Navigating the complexities of modern housing management can be daunting. From stringent regulations to sustainable building management, housing providers face numerous challenges to ensure their tenants’ health and wellbeing. As a result, they are constantly seeking ways to improve their properties, and embracing innovative solutions is crucial. One increasingly popular solution is the use of environmental sensors.
Environmental sensors are a form of smart-building technology that can significantly enhance property management by improving safety, enhancing efficiency and creating a healthier living environment for residents.
The role of environmental sensors
Environmental sensors use the internet of things (IoT) technologies to monitor indoor environments and provide opportunities for smart property management by continuously collecting real-time data on factors that impact a property’s environment, including temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide and indoor air quality.
Aico’s Ei1020 and Ei1025 environmental sensors connect wirelessly to our Aico Ei1000G gateway, forming our Connected Home Solution. This system extracts and collates data direct from the environmental sensors and transmits it to the user-friendly HomeLink Portal. Through the portal, housing providers can gain insights into each property’s health, identifying potential problems across their housing stock, such as damp, mould and poor ventilation, before they escalate. Actionable insights are also available through the portal, enabling preventative measures and proactive maintenance.
The HomeLink Resident app enables residents to take control of their living environments. Like the HomeLink Portal, residents can see when conditions aren’t optimal in their homes. Residents can receive personalised recommendations via the app, such as advice on how to remedy issues and prevent problems from occurring.
Enhancing property management
The value of environmental sensors can’t be overstated, particularly because Europeans typically spend around 70 per cent of their time in their home environment. By providing real-time insights into challenges such as damp and mould, energy efficiency, fuel poverty and indoor air quality, housing providers can be more strategic about creating safer, healthier and more sustainable homes, thereby enhancing their residents’ well-being. The University of Exeter has found that for every £1 invested in an environmental sensor system, there is £2.68 worth of social value generated.
The key benefits in sustainable building management include:
- Early detection of potential issues – The early identification (via the HomeLink Portal) of potential problems, such as damp and mould, allows them to be fixed before they take hold. This ensures the continued health and wellbeing of residents, preserves property integrity and minimises costly repairs.
- Improved energy efficiency for housing providers – Analysing temperature and humidity data helps housing providers to identify properties with high energy consumption. This enables targeted interventions, such as improved insulation, optimised thermostat settings and residents’ education on energy-saving behaviours. This not only reduces energy costs but also minimises the properties’ environmental impact.
- Compliance – With better insights into their properties’ structure and environment, housing providers can better comply with legislative requirements such as Awaab’s Law. Continuous monitoring allows them to provide enhanced, timely support to residents, demonstrating a commitment to safety and quality while fostering trust.
- Improved living conditions – By providing real-time data on problems such as damp and mould, residents can take proactive steps, such as opening windows or adjusting heating settings. This also helps housing providers to prioritise their maintenance efforts, enhancing tenants’ comfort and safety.
- Enhanced resident engagement and wellbeing – The Connected Home Solution paves the way for improved resident-landlord relationships. By providing residents with real-time data and actionable insights, they are empowered to engage with energy-saving initiatives and reduce wasteful behaviours. This, alongside targeted interventions, improves living environments, which contributes to increased tenant satisfaction and more sustainable tenancies.
Best practice for installation
To maximise the benefits of environmental sensors, proper installation and integration is crucial. Aico recommends that sensors are placed in the bathroom, kitchen and principal habitable room to provide the best overall view of the property.
Our best-practice suggestions for installing environmental sensors:
- Correct sensor placement involves wall-mounting at breathing height, approximately 1.4m from floor level or, where wall-mounting is impractical, ceiling mounting.
- It is crucial to position them away from direct sunlight and sources of heat.
- Environmental sensors should be placed a minimum of 300mm away from any obstructions, such as curtains or furniture, for seamless communication and data transmission between sensors and the Ei1000G gateway.
- The gateway itself should ideally be sited at 2m above floor level, keeping the area surrounding the antenna clear from any obstructions.
Sensor activation is achieved via our SmartLink app, scanning the sensor’s QR code and following the instructions provided. The app also facilitates data entry, allowing housing providers to input property and room data, which is then automatically transferred to the HomeLink Portal for data analysis and insights.
HomeLink Case Management
To maximise the benefits of environmental sensors and their data, Aico recently launched the HomeLink Case Management (HCM) system. HCM is designed to address the biggest challenges that housing providers face in maintaining safe and compliant homes. The system is an expansion of our Connected Home Solution, providing a platform to help housing providers address each stage of property case management with greater ease and effectiveness by:
- Identifying potential problems;
- Managing their entire portfolio;
- Analysing property conditions;
- Recording maintenance updates and residents’ feedback;
- Communicating with residents via the HomeLink Resident app.
Discover more about the HomeLink Case Management system at aico.co.uk.
A smart investment
In today’s competitive property management landscape, environmental sensors are a smart investment for housing providers wanting to improve efficiency, enhance tenant satisfaction and create more sustainable housing portfolios.
By embracing this technology, housing providers can proactively address potential problems, reduce energy costs and create healthier and more comfortable living environments for their tenants.
Jade Anderson is a marketing executive at Aico.
