HomeLink has been awarded a 12-month project with Leeds City Council to improve the safety and wellbeing of its residents through an IoT programme.
A £500,000 investment from GovTech Catalyst will cover the deployment of IoT-based sensors in 1,000 of the council’s homes. Approximately 50 of these properties will also include further smart technology, such as Aico’s SmartLink Gateway for the remote monitoring and management of fire and carbon-monoxide alarm systems.
Luke Loveridge, CEO, HomeLink, said, “We’re thrilled to be working in partnership with Leeds City Council, the University of York and the University of Leeds on the next phase of this GovTech challenge. With a deployment of up to 1,000 smart homes, we will be testing and developing new maintenance and wellbeing services for the council’s residents.”
The project follows an earlier pilot project with Leeds City Council involving six properties and around 100 people from the wider community, with the original project highlighting the need for a dedicated app to provide residents with their own IoT device data to reduce the risk of condensation, damp and mould.
Stephen Blackburn, data and innovation manager, Leeds City Council said, “It’s great to be able to continue working with HomeLink on the second phase of this government-funded GovTech Catalyst project. We’re keen to promote Leeds as an innovative city where new technology can be tested and trialled. This project offers us a great opportunity to better understand how new technology and data insight can help us further improve the service we deliver our tenants.”