Yorkshire Housing is taking part in a pilot project to assess if smart home technology can improve the comfort, confidence and independence of older people and people living with a disability.
The smart homes pilot is being delivered in partnership with Foundations, the national body for Disabled Facilities Grants and Home Improvement Agencies (HIAs) in England and the housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, who are funding the project.
Yorkshire Housing’s accredited Home Improvement Agency which works with North Yorkshire Council, and Middlesbrough Council Staying Put Agency have been selected to take part in the project, in order to cover properties in rural and urban areas. The pilot will monitor the use of assistive smart technology in the homes of 50 older people and people with disabilities living in North Yorkshire and Middlesbrough over a six-month period.
The smart home technology is based around mainstream home hubs like Google Nest and Amazon Alexa, and includes video doorbells and smart plugs that are controlled using voice recognition or a smart phone or tablet.
Yorkshire Housing’s HIA handyperson team are installing the smart technology in a number of homes across rural locations in North Yorkshire, where the residents are over the age of 70. They are also providing training in how to use the technology.
Foundations and Leeds Beckett University will evaluate the results of the pilot to measure the impact of the technology on the people involved and their wider support network of family and carers, as well as looking at the participants’ willingness to adopt new technology. They will also assess if Home Improvement Agencies and their handyperson teams are the most effective way of delivering and supporting the use of smart home technology.
Jo Irving, Home Improvement Agency Manager at Yorkshire Housing said: “We’re delighted to support this project because, as an accredited Home Improvement Agency we know making the right adaptations to someone’s home can make a big difference to their quality of life and sense of security. We tend to think of adaptations as things like fitting handrails or installing ramps, but we’re keen to explore how smart technology can help someone carry on living safely and independently in their own home, and if it’s something we could offer as part of our service in the future.”
One of the residents taking part in the pilot added: “I'm very happy to try out this equipment if it will help others in the future and I don't mind being a ‘guinea-pig’ for new technology I'm not used to. I'm sure it will greatly help me and my wife around the home and I was happily surprised I could talk to someone through my new doorbell even when I was on holiday in Portugal!”
The pilot will run for six months and on completion, participants will be gifted the smart home technology that was used during the project.