The Province of Ontario has committed to spending $42.9 million on social housing retrofits in Toronto.

The funding comes from the province’s $325-million Green Investment Fund, which is providing $82 million for such projects as part of its efforts to combat climate change, indicates a media statement issued April 20.

The retrofits will include installing energy-efficient boilers, insulation and windows.

It’s expected 35 to 50 of Ontario’s social housing apartment towers will be retrofitted through this program.

Many of Ontario’s social housing towers were built in the 1960s and 1970s and can use up to 25 per cent more energy per square metre than a house, says the province. The province is funding energy retrofits for highrise social housing towers of 150 units or more.

Direct emissions from residential buildings in 2013 were estimated to be 12 per cent of Ontario’s total greenhouse gas emissions, notes the statement.

A 2012 Deutsche Bank study found that every $1 million invested in energy efficiency-related retrofits in multi-family affordable housing buildings generated between $1.3 million and $3.9 million in energy savings.