Interview
“Funding is desperately needed to improve the energy efficiency of homes across the UK to lower bills for residents and improve their conditions.”
How can improving air quality and conditions have a positive impact on occupants’ health?
I mentioned some of the health effects of poor indoor air quality above, in relation to damp and mould. But other indoor air pollutants can have similar and wider effects on human health. We use carbon dioxide as a proxy for the quality of indoor air in the properties where our sensors are installed. Increases in carbon dioxide often accompany raised levels of other pollutants such as particulates or volatile organic compounds. High levels of carbon dioxide have also been found to cause headaches, increased heart rate, poor concentration, and at very high levels, brain damage.
Improving indoor air quality reduces the impact on occupant health – those who live in well ventilated homes have a much lower risk of developing conditions mentioned above. It can also have a positive impact on pre-existing
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conditions, preventing the exacerbation of symptoms and reducing the burden of managing the condition.
How can Aico’s HomeLINK Connected Home Solution help to combat damp and mould issues in UK homes? In homes where damp and mould has been found, identifying its root cause is essential. Treatments such as mould washes can reduce the impact of the issue, but without dealing with its underlying cause, it will likely return. By analysing the conditions to which the rooms within the property are subjected, including temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide, our insights identify likely causes of damp and mould. These include sources of increased humidity and moisture, thermal properties of the building and heating patterns, and ventilation characteristics, which help us to build an understanding of internal conditions. Landlords access these insights through the HomeLINK Portal, whilst residents are given recommendations about how they can change the conditions in their homes via our HomeLINK App.
How can the technology stop it occurring in the first place?
In properties where damp and mould are not an
issue, our data can alert when conditions become conducive to damp and mould developing. By identifying when conditions are tending towards these levels, proactive actions can be taken to resolve them early, to prevent the issues from escalating.
What’s next for Aico - any new projects in the pipeline? How will you continue to use smart technology to empower residents and homeowners? Our rollouts of environmental sensors for both damp and mould and energy efficiency continue to accelerate – we recently passed 250,000 connected devices installed in social homes across the UK.
Our Data Science team is hard at work developing new and improved insights, in collaboration with customers and University partners. An exciting addition to our platform will be the inclusion of energy consumption data from smart meters, providing further data to supplement insights on fuel poverty and energy efficiency.
We are also collaborating with HACT and the University of Exeter to understand the Social Return on Investment for sensor systems, providing valuable insight for landlords who may be considering investing in the technology.
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