UK council confirms major rollout of IoT smart sensors

Following Stirling Council’s (UK) IoT working trial with Aico (HomeLINK) – a European company working in home life safety – it has been confirmed that a wider rollout, which includes environmental sensors to collect information around a tenant’s home, will be implemented.

Collected data will include temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide (CO2) gas levels, along with smoke detection sensors and will dramatically improve the health, safety and wellbeing of residents.

Tenants will be able to take actionable measures from insights via a free mobile app and analytics portal.

This is the first full rollout of a multi-technology-and-sensors-connected home solution across an entire housing portfolio stock and currently the largest UK social housing sector rollout, with 50,000 IoT devices being installed over the next eight to ten years in homes managed by Stirling Council Housing Service.

Environmental sensors around the properties will alert the council in real time and provide early warning of damp, mould, ventilation and any other potential issues, while helping the tenant to understand energy consumption levels with heating their home.

The long term and methodical rollout intended follows a successful pilot project and sees Stirling Council at the forefront to providing tenants with a comprehensive view of the internal air quality environment in their homes. The initial pilot was part of a Scottish Government funded programme called CivTech, which aimed to drive innovation in collaborative and cost-effective technology across the public sector.

Aico (HomeLINK) states that, across the UK, more than 150,000 IoT devices are connected in tenants’ homes and in use by social landlords.

Based on current demand this number is expected to hit one million devices by the end of 2024, bringing about a paradigm shift in landlords’ efforts to comply both with regulations but also in offering tenants a better understanding of their home’s environment.