With the Energy Crisis set to Worsen, How can IoT help Tackle the Fuel Poverty Emergency?

With energy bills for the average household set to reach £4,347 / year from next April when the energy guarantee ends, a staggering estimated 11M people in the UK could be in fuel poverty next year.

The stark warning from experts and charities is that lives are at risk. When combined with the spiralling cost of living, many will be unable to afford to switch on their heating, which will inevitably lead to suffering and the risk of falling ill or worse. Particularly so for those on low incomes and for the elderly, where older households are twice as likely to fall into extreme fuel poverty.

Poor property conditions caused by dampness and cold, particularly when combined with inadequate ventilation, are clear contributory factors to physical and mental health problems, including heart disease, respiratory disease and circulatory conditions.

Sensor-based IoT technologies help landlords and housing operators to proactively monitor property conditions by measuring factors such as temperature, humidity and differential vapour pressure, which can automatically highlight properties at risk from moisture and damp. Intelligent housing technologies also play a vital role in helping identify and alert those most at risk of fuel poverty and where intervention is required.

North is working with housing associations and local authorities across the UK, helping them to adopt intelligent IoT housing technologies so that they can proactively identify and support the vulnerable and those most at risk through localised fuel poverty and energy efficiency programmes.