Press Release

23rd September 2009

UK companies win contracts to devise blueprint for low carbon social housing refits
Over 180 organisations from across the UK, including housing associations, construction companies and local
councils, have won contracts to devise innovative plans for ‘low carbon refits’ of existing low-rise social housing
that will meet UK government target reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and energy use.

The £3.5m Retrofit for the Future competition, run by the government-backed Technology Strategy Board, will
award contracts for each feasibility project, enabling the successful companies, 70% of which are small to medium
sized businesses, to work with suppliers to devise solutions geared towards making deep cuts in the carbon
emissions produced by social housing.

In all, the Technology Strategy Board has earmarked up to £16m for Retrofit for the Future projects that will be
delivered in two phases, with this initial competition call constituting Phase 1 of the overall project.

Iain Gray Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board said:

“Housing in the UK accounts for 27% of carbon emissions and more than 60% of the houses that we will be living in
by 2050 have already been built. To meet the UK’s target of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, we
must dramatically improve the performance of our existing housing stock.

“The social housing sector includes over 4.5m homes and the challenge is to come up with innovative and well
tested solutions so that when these buildings are refurbished, they are done so in a sustainable manner that is sure
to make significant cuts in carbon emissions. “

“This is an opportunity to ‘kick-start’ the social housing retrofit market by connecting the organisations that will be
refitting housing, such as social landlords and local councils, with innovative and capable suppliers so that together
they can develop a range of high performance and cost effective solutions.”

From these initial feasibility studies, up to 100 proposals will be invited into a second phase where the most
promising designs are taken through to real builds, culminating in the retrofit and monitoring of up to 100
‘demonstrator’ houses in early 2010. The initial feasibility contracts will be worth up to £20,000 and subsequent
build contracts up to £150,000.

The competition is being run through the Technology Strategy Board’s Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), a
procurement scheme to encourage small businesses to engage with government departments.

Ends
Editor’s notes

1. Please click here to see a full list of successful projects in this competition call:
http://www.innovateuk.org/_assets/pdf/winners_list_final.pdf

2. Key facts:

• The UK construction market is worth over £100bn per year

• 45% of the UK’s total carbon emissions come from buildings and 27% of that is domestic
• 73% of current domestic emissions arise from space and water heating
• 32% of all landfill waste comes from the construction and demolition of buildings
• 13% of products delivered to construction sites are sent direct to landfill without being used

3. The Retrofit for the Future Competition will take a ‘whole house approach’ to develop and demonstrate whole dwelling
solutions because, to create exemplar houses both in terms of energy efficiency and comfort, it is necessary to consider
the retrofit of housing in a holistic manner that recognises houses are systems that are interdependent upon the
technologies deployed within them and the tenants that occupy them. The holistic approach will recognise that adaptation
to future climate change is a key requirement of retrofitting existing housing stock. One aim is to create a ‘pattern book’
and database of successful retrofit properties to help inform future activity.

4. The Technology Strategy Board is a business-led executive non-departmental public body, established by the government.
Its role is to promote and support research into, and development and exploitation of, technology and innovation for the
benefit of UK business, in order to increase economic growth and improve the quality of life. It is sponsored by the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). For more information please visit www.innovateuk.org.

5. The ‘Retrofit for the Future Competition is an SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative) launched in March 2009 by the
Technology Strategy Board under the organisation’s Low Impact Building Innovation Platform. The competition forms part
of a large number of activities led by us that focus on the business opportunities that the shift towards a low carbon
economy will bring, including our work in the area of Ultra Low Carbon Vehicles and High Value Manufacturing.

6. SBRI (Small Business Research Initiative). SBRI is co-ordinated by the Technology Strategy Board and is designed to
encourage government departments and other agencies to ensure that a proportion of their procurement budget goes to
innovative companies and that the departments are procuring innovative solutions to some of the challenges that they
face. The aim of SBRI is to use the power of government procurement to drive technology development, especially in
early-stage companies, supporting projects through the stages of prototyping and demonstration, which are typically hard
to fund. SBRI offers an excellent opportunity for businesses to develop and demonstrate technology, supported by a
customer, and to reach the first rung on the government procurement ladder. For more details
see:http://www.innovateuk.org/deliveringinnovation/smallbusinessresearchinitiative.ashx

7. The Retrofit for the Future Competition is funded by the Technology Strategy Board and its sponsor department the
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). The competition is supported by the government departments and
agencies responsible for delivering the Heat and Energy Strategy, the Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC),
the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the Department for Communities and Local Government ( DCLG).

