Developers are being encouraged to build energy efficient, lowcarbon housing through a new grant scheme designed to help fund theirconstruction.

The Low Carbon Homes Programme will give capitalgrants for homes that meet certain criteria including maximising solarheat gain and heat recovery, minimising heat loss through insulationand ventilation control, and that use smart metering and othertechnologies to manage electricity demand.

The eligible housing will also provideheating by using renewable energy technologies, such as solar hot waterand pellet fuel stoves, and generate their own electricity throughmicro wind, hydro power or other approved means. Homes must also have aBuilding Energy Rating {BER} of A2 or better for each unit.

Grants, which will be administered bySustainable Energy Ireland, will amount to up to 40 per cent ofeligible expenditure in the projects. The scheme has funding of €9million up to the end of 2011.

There has been an increasing move towardsenergy efficient housing in recent years. New building regulationsadopted in 2007 set out mandatory higher energy efficiency andemissions standards, which were a 40 per cent improvement on the 2005Building Regulations. There are proposals to increase this figure to 60per cent in 2010.

Unveiling the scheme, the Minister forCommunications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan, said therecently adopted regulations placed Ireland among the best in Europe interms of energy efficient new housing.

"However, the threat of climate change andthe impacts of rising oil, gas and electricity prices mean that we mustaim for the very highest efficiency standards possible, while tacklingthe carbon emissions from our electricity use in the home," he said.

"These will be houses where energy waste isminimised and where heat is produced and electricity generated on site.This is the housing of the future."