IoT for Glasgow's Maryhill

Three blocks of flats in Glasgow's Maryhill fitted with IoT to improve the quality of lives of residents.

16:26 16 September 2019

The 20-storey Glenavon Road tower blocks in Glasgow has been fitted with 'cutting-edge' Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity as part of a public-private sector collaborative project between Maryhill Housing, CENSIS, the Scottish Government, iOpt and Hyperoptic. The scheme also provides free-of-charge high-speed fibre-option broadband and a community facility that offers free digital inclusion classes.

 

Maryhill Housing has also confirmed plans to replace electric storage heaters in 1,000 of its homes to address the issue of fuel poverty. An initial pilot project in Glenavon Road and Maryhill Housing is now trialling two alternative heating systems from Mitsubishi Electric and Glen Dimplex Heating & Ventilation.

 

Roger Popplewell, Chair of Maryhill Housing, said: “This has been an extremely ambitious collaborative project which uses technology to increase digital participation, reduce the risk of fuel poverty, enhance fire safety and make further improvements to the lives of people living in our properties.

 

“We’re one of the first housing associations in Scotland to utilise the potential of IoT technology in the area of fire safety, anti-social behaviour and fuel efficiency – three priority issues for the organisation.

 

“Additionally, broadband has become the fourth utility so we feel every household should have access to high-speed internet, taking steps to eliminate the digital divide and helping to develop employability skills. We’re encouraged by the uptake, with three quarters of our residents opting to have broadband installed and we have received extremely positive feedback from the digital inclusion classes.

 

“We’re very excited about the future potential for these technologies, not only for Maryhill Housing, but for social housing providers across the UK.”