APPLY NOW for the opportunity to pitch to social housing landlords with a combined stock of nearly 150,000 homes.

This low carbon innovation challenge is open to SMEs with ideas or proven solutions which will improve the energy efficiency of social housing.

Eligible SMEs applying to the call will receive 12 hours of free innovation support from BRE including sessions on:

• Building performance standards
  
• Client requirements for investing in innovation
  
• Presenting and pitching innovation. 
  

Those SMEs whose solutions most closely match the needs of the social housing landlords will be invited to present their innovation to our social landlord partners at a pitch event.  All participating SMEs will also be given the opportunity to network with our client partners.

The challenge is part of the Hertfordshire Low Carbon Innovation Network project, run by BRE in partnership with the Green Triangle and Synoptica, and part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. 

Background                                                                                                                                                                

Social housing landlords currently face many tough challenges, not least of which is improving the energy efficiency of their housing stock. Such improvements can lead to reduced levels of fuel poverty, benefits for resident comfort and health and a reduction in the level of CO2 emissions associated with domestic energy consumption.

BRE has brought together a group of Hertfordshire councils and social housing providers, including Dacorum Borough Council, St Albans City and District Council, Clarion Housing Group and Octavia Housing, who together have around 150,000 properties on their books. They are all actively looking for low disruption innovations which could be incorporated into existing housing stock, or new build homes, to improve energy efficiency and lower associated carbon emissions.

Solutions could include (but are not restricted to):

• Low disruption insulation solutions for solid concrete floors in houses and flats, to reduce cold and condensation
  
• Insulated, draught-proof loft hatch solutions
  
• Solutions for failed cavity wall insulation, which allow the wall and insulation to dry out and prevent further damp penetration
  
• Thin, high performance, affordable external wall insulation (EWI)
  
• Heating controls which convey information about comfort and cost in a user-friendly, intuitive way and encourage energy efficiency behaviour change by residents
• Retrofit ventilation with heat recovery solutions for properties with mould and condensation issues following thermal upgrades.
  
• PV and thermal energy storage solutions
  
• Alternative radiator designs which offer better performance than conventional models.
  

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, the applicant organisation must:

• Be an SME (fewer than 250 staff and an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euros or an annual balance sheet of not more than 43 million euros)
  
• Be eligible for State Aid support (see FAQs)
  
• Meet the requirements of the challenge
  
• Have their registered head office in England.
  

If more SMEs apply than there are support places available, those who score highest for Market Applicability and Technical Viability will be selected.

New enterprises and businesses with close-to-market innovation are welcome to apply.