IoT & Data Monitoring – NGH

To gather the initial data, our team worked within the tower blocks to install a variety of tiny sensors which use a LoRaWAN connection to feedback data every ten minutes. It is our primary IoT solution for properties, and in this project two sensors were installed per residence: one in the living room and one in the bedroom of each flat. This was duplicated in served 350 flats across 15 blocks; totalling approximately 700 sensors installed by our data team.

Once the sensors were installed, collecting information on internal temperature, relative humidity and CO2 levels, internal vapour pressure and differential vapour pressure. Our data team were able to review the incoming data, working to ascertain, according to Scottish Government metrics, which residents were in fuel poverty, which would inform future development plans. Specifically, we looked to find out who met both gate one and gate two of the fuel poverty calculation:

• Gate 1: The resident spends over 10% of their post-housing income on energy (20% for extreme fuel poverty)
• Gate 2: The resident earns less than 90% of the MIS Minimum Income Requirement for their given demographic group.

Our findings summarised that the vast majority of tenants in the buildings were living in fuel poverty; with 60% in fuel poverty and 20% in extreme fuel poverty (approximately 80% aggregated). The national average according to the Scottish Government is that approximately 25% of people are in fuel poverty (with 7% in extreme fuel poverty), and so these properties hugely exceeded the average. We were also able to identify that the homes were losing heat through windows and the use of inefficient heating, which was causing a further rise in fuel bills and wasted energy.