Tenants of Sovereign Housing Association (HA) in Basingstoke are set to benefit from a new state-of-the-art smart sensor solution that will monitor the temperature and humidity levels in properties, minimising issues including damp and condensation and, in some cases, combatting fuel poverty.
The project, led by North, uses intelligent technology to provide information that ensures a safe and healthy environment for the tenant, while allowing the housing association to manage the properties in real-time, cutting down on operational costs.
The data captured by the sensors, as part of North’s solution, will help Sovereign record and analyse moisture readings every 30 minutes, enabling the organisation to proactively intervene and minimise issues including damp and mould.
Phase one of the project will see the technology installed in 200 homes through an ‘opt-in’ package for tenants, with the smart data and insights fed back to a management platform, enabling any emerging issues to be identified at an early stage.
In addition to monitoring for potential damp or mould conditions, the data will allow the housing association to measure areas such as CO2 levels and air quality, while they will have access to temperature levels within homes over winter – allowing them to offer support to residents if there’s potential fuel poverty. The housing association will also be able to manage void properties in real-time for any potential unauthorised occupancy.
The innovative technology also has the capabilities to record how effective repairs have been, with the insights captured being used to improve maintenance management across Sovereign. Over time, this will improve operating performance, reduce costs and enhance the value delivered to Sovereign tenants.
It is hoped that the smart devices will be offered to a wider pool of Sovereign’s residents given the breadth of benefits they create for both residents and the organisation.
Mark Lowe, Business Development Director at North, said: “Sovereign upholds its commitment to building and maintaining good quality homes and better places to live, and the introduction of our managed solution will help them to accelerate this vision.
“The intuitive devices have the potential to mitigate serious issues, including damp, which can create unruly damage to homes and negatively impact the health of residents. The IoT devices are already creating a force for good for the residents who have the smart sensors installed, as well as enabling Sovereign to make smarter decisions to deliver better outcomes.
“We are looking forward to developing our relationship with Sovereign, as well as pressing ahead with an ambitious pipeline of growth in the housing sector, as we collectively look to future-proof homes and create healthier, cleaner places to live through the power of data.”
Gareth King, Sovereign’s Head of Product Management, said: “Now we’ve installed this tech, we’re starting to look at what the data is telling us, spotting possible issues for our customers and the support we may need to offer them, as well as any fabric improvements.
“The data will also let us be more proactive. Even if other homes don’t have this technology, information from the devices will help us identify other similar homes (perhaps in the same street or of a similar age and construction) which we need to look more closely at too – in terms of repairs but also to help us prioritise bigger investment projects like replacement heating systems, insulation or even redevelopment.”
