Home Equity Loan
To access your home equity, even it's your own money, you have to go to a bank and open a home equity loan account. The bank will charge you an interest rate, demand a set repayment schedule, or could even decline your application for home equity loan.
Cash Value Loan
To access your cash value, you can go to your life insurer, and ask to borrow some or all of the cash value. It's your money, the life insurer cannot decline your application, but they could charge you interest, when you want a collateral loan. Also, unlike a bank's home equity loan, the insurer will not demand a set repayment schedule, you can pay back in anyway as you want.
Net Effect on Value
When you take an equity loan out of your home, when you sell your home, the loan amount will be subtracted from your home's sales value. When you take cash value loan out of your permanent life policy, if the insured dies, the beneficiary will receive the net death benefit after subtracting the policy loan.