8. The competition addresses some of the key issues and policies outlined in the government’s Head and Energy Saving
Strategy (HESS). The strategy focuses on the key objectives of reduced energy bills, reduced UK emissions, secure energy
supply and the economic opportunities for UK business.
Examples of successful projects

EAST MIDLANDS

Name of Project: Retrofit for the future of sustainable social housing

Led by Hockerton Housing Project, with partners Newark and Sherwood Homes (the Arms Length Management Organisation
(ALMO) for Newark and Sherwood District Council)

Description of project: The project will retrofit a “no-fines concrete” solid walled home, a prevalent house type in both the
Newark and Sherward Homes and the wider UK stock of social housing. The low tech, low cost passive solar solution
incorporates high levels of insulation and a sun space to significantly reduce energy demand in the house. Other aspects of
sustainable design, such as water efficiency and food growing facilities are also planned. The house will be a zero-carbon “all
electric” house, with energy demand met not by on-site renewables but through a legally-binding share ownership of off-site
renewable energy production in a village community wind turbine at the local village of Hockerton. It is felt that this is a far
more cost-effective approach than building integrated solutions, and delivers low maintenance overheads for the landlord.
2
The project is aiming for a space heating demand of less than 10kWh/m /yr and whole house primary energy demand of less
2 2
than 35kWh/m /yr; comparable figures for an average house are 250 and 415 kWh/m /yr respectively

Press contact details: Rob Cartwright. Tel: 01636 816902 / 07894 211963.

LONDON

Name of Project: Retrofit & Replicate 2: Progress

Led by Hyde Housing Association with partners: ECD Architects, Mears Group, Keegans, NBT Consult (Natural Building
Technologies), London Borough of Greenwich.

Description of project: Retrofit & Replicate 1 was completed in late 2008, and saw a 1930s terraced house refurbished to
reduce its carbon emissions by 80%. Retrofit & Replicate 2 brings together the same team of key partners, to build on the
lessons they have learnt, and apply them to two houses on the Progress Estate in Greenwich, South East London, which is also
a conservation area.

The project team will include the local planning department, to find solutions that will help meet national carbon reduction
targets while not detracting from the character of the area. This is an important consideration for Britain, which has an
estimated 1.2 million homes in Conservation Areas that are currently exempt from energy efficiency standards.

Measures that are being considered for the project include ultra-slim vacuum double glazing, appropriate for bespoke wooden
window frames in a Conservation Area; a micro-CHP boiler to provide an extremely efficient source of heat and some
additional power to the homes; LED light bulbs that can last for around 20 years using less than half the energy of normal low
energy bulbs; and a wood fibre and hemp insulation that reduces the formation of condensation and is uniquely suited to
historic properties where the protection of traditional materials is a priority.

Press contact details: Anna Rutter, The Hyde Group. Tel: 020 3207 2779 Anna.rutter@hyde-housing.co.uk
NORTHERN IRELAND

Name of Project: Eco Energy Retrofit, Grove Housing Association, Belfast.

Led by Eco-Energy (NI) Ltd with partners Grove Housing Association.

Description of project: The solid wall terraced project house built in 1896 and located two miles north of Belfast City centre, is
one of 200 mixed houses owned by Grove Housing Association. Energy consumption will be reduced using exemplar insulation
levels and by integrating renewable energy generation coupled with the efficient use of fossil fuel. An airtight structure
combined with under floor heating, triple glazing and controlled ventilation will provide excellent thermal comfort and air
quality.

The Eco Energy Retrofit aims to reduce the dwellings overall CO2 emissions from 8.6 tonnes/year to 1.7 tonnes/year.
Terraced houses with their compactness and uniform positioning to one another have excellent potential for being heated
more efficiently by a community heating system. Many of these types of houses have a ‘common’ rear alley or access which is
ideally suited for the installation of a heat distribution main. If the terraced project house was coupled to a community heating
system fuelled by a carbon neutral fuel such as biomass, the CO2 emissions reduction would increase to around 87%.

Press Contact details: Peter Keig, Eco-Energy (NI) Ltd. Mob: 07880 967225; Email: gogreen@eco-energy-ni.com

NORTH EAST

Name of project: Gentoo Retrofit

Led by Gentoo Sunderland, Gentoo Homes, Gentoo Green and Gentoo Construction, with partners Devereux Architects
specialists in PassivHaus design, PassivHaus energy consultant Alan Clarke and the Building Sciences Department of Newcastle
University.

Description of project: Gentoo Group is a people and property business with an existing stock of c. 30,000 homes. It proposes
to undertake three detailed design reviews on cavity wall construction, solid wall construction and non-traditional house types
with the aim of achieving annual CO2 emissions of only 14kg/m2 equating to a reduction in current CO2 emissions of
80%.These retrofit projects will deliver a radical reduction in domestic carbon emissions by minimising energy consumption via
a whole house approach based upon German PassivHaus design principles.

The airtightness and thermal insulation of the whole house will be radically improved with the introduction of mechanical
ventilation with highly efficient levels of heat recovery. Low energy lighting and energy efficient domestic appliances wiill be
utilised together with leading technological control systems. Solar thermal and photovoltaic technologies will be considered to
further minimise the energy requirements for heating, hot water and electrical appliances.

