Connected property technology could generate savings of £18.5 million a year if deployed across Scotland’s retirement housing sector, according to an independent evaluation of a six-month pilot.
Technology installed at Bield Housing & Care’s Langvout Court development in Biggar was found to deliver estimated annual heating savings of £7,670 and maintenance savings of £2,825.
FarrPoint, which independently evaluated the project, estimates that applying the same approach across retirement housing developments across Scotland could generate annual savings of £18.5 million.
The project involves Glasgow-based technology company Archangel, Bield Housing & Care and the Digital Health & Care Innovation Centre, and was funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology through the Glasgow City Region 5G Smart and Connected Places Programme.
EARLY INTERVENTION
Environmental and activity sensors installed throughout Langvout Court (main picture) provide real-time information covering areas including temperature, humidity and activity.
During Storm Éowyn, the technology gave staff four hours’ warning of a potential boiler breakdown, allowing them to intervene before the problem escalated.
It also detected high humidity before it developed into a mould issue, identified faulty extractor fans and alerted staff to changes in activity and temperature which prompted welfare checks on tenants who were feeling unwell.
Rather than operating as individual devices, information from across the development is brought together through Archangel’s platform, allowing property maintenance and tenant-support teams to coordinate their response.
The independent evaluation also identifies improvements in tenant safety, fewer manual checks and stronger regulatory compliance, with the technology delivering a positive return on investment within its first year.
POTENTIAL FOR WIDER ROLLOUT
The findings have subsequently been selected as a case study in techUK’s white paper, Why digital adult social care transformation is central to the future of the NHS.
Bield Head of Property Management Gavin Wright says: “This project demonstrates how thoughtful use of technology can support older people to live independently, safely and with dignity.
“The technology deployed at Langvout Court has brought clear cost savings and improved safety. As a result, we’re now rolling out this approach across our wider estate.”
Archangel founder and chairman Tom Morton (main picture, inset) says: “Langvout Court shows why orchestration matters. The value did not come from one sensor or one alert. It came from bringing different signals together and connecting insight to a coordinated response.
“When the same connected infrastructure can support safer homes, lower costs, stronger compliance and earlier support, the case for scale is clear. The next step is to make this normal practice and extend the benefits to more people.”
