• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Housing Technology logo

Housing Technology

Housing | IT | Telecoms | Business | Ecology

  • Free Subscription
  • Search Archive
  • Home
  • Research
  • Magazine
  • Events
  • Recruitment
  • Blog
  • On Demand
  • Contact
Home / Magazine Articles / Shimmying into the future

Shimmying into the future

From: Jane Briginshaw, Head of design and sustainability, Homes and Communities Agency

Sir – You will be well aware of how technology in homes is transforming people’s lives, and I thought it would be helpful to outline some recent examples of best practice I have seen.

We would all appreciate real-time travel information to avoid lengthy waits in the rain for a bus, or an accurate picture of how much energy we’re using at home so we can save a few pennies on the heating. And touchscreen panels inside every home might be the answer.

We are seeing these pioneering systems installed in homes across the country. It might sound like a gimmick (what new technology doesn’t when it’s first introduced?) but they can have real benefits… when they work!

At the Triangle in Swindon, the ‘Shimmy’ is one of the many nudges towards ‘one planet living’. It’s a small computer screen in the hallway of each home giving minute-by-minute energy readings and real-time transport information, as well as community networks. The idea is that by having something that’s always up-to-date and useful, it might be possible to use your car less, to be more in control of which appliances use the most energy, and to know when and how to bring people together.

Swindon residents might use the ‘Shimmy’ to see if their neighbour has some spare Calpol late at night for the children. They might just as well be outside in the shared kitchen gardens getting fresh vegetables. Renewable materials are not forgotten either and the Homes and Communities Agency and DECC helped the developer to use Hempcrete, a render made from hemp, on the outside of the homes. The big gain is in integrating all these ideas into one harmonious place.

Oh yes, the point about when they work. When we went to see a touchscreen in action the resident proudly switched it on to show us how energy-hungry a washing machine could be, to be met with… resounding silence… computer says no. But it did work eventually and we thought it was great too (plus a top tip from the resident: try washing your clothes at night)!

See More On:

  • Publication Date: 031 - January 2013
  • Type: Letters

Primary Sidebar

Most Recent Articles

  • Free cyber-defence tools from NCSC
  • Learning from history
  • Grand Union Housing gets connected with Aico HomeLink
  • The silences in the system: Predicting and preventing damp and mould
  • Looking back and to the future: Cyberthreats in social housing
  • Hyde signs repairs contract with Totalmobile
  • Fuelling high performance automation
  • Morgan Sindall’s Carbon Zero decarbonisation tool
  • An ethical approach to arrears
  • Housing and the ever-evolving workplace
  • Supporting residents with home safety risks
  • Less innovation & more service design at RHP
  • Ateb Group outsources IT help desks to Central Networks
  • Capital Letters partners with Evo Digital to tackle homelessness
  • Calico appoints M247 for digital transformation
  • 24/7 care requires 24/7 technology
  • Govtech trends for 2023
  • Are you ready for business process automation?
  • Lincoln council moves to the cloud with Civica
  • Why do IT business improvement projects fail?
  • Flagship and Ebrik launch augmented reality app
  • Following the golden thread
  • Setting the standard for carbon-monoxide protection
  • The business case for data
  • Digital twins – When, not if…
  • Using data to build communities
  • The cyber-security jigsaw’s missing piece – Managed detection & response
  • Cyber-security challenges in housing
  • Digitalising retrofits with SHDF & HomeLink
  • Tips for improving care and support

Footer

Housing Technology
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Contact
  • Free Subscription
  • Book an event
  • Blog
  • Search All Articles
  • Research
  • Update Your Subscription
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome to the housing Technology – Trusted Information For Business Professionals in HOusing

Housing Technology is the leading technology information service for the UK housing sector and local governments. We have always believed in the fundamental importance of how the UK’s social housing providers use technology to improve their tenants’ lives.

Subscribe to Housing Technology to gain market-leading research, unsurpassed peer networking opportunities and a greater understanding of your role to transform your business.

Copyright © The Intelligent Business Company 2022 | Terms and Conditions | Privacy Policy
Housing Technology is published by the The Intelligent Business Company. A company with limited liability. Registered in England No. 4958057 | Vat Registion No. 833 0069 55.

Registered Business Address: Hoppingwood Farm, Robin Hood Way, London, SW20 0AB | Telephone: +44 (0) 20 8336 2293

htc23 pop banner