6%. The video compares a conventional build with the same house built with Shield panels and a Chiltrix heat pump under the E3 Mortgage.
| Item | Conventional | E3 Mortgage (Shield™) |
|---|---|---|
| Construction cost per sq ft | $205 | $192 |
| Total lot and construction cost | $299,700 | $282,280 |
| Principal, interest, taxes and insurance | $2,724 a month | $2,558 a month |
| Energy savings | $0 | $251 a month |
| Adjusted monthly housing cost | $2,724 a month | $2,307 a month |
| Annual income required | $116,732 | $98,857 |
| Income needed to qualify | Baseline | 15% less |
- $251
- Monthly savings
- $17,280
- Additional buying power
- 15%
- Less income required to qualify
- $90,000
- Savings over a 30-year mortgage
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 2:32 (the table and the first three figures); at 3:25 (the 30-year savings).
This is one example house. Our other published cost figure, the Innovative Housing Showcase in Fort Wayne at $194 per sq ft, is a different house of 1,800 sq ft.
What the video says about the house
From the video
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Walls at R-30+ against R-13 in conventional construction, and a roof at R-50+ against R-38 in a standard attic.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 1:09
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Paired with a Chiltrix heat pump, the Shield envelope reduces the home’s heating and cooling load by up to 80%.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 1:25
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The slide introducing the program gives the Shield envelope a 65 to 80% load reduction.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 0:50
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A monthly HVAC cost of $330 without Shield panels, against $79 with Shield panels and a Chiltrix heat pump.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 1:33
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Framing and dry-in in 3 to 5 days, against weeks for conventional framing.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 1:25
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A construction cost 7 to 12% lower, comparing total cost with a conventional build.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 1:25
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The video states that Shield is the only prefabricated panel system in the country certified by the Passive House Institute US.
Source · Guardian video “Shield Panel Mortgage Savings Program” (YouTube, August 24, 2026), at 3:10
Our published R-value tables give a 9¼ in wall panel R-38 and a 12 in roof panel R-50 at a 40 °F mean temperature, which is where the video's “R-30+” and “R-50+” sit. The full tables are on the specifications page.
Source · 3-Part Specification and Shield™ Technical Product Description, R-value tables
Before you count on it
- Lender terms and eligibility are to be confirmed with Guardian. Ask us which lenders take part, who qualifies, and how the savings figure is set for your house.
- Every figure on this page is our example from the video. Your house, lot, climate, utility rates and loan will give different numbers.
- The heat pump is Chiltrix's product and the certification is EnergyWise's service. The video presents them as the program's partners.
Published by Guardian Structural Technologies. Last updated .
Drafted from our product literature and published building-science sources. Awaiting our technical review. Confirm any figure against the current product documents or ask us before you rely on it in a design.