Press Contact details: Sarah Todd, PR Manager. Tel: 0191 525 5981; Mob: 07793 305375; email: sarah.todd@gentoogroup.com
SCOTLAND

Name of Project: Dynamic Insulation Retrofit Project

Led by Orkney Islands Council and with partners: Andrew H Wilson Electrical Limited, EBP and Orkney Housing Association
Limited.

Description of project: Orkney Islands Council is the main social housing provider in the islands group. The property to be
developed will be a timber framed and timber clad property. The property is one of a number constructed in this manner post-
war and is considered to be ‘hard to treat’

Retrofit Dynamic Insulation is an innovative solution to both insulating and ventilating hard to treat properties. By
overcladding the external walls and lining the roof space a network of heat recovery modules is created which improve the
overall U value of the property, while providing clean ventilation air and positive pressure ventilation to the living space. Both
heating and air quality can be radically improved by the installation.

It is anticipated that with the application of Dynamic Insulation as part of a complete Dynamic Breathing Building™ (DBB)
system, a saving of over 60% of carbon emissions on the un-improved house can be achieved.

Fuel poverty in Orkney is a major concern; Dynamic Insulation offers a system where a poorly insulated building can be
improved to a standard where fuel poverty may be eliminated for even the poorest members of society. Hard to treat
properties could be given a new lease of life with the external cladding system expected to perform for at least 60 years.

Orkney Housing Association Limited and Andrew H Wilson Electrical Ltd, who are partners in the project, are currently
developing an estate of new housing which incorporates the DBB System incorporated in the structural external envelope.

Press Contact details: Lynette Webb. Tel: 01856 873535 Ext 2228

SOUTH WEST

Name of Project: Mendip Housing Icehouse

Led by Sustain UK with partners: Mark Kingsley Architects, 1 World Solar and Bath University Architecture and Civil Engineering
Department.

Description of project: The three bed mid-terrace house being used as the subject of this was constructed in the 1930’s and is
of conventional cavity wall construction. The property is currently void and in need of major refurbishment before it could be
re-let to new tenants. Sustain have been approached by Mendip Housing to manage the project. Sustain are an Environmental
Consultancy specialising in feasibility and detailed design of low and zero carbon energy systems.

The adopted approach will be to use super insulation (floor, external wall and roof) together with very high levels of air
tightness and heat recovery to reduce heat demand as much as possible. A heat recovery system will also be fitted to the
shower recovering around 60% of the heat that would otherwise be lost to drainage.

Bath University will build and deploy a novel whole house energy use feedback system. The idea is that occupants will be able
to see how much energy use activities such as "TV watching" or "Surfing the internet" consume. Data from these will be
available on an instantaneous, daily, weekly or even annual basis with the calculated costs of each. The system will also be
able to tell occupants how much electricity is being generated by any on-site micro-generation technologies and will work out
related cost savings. In addition, there is the potential for extending this methodology to include a learning algorithm that
estimates the energy used for space heating and hot water so that the system can provide a whole house monitoring solution.

The project is projected to reduce CO 2 emissions by about 76% compared to the existing dwelling is fairly typical of the average
social housing stock of this age and type. Target CO 2 emissions for the property following the project are estimated to be in
2
the region of 13kg/m /yr.

Local expertise is being used for all aspects of the project supply chain. A local builder with experience of refurbishing dwellings
to AECB standards will be used. In addition the architect, specialist solar installer and monitoring team will be based in or
around Bath.

Press Contact details: Kevin Boniface. Tel: 01934 864219; email: kevin.boniface@sustain.co.uk

WALES

Name of Project: Environmental Refurbishment of Social housing Stock

Led by Ecostruct Ltd with partner Powys County Council

Description of project: The approach is to consider the whole house holistically and make a range of step improvements based
on cost effectiveness. The start point is to address the thermal performance of the dwelling envelope, in terms of Insulation
and air tightness, and then to progress onwards towards more technologically advanced solutions such as heat recovery,
ventilation and solar water heating. Ultimately, if possible, Photovoltaics will be installed. Ensuring continuity of insulation and
air-tightness between walls and roof has always been a problem in refurbishment work where the existing fabric of the
building makes installation difficult. Frequently modern environmental construction solutions also involve the installation of
bulky equipment; heat-recovery ventilation machines and storage tanks for example. Our proposed solution attempts to
address both these problems simultaneously, by removing the existing roof and replacing it with a purpose made structure
having extra insulation and services built-in. It is intended that the new roof will consist of several large modules which can be
craned into place. In line with the company’s ethos, priority will be given throughout the project to the use of solutions
involving the use of local materials and labour. The house is located in Welshpool, Powys. Ecostruct is a general construction
company dedicated to providing environmentally ethical construction solutions.

Press Contact: Andrew Mason Mobile: 07896 84333 Tel :01938 559159 email: andrew.mason@ecostruct.co.uk

Issued by Claire Cunningham, Media Relations Manager, Technology Strategy Board.

Switchboard: +44 1793 442700Direct line: +44 1793 442901, Mobile: 0755 4115745
mailto:Claire.Cunningham@tsb.gov.uk.