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Currently, the majority of the European housing stock falls towards the bottom of the energy efficiency rating scale on the EU Energy Performance Certificate. If governments and businesses are to successfully address ambitious CO2 reduction targets, then it will be imperative that energy-efficient measures and policies focus on existing housing. In order to understand what kind of retrofit is needed to achieve an “A” energy performance rating in social housing, the paper reports the findings of an on-going research project in the UK. The paper draws on a case study from the Technology Strategy Board's “Retrofit for the Future” competition entry in Cambridge. The upgrade strategy improved the home's energy performance rating to A, aimed to radically reduce carbon dioxide emissions (17 kg m−2 year−1) and provided affordable warmth for the tenants. In order to get an impression of the actual energy consumption in the case study, energy use behaviour of the household was observed. Based on the barriers identified in the case study, the feasibility of the current UK policy strategies (e.g. Smart Meters and Feed-in-Tariffs) to facilitate the acceptance of energy measures in social housing is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]