Smartline on the Housing Digital Podcast: Using Smart tech to tackle damp mould and fuel poverty
What is the Housing Digital podcast?
Housing Digital is an online news platform for housing professionals. The Housing Digital podcast is hosted by Editor-in-Chief Liam Turner who discusses the most pressing issues and trends in the housing sector with industry experts. Episode five: Using smart tech to tackle damp, mould, and fuel poverty featured Dr Tamaryn Menneer, Research Fellow on the Smartline project, Paul Sanders, Managing Director at Caption Data and Michael McLaughlin, Digital Lead at HACT.
What was discussed?
As Smartline research has demonstrated, sensor technology can play an important role in helping social housing managers to better understand how a customer’s ability to heat their home can directly impact their health and wellbeing. Understanding the needs of the customer is essential to provide good customer service.
“People can often be not forthcoming about the fact that they’re struggling to pay their bills, but if you can see that, you can help tenants through this winter period. It’s about making decisions based on data”
How can Housing Associations achieve a positive relationship with their tenants without encroaching upon their privacy and independence?
“As the cost of fuel increases, tenants are less able to pay for it. The ability to better understand our tenants and the property they live in will give us a better understanding of how to prevent damp and mould, but also how to provide properties fit for purpose.”
Damp and mould leading to airborne spores have been found to be a direct cause of respiratory disease in the home such as asthma.
Engagement with tenants has been key to the Smartline project. Dr Tamaryn Meneer, Research Fellow at Smartline, explains customer engagement is about positive communication and approachability.
“We have found throughout the project, through feedback from participants, that for them, the motivation to get involved with Smartline in the first place was to improve social housing, to feedback and be part of the process for future customers. This is facilitated by the relationship they have with Coastline as an approachable landlord. ”
How can smart technology support mental health and wellbeing?
Smartline has been researching the indoor environment and its impact on health and wellbeing since 2017. The project has over 200 sensors installed in social housing properties managed by Coastline Housing. These sensors return data on indoor air quality, particulate inorganic matter, and volatile organic compounds, whilst participant questionnaires have asked about health issues, household makeup and smoking etc. This has enabled researchers to find a relationship between temperature, humidity, mould and mental health.