Council takes data from sensors to identify need for preventative maintenance
A Scottish local authority has been using internet of things (IoT) technology in social housing in an effort to deal with maintenance issues and tackle fuel poverty.
Renfrewshire Council has been capturing data on temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels in 50 homes in the Paisley area. This has allowed it to identify problems in features such as ventilation and air quality and to carry out preventative maintenance.
The efforts have been highlighted by CENSIS, Scotland’s innovation centre for sensor and imaging systems, and have involved using sensors provided by iOpt Assets, one of the winners of the organisation’s IoT Explore competition.
It said that capturing the data in real time enables the council to identify anomalies in housing, such as impending damp, and take action to protect tenants and its property assets.
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According to a report in Digit, the project has delivered an estimated 600% return on investment by preventing damage to properties over the next two years.
The council declined to confirm this, but a spokesperson told UKAuthority: "Renfrewshire Council is committed to making the best use of technology to tackle issues that can affect our social housing tenants. This was a trial project in a limited number of houses and we are awaiting the outcome of the results."
CENSIS said the council is now planning to move from transferring the data over Wi-Fi to doing so through its low power LoRa network that was installed last year.
Image from Paisley Scotland, CC BY 2.0 through flickr
