Homes of the future: the Kulmbach und Umgebung eG housing cooperative
Issue 01-2019:
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Udo Petzoldt took up his new position as CEO of the Kulmbach und Umgebung eG housing cooperative in 2012, and he immediately had a whole lot of work to do. He can now rightly say, “We are thoroughly digitalized.” From roof inspections with drones to proprietary heating cost billing software, few processes within the Kulmbach housing cooperative are still analog today.
The apartments are getting smart
Since 2016, the Smart Building System from Zuhause Plattform, which uses self-powered EnOcean sensors, has been part of the basic equipment in new buildings and extensive renovation projects. With the building control system, the housing cooperative offers its tenants a wide range of different services, at the same time digitalizing its own building workflows.
As the first provider in Kulmbach, the cooperative building society makes car sharing with meiaudo possible.
The video intercom increases security in the properties, while names on the digital doorbells can be changed from the office at a press of a button. If a tenant loses a key, it can be disabled in seconds, while repairmen can gain access to the building without complications.
In the future, blinds will be controlled via the system and the ventilation optimized. A smart heat control system, combined with real-time consumption feedback, helps the residents save energy. Collecting the consumption values relevant for billing from heat meters, water meters and heating cost allocators was the first step toward enabling tenants to handle their own heating bills.
Fair billing of heating costs
The Kulmbach housing cooperative has been working on the idea of self-billing for some time now. The goal is to quickly evaluate and easily bill available measured data at any time. Wireless systems and open standards such as wireless MBus/OMS form the basis for independence.
In 2017, the Kulmbach housing association joined forces with Zuhause Plattform to establish the heating cost platform to develop a web-based heating cost billing software, to test it on its own premises and to offer it to other landlords and housing companies. In 2018, the first heating bills were created with this proprietary billing software, which will be available to other users in July 2019.
From landlord to service provider
In the future, the Kulmbach housing cooperative would like to offer its tenants additional services via the WohnungsAdapter communication endpoint, from medical support to purchasing services. With its own fleet of electric cars and scooters, the housing cooperative has already laid the foundation for living with mobility.
Assisted living is another important topic. Therefore, a large number of the apartments are outfitted with appropriate equipment as part of a renovation project, from elevators and large bathrooms to the Smart Building System with a self-powered emergency call button. The company has already signed a cooperation agreement with the local workers’ welfare association, which is being continuously fleshed out.
The majority of the newly built or renovated apartments will be equipped appropriate to the needs of elderly residents.
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