Technology provider Utopi has partnered with property operator BOHO to install an energy management and resident wellbeing solution which aims to reduce the energy consumption and carbon emissions of a student accommodation in Glasgow by 20%.

How will the installation work?

A building performance assessment identified ways for Scotway House to operate more efficiently and also how to reduce the operational workload and make significant annual energy savings.

The Scotway House has 339 beds and is managed by BOHO  and will be the first student provider in the UK to install the technology. BOHO will also use data to encourage residents to reduce their personal energy usage with monthly incentives.

Resident wellbeing will be bettered in various ways including the measuring and improvement of indoor air quality and a real-time view of amenity spaces such as seeing how many people are using the gym.

Unused areas can be automatically “switched off” to reduce energy usage and data can determine what areas need to be repurposed or transformed to ensure the building is working best for residents.

Christine Young, managing director at BOHO, comments: “As a responsible business, we need to play our part in combatting the climate change emergency. This technology puts us on the right path and that one step closer to reaching net-zero. At BOHO, we always challenge the here and now in the industry and will continue to seek the best, most innovative solutions to manage our buildings and be conscientious of our social and environmental impact.”

The equipment will improve the building’s ESG rating and environmental performance. The work involved includes the installation of electricity sub-metering at the apartment level.  IoT multi-sensors, which measure light, noise, temperature, humidity, TVOC, CO2 will also be installed. There will be installation of people counting solutions in amenity spaces and onboarding of the Utopi Connect SaaS platform to manage the data. Installation of the technology commenced on Monday August 16 2021.

Jonathan Burridge, chief executive officer at Utopi, says: “We are excited to help our client BOHO on their journey to reduce carbon emissions and boost their ESG scores. At Utopi we recognise that data is the key to unlocking the value of sustainable real estate, create more valuable assets, and provide unrivalled resident experiences.”