Aico has recently collaborated with the University of Exeter on a series of guides exploring the use of home sensor systems and how housing providers can gain social value from them. Sam Collier, HomeLink’s head of market intelligence, provided expertise, information and costings for the social return on investment (RoI) models used throughout these guides.
The risks of poor housing conditions
Condensation, damp and mould in homes can cause serious health problems, particularly for vulnerable people. To give an example for this, black mould releases harmful toxins that can lead to serious health problems such as asthma attacks. These conditions also have degrading effects on the buildings’ structures, leading to higher maintenance costs. Action is therefore needed to reduce the risks to residents’ health and address challenges such as fuel poverty. However, it is important to note that some housing providers might not be aware of the challenges at present.
Luckily, home sensors can help tackle this challenge.
The use of sensor systems
Identifying and reducing the risks caused by problems such as damp and mould or poor ventilation, begins with monitoring the indoor environment. This allows housing providers and residents to detect adverse conditions and act on the early warning provided, preventing problems from occurring. Additionally, sensors collect real-time data on a range of factors, including carbon dioxide, air quality, humidity and temperature.
This data supports housing provider to move towards proactive maintenance, improving the diagnosis of poor environments, enhancing living conditions and reducing long-term costs.
Furthermore, the data provided promotes compliance with regulations such as Awaab’s Law, introduced in the Social Housing Regulation Act 2023 and mandates prompt action on damp and mould issues in social housing. The improved insights and diagnoses provided by home sensor systems enables both housing providers and their residents to be proactive in identifying and managing risks within their properties, acting on early warning signs.
The social value of home sensor systems
Social value is a measure (beyond the financial advantages) of the benefits arising from an activity and it explores the way that the activity affects people’s lives. The guides published by Aico/HomeLink and the University of Exeter have analysed the social RoI of home sensor systems and how they can help housing providers evaluate their properties’ environments in order to provide insights that support future budget allocations and funding.
By using home sensors and creating healthier indoor environments, there will be a reduction in damp-related issues such as asthma. Furthermore, proactive property management and repairs reduce inequality in housing conditions across a housing provider’s portfolio. By enhancing maintenance quality and operational efficiency, there will be a wider impact on healthier and more affordable social housing.
Measuring social value helps housing providers align their impact with their long-term goals, supporting:
- Increased efficiency;
- Higher resident satisfaction;
- Improved compliance;
- Quality housing stock;
- A reduction in maintenance requirements.
By enabling better health outcomes and more efficient property maintenance, these systems support housing providers’ goals and contribute positively to their wider communities, offering many health and wellbeing benefits to residents.
Aico’s Connected Home solution
Aico’s Ei1000G Gateway is the hub of our HomeLink Connected Home solution. The Gateway works with connected fire and carbon monoxide (CO) alarms and HomeLink Environmental Sensors to gather real-time data on fire safety compliance and environmental risk factors.
The HomeLink Environmental Sensors work in conjunction with the Gateway to monitor temperature, humidity and indoor air quality, giving insights into problems such as damp and mould, fuel poverty, void risk, energy efficiency and compliance. Fire and CO alarms can also be connected, providing information on an alarm’s activations, power status, replacement date, testing, battery levels and faults, all remotely monitored through the online portal.
Implementing such technology gives housing providers a platform to improve compliance while creating safer homes for residents. With the HomeLink Portal, housing providers can streamline their operations by having access to the necessary insights for early interventions, thus saving time and reducing call-out costs.
The HomeLink App for Residents syncs with the information on the portal but simplifies it in a way in which tenants can easily understand. Once downloaded by the resident, the app can send them, for example, alarm-testing reminders and suggestions on how to improve the conditions in their home, such as opening or closing windows within the property.
A large number of housing providers are already using our technology, with over 400,000 connected devices across the UK, feeding and analysing huge volumes of data and therefore dramatically increasing efficiency across the social housing sector.
Learn more about Aico’s Connected Home solution and how it can provide social value at aico.co.uk.
Sam Collier is the head of market intelligence at Aico/HomeLink.
