Housing associations

From appliances to energy management, the role of ‘smart home’ technology continues to expand. Previously only seen in private homes, smart technology is making inroads into affordable housing too. This comes as no surprise to those in the industry, since Housing Associations are already taking advantage of technology for effective asset management or improving tenant comfort and wellbeing.

Last week saw the launch of the premiere episode of Aico TV, featuring Aico colleagues as well as guests. Formatted into segments, the episode is hosted by two Aico colleagues, Alex Garmston and Holly Moore who introduce the episode and each segment of the show.
To begin the episode, National Sales Director Steve Trafford explores Aico’s journey, from humble beginnings to becoming the UK market leader in Fire and Carbon Monoxide protection and the expansion into IoT and the connected home. Steve journeys through the Aico timeline, highlighting how innovation is at the heart of the company through the advancements in products and technology while retaining the quality that Aico is synonymous with. This leads onto Managing Director Neal Hooper speaking with Shropshire Business Live TV’s Carl Jones and Roy Amyes, Coaching and Personal Development Consultant about the importance of training and development and how Aico have embedded this into their core values.

Social landlords are increasingly realising that the Internet of Things (IoT) can bring many benefits directly to their organisations through improved maintenance efficiencies, investment optimisation and compliance. It is also increasingly clear that there are many benefits to residents including improving health, safety and wellbeing while also providing opportunities to help them save money. This isn’t just anecdotal evidence, but is clearly backed up by recent research HomeLINK carried out with over 50 landlords. Figure 1 indicates that the resident related benefits such as tackling fuel poverty and improving living conditions and energy efficiency are among those most associated with IoT adoption in social housing.

The first episode of Aico TV will have Steve Trafford taking you through Aico’s history. This will be followed by guests Roy Amyes and Carl Jones discussing training and development, then Jane Pritchard and Lily Ellis talking about Aico in the Community and local community kitchen OsNosh. Finally, we will hear from Tina Mistry, and the women of Aico for an International Women’s Day special and we will finish with see Dave Jennings answering a popular FAQ.

Social housing data management company Illumar has appointed Peter Luke as commercial director and Jonathan Gould as client solutions consultant. These appointments mark an exciting time for Illumar with a number of new clients now using its data management platform.

A Salford housing association has launched a new affordable home-ownership brand to support its bold ambitions to deliver more affordable homes to help tackle the housing crisis.
 
Salix Homes, which owns 8,000 homes across Salford, has launched Willo Homes in a bid to increase housing choice and deliver more affordable housing opportunities in the city.

Aico is always at the forefront of innovation and has recently launched Aico TV. The Aico TV channel will utilise their current YouTube channel which is now rebranded and linked to a dedicated section on the Aico website where new video content can be displayed.