Laura Sharman 26 February 2010 Retrofitting programme will make way for low carbon future Social housing will be fitted with the latest low carbon technology to help meet the government¹s CO2 reduction target of 80% by 2050. Eighty-seven social housing schemes will benefit from £17 million of government funding under the Retrofit for the Future programme. The results will help show how the UK¹s current housing stock could be made more energy efficient. The retrofit prototypes will each receive an average of £142,000 to demonstrate deep cuts in carbon emissions and exemplar energy efficient measures in UK social housing. Each demonstrator house will be evaluated by the Energy Saving Trust, who will determine if the measures can be retrofitted at a lower cost for the remaining social housing stock in the UK. Lord Drayson, science minister in department for business innovation & skills, said: ‘Innovative businesses have a crucial role to play in the low-carbon economy. This £17 million investment by Government will give companies the chance to grab a share of the significant potential retrofit market.’ David Bott, director of innovation programmes at the Technology Strategy Board added: ‘At least 60% of the houses we¹ll be living in by 2050 have already been built. So it is critical that we look at ways to dramatically improve the performance of our existing housing stock. ‘Retrofit for the Future provides the testbeds we need to ensure the development of long term, mass solutions. This initiative has seen the retrofit market come together, with social landlords, local councils, architects and other specialist suppliers developing a range of high performance and cost effective prototype solutions.’ View more information on these councils