The government has launched a campaign designed to cut carbon emissions from old houses.

The winner of its ’Retrofit for the Future’ competition will receive a £5,000 prize, with runners up getting £1,000.

Residential properties are the largest contributor to emissions on the island.

Architects and builders are being encouraged to submit designs that could improve the energy performance of an existing Manx home to make it a future-ready house.

This could be in the form of drawings and/or models with accompanying written explanation of the design principles.

Geoffrey Boot MHK, Minister for Environment, Food and Agriculture, said: ’We are particularly interested in ideas which tackle Manx stone cottages, Victorian semi or terrace housing and 1970s-style bungalows.

’Current generic solutions including roof, floor and external and internal wall insulation may not be suitable for these properties as they may cause problems such as condensation, change in external character of the buildings, reduction in size of rooms and loss of internal features such as cornicing.

’Ideas generated from the competition could lead to suitable options to improve the energy efficiency in these properties, which will reduce emissions and help tackle climate change.’

He said that the challenge of significantly improving the energy efficiency of residential buildings should not to be underestimated.

’The long term goal is to have desirable, warm, affordable homes for life which contribute to ambitious emissions targets,’ he added.

Changes to building regulations will improve the energy efficiency in new homes.

However, about 80% of the homes that are expected to be in use in 2050 have already been built. These existing 40,000 homes will require altering to improve energy efficiency.

The closing date for entries is Friday, November 15, with a winner announced in December.

The government’s policy is to cut carbon emissions to zero by 2050.

Currently, 35% of the Isle of Man greenhouse gas emissions are the result of heating of domestic properties.

In recent years the emissions from heating homes is increasing at 3% per year.

The age of a home is strongly associated with its condition and energy performance. The oldest homes (pre-1919) generally perform less well in these respects than newer homes.

For more details visit gov.im/brightideas or email [email protected]