October 2024

The Homes for Healthy Ageing programme, spearheaded by Connected Places Catapult in partnership with Sunderland City Council, addresses the critical issues faced by the UK's ageing population: social isolation and the health risks of cold, damp homes. A startling 1.4 million older adults suffer from loneliness, and a significant number of excess winter deaths are attributed to inadequate housing conditions. This initiative provided a low-risk, real-world setting to develop and refine Bays Homes.  This data science solution predicts cold and damp homes at address-level data to generate precise predictions, visualised as heat maps.  The detailed results can be scrutinised, enabling prioritised interventions in homes, supporting both achieving a healthy home as well as moving towards net zero targets.