Can Connected Technologies Help Social Housing Providers?

The IoT is quickly becoming part of everyday life for many individuals, particularly in their homes. Connected devices make homes safer, more energy efficient and therefore cheaper to run and maintain. There's no doubt that appliances are getting smarter and the use of connected technologies is growing at a staggering rate.

In a report from Gartner, they predicted that the number of connected devices worldwide would grow to 20.8 billion by 2020 with almost every single industry sector being affected by the technology, from care homes with companion robots to housing developers using IoT devices as standard on new property builds to benefits occupiers and landlords.

The benefits of the Internet of Things for the end user and businesses are clear. The most obvious advantage for the social housing sector is that the IoT makes buildings safer, secondary to this, it can benefit the health and well-being of residents. For a sector that often houses the more vulnerable members of society, this has to be a key consideration. From smoke detectors that are capable of calling the fire brigade in an emergency to devices that detect damp and water leaks on pipes before it becomes a significant issue, there are many applications where the IoT can more than prove its worth for housing providers.

Smart data patterns

In a report from BT, they highlighted how smart meters give insight, and big data can see patterns in an individual's daily behaviour which can be used to alert on well-being issues. For example, if a person's usual evening routine changes or there are no spikes in usage on certain well used appliances like the kettle, it can indicate an issue and help can be alerted.

IoT can also be used for residents with health and medical issues, sensors can now be fitted to prescription bottles collecting patient data on medication regimens, and again offering insight into an individual's health and well-being.

IoT devices can literally be life-savers, there are carbon monoxide and smoke detectors with sensors that reduce false alarms and are capable of alerting emergency services to an incident. Sensors are also readily available to alert allergy suffers of increasing pollen counts so they can adjust their medicine regime accordingly.

It's clear that connected devices can drastically improve the lives of tenants making them safer, more comfortable while saving them and the housing provider money. A win-win all around.

Cost efficiencies

For housing...