Jen Arnold, Retrofit Customer Advisor for Platform with Martin Claridge from Project Heating Solutions installing the new Switchee Device at a customer’s home.
A housing association in the Midlands has reported a positive start to a project using new smart thermostats to monitor some of their homes.
Platform Housing Group is installing 300 of the Switchee devices in selected homes in their stock with the aim of gathering data to help improve energy efficiency and indoor air quality for their customers.
The devices control central heating but can also monitor humidity levels and heat usage within the homes. Furthermore the Platform Housing Group can also communicate with the residents with messages via the devices smart touch screen. Since the start of the year, the installations, carried out by Project Heating Solutions, have seen many benefits in a short space of time.
Joan Tyler, who lives in Worcestershire was one of the Platform huurders to get the device installed in her property as part of a raft of measures to improve the energy efficiency of her home. It will monitor the humidity levels in her home and eventually help with controlling the temperature when she gets an air source heat pump installed by the landlord.
“We’ve never had gas here and I have lived with a coal fired system up to now, which is expensive and hard to maintain. I’ve never had this kind of central heating before, so I’m really looking forward to pressing that button.”
In another instance, a customer’s device reported to the Platform team that the average temperature was not rising above 12 degrees in their home. They were able to trigger an alert of potential fuel poverty and send a neighbourhood officer to the resident to investigate.
Lisa Fairlie, Director of Housing Operations said,
“Cases like this are one of the main reasons the Switchee rollout has been great for our customers already. The officer was able to speak with the resident about their heating situation and found out why the average temperature was so low – in this instance the customer worked shifts that didn’t require heating to be on at the usual times. Being able to monitor this data and respond quickly means we can make really well-informed decisions about how to help customers.”
The group has received funding from the first wave of grants from the Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund which in turn has meant the project and other retrofit measures can be realised. A second wave of funding has recently been released which will see more opportunities for landlords like Platform to continue improving their homes.
Jen Arnold, Retrofit Customer Advisor at Platform said,
“Het controleren van de thermische kwaliteit van onze huizen is van vitaal belang naarmate we vooruitgang boeken bij het verbeteren van hun efficiëntie. De Switchee-apparaten kunnen ons vertellen hoe lang het duurt voordat een huis is opgewarmd en hoe snel de warmte weer verdwijnt. Ze vertellen ons ook over de luchtvochtigheid en helpen ons het risico van condensatie, vocht en schimmel te identificeren. Met dat inzicht kunnen we proactief verschillende maatregelen toepassen om woningen warm en energiezuinig te houden voor onze klanten.”
As the project continues, Platform will be able to monitor the thermal efficiency of a home following any kind of work that has been done to monitor the effectiveness and provide residents with information and advice.
