The firm won ‘Climate Crisis Initiative’ at Property Week’s Student Accommodation Awards last week at The O2 in London.

BOHO is the first student provider in the UK to install this sophisticated technology in an attempt to combat the climate crisis and reduce its carbon footprint, all whilst also ensuring a better living environment for residents.

The Student Accommodation Conference and Awards have been running for over 14 years with an aim to spark debate, shine spotlights on the opportunities and highlight excellence within the student sector.

BOHO partnered with smart technology provider Utopi to put them on the right path and one step closer to reaching net-zero in their buildings. A building performance assessment identified ways for Scotway House student accommodation in Glasgow to operate more efficiently, reduce operational workload and make generous yearly savings on energy.

In 2021, IoT (Internet of Things) sensors were installed in Scotway House to automate elements of building management. The sensors measure temperature, light, CO2, noise, motion and occupancy to feed back in real time, increasing efficiency for daily operations and maintenance, as well as creating huge cost savings on energy all whilst reducing its carbon footprint.

The sophisticated technology allows for empty rooms to be ‘switched off’ automatically and can detect or prevent any maintenance issues from occurring in the 399-bed student residence.

Resident wellbeing is also 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. People counting solutions in amenity spaces and onboarding of the Utopi Connect SaaS platform is being implemented to manage the data.

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 and BOHO will also use data to encourage residents to reduce their personal energy usage with monthly incentives.

BOHO and Scotway House were also recognised for their partnership with local charity Mary’s Meals to donate and repurpose clothes, technology items, food and bedding to aid Glasgow’s poorest communities.

Christine Young, managing director at BOHO, said: “We’re simply thrilled to receive this recognition. 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 will 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. We really hope this sets a positive example for other businesses.”