Switchee, a provider of smart thermostats for social housing, has been included in Real Business’ Future 50, an annual list of the UK’s 50 most disruptive and innovative companies.
Switchee is the only social housing-related start-up in this year’s Future 50. Since its inception in 2015, Switchee has been working with a number of local authorities and housing providers, such as The Royal Borough of Greenwich Council and Peabody, to produce a smart thermostat that meets the needs of housing providers and their tenants.
Switchee aims to use data to save both tenants and asset management teams money by tackling fuel poverty, the energy efficiency of housing stock, and the lack of key data for housing providers.
Switchee uses the occupancy of properties to optimise heating settings, reducing tenants’ energy bills and ultimately helping combat fuel poverty. The same data is used to provide housing providers with analytics that show KPIs and can rank properties by mould risk, insulation quality and fuel-poverty risk. This information highlights potential maintenance issues and allows asset management teams to proactively intervene before maintenance costs escalate.
Ian Napier, chief commercial officer, Switchee, said, “We’re thrilled to be considered one of the UK’s most disruptive companies for 2017. Over the past two years, we have built strong relationships with more than 15 housing providers and local authorities. We have an exciting product that provides clear benefits for both landlords and residents.”
Yogesh Gohil, head of technology, Flagship Housing, said, “Switchee is a fantastic, simple and innovative product that has greatly enhanced our understanding of property performance. Our residents have been highly receptive to the introduction of a piece of smart technology into their homes that can reduce their energy bills.”
