Smarter Ventilation in Social Housing: Monitor, Detect and Respond, Blog 2

Ventilation can behave like an unruly child and cause chaos if ignored!

Blog 2: What Monitoring Tells Us – and How to Use That Insight by Richard Kemp-Harper

The power of visibility and data in managing ventilation more effectively

In my previous blog, I compared ventilation to a 6-year-old child; unpredictable, full of energy and not always easy to manage. It might not throw tantrums, but it can certainly create chaos when ignored. While heating and insulation have matured with standards and focused investment, ventilation is still often left to its own devices, quietly influencing how homes feel and function, and rarely given the attention it deserves.

Ventilation plays a big part in creating healthy, energy-efficient homes, but we need to understand how it behaves, how it moves, responds and sometimes misbehaves. And just like any child, that understanding starts with watching, listening and learning. 

In other words, it starts with monitoring.

The first step to understanding is seeing clearly

Without monitoring, we’re relying on assumptions. And in homes that have people in which is, check notes, most of them, those assumptions often don’t hold true. Airflow patterns shift. Moisture levels fluctuate. Occupancy varies. And static systems, like passive vents or timed extractors, rarely adjust to meet those changes. Ventilation designs are like a stopped clock - correct twice a day.

Monitoring brings clarity. It allows us to observe real-time conditions such as temperature, humidity and indoor air quality, turning hidden behaviours into visible patterns. It gives:

• Landlords the ability to spot early signs of poor conditions before complaints arise

• Retrofit teams insight into how interventions are performing beyond design intentions

• Residents the reassurance that their home environment is being actively managed

From insight to action; growing up! 

Of course, monitoring alone doesn’t solve anything, just as simply watching a child won’t stop them from jumping on the sofa. Insight only becomes valuable when it leads to action.

Getting the right insight to the right person is the first step. Empowering that person to respond is the next. That could be the property maintenance team sending a surveyor to check out a home with risk of condensation to see if there is a mould problem. Or the asset team identifying a home with high heat loss for retrofit. Or the resident liaison checking on resident welfare and providing support or linking to other services.

But all of these require data to be interpreted into insights, insights presented in some way, perhaps a dashboard and then a person needs to check the dashboard and do something. That’s several steps in a chain where any one link can fail.

At AirEx we think that shortening the chain and closing the loop earlier is better. What if the home itself could respond to what is going on? Wouldn’t it be better if when that data is captured, it’s used within the home? If the decision-action chain was shortened as much as possible? 

That’s why AirEx systems pair real-time monitoring with intelligent, responsive control. Our vents don’t just observe conditions, they react to them, adjusting airflow when humidity rises or temperatures drop, helping to maintain healthy, stable indoor environments automatically.

It’s a smarter, more grown-up approach to ventilation. One that helps prevent condensation, improves comfort and reduces heating demand without requiring constant supervision.

A proven approach

Our expertise is smart ventilation, using data on the internal and external environment to make decisions and to manage ventilation, ventilation that responds to what is happening in the home. And we have evidence that this approach works. Our Floorvent system monitors the space under suspended timber floors, combines this data with weather data and makes smart decisions about opening and closing the vents. This is proven to save energy in the home, reducing heat loss by an average 12%. This is then reflected in EPCs with the floorvent systems providing SAP points to complement other retrofit measures.

But this is just the beginning. We’re developing new technology to extend this visibility throughout the home, so housing providers can understand not just what’s happening under the floorboards, but how the entire property breathes, lives and responds day to day.

Towards the smart, responsive home

Having ventilation that responds to what sensors detect in the home enables the home to breathe, literally, in response to what is needed. We are used to smart thermostats controlling heating, so why not have smart ventilation?

Instead of waiting for problems to emerge, and then having to visit, smart ventilation uses monitoring to expand the operating envelope of the home so it can react to what residents do. Hanging washing indoors in the UK in February is a normal, rational behaviour. What is needed is for the home to respond to that and not get itself in a sweat. And a responsive home means fewer callouts, lower maintenance costs and better long-term outcomes.

Building trust and better conversations

But that is not to say that monitoring and reporting isn’t useful. Having a clear picture of what’s happening inside a home builds confidence. It gives residents peace of mind that their environment is being looked after. It helps providers make informed decisions which are backed by data, whether shaping retrofit strategies, applying for funding or responding to regulation.

And just like any good relationship with a 6-year-old, open communication and trust are key. Monitoring supports that by creating transparency and enabling clearer, more constructive conversations between landlords, residents and contractors.

Preparing for a smarter, connected future

As homes transition to low-carbon heating and digital asset management becomes the norm, ventilation can no longer be left behind. It needs to mature and grow up by becoming more responsive, more integrated and more intelligent.

At AirEx, we’re working towards that future. Our aim is to bring together monitoring and automated control across the whole home, thereby helping housing providers deliver resilient, energy-efficient homes that actively support resident health and wellbeing.

Because when we stop guessing and start listening, even the most unruly systems, like that energetic six-year-old, can become part of a smarter, more harmonious home.

To explore more

To see how smart ventilation control is already improving comfort and wellbeing in homes, visit our Healthy Homes page.

If you’re interested in piloting our technology or learning more about upcoming trials and product releases, we’d love to hear from you. 

Coming up next:

Blog 3: From Data to Action – How Smarter Ventilation Systems Respond in Real Time

Introducing a new generation of responsive systems and the benefits