English Heritage, which manages over 400 historic buildings and sites across the country, is trialling Aico’s HomeLINK Connected Home Solution as a fire and CO detection system.
The 13th century Pickering Castle, based in North Yorkshire, is the first of the sites to trial the HomeLINK solution. This consists of Aico’s Ei1000G Gateway, smoke alarms and Ei1025 Environmental Sensors.
The castle has been used through the centuries and now contains a variety of buildings including a ticket office, chapel, classroom and toilet block.
The system installed will provide fire detection in various buildings, connected to the Ei1000G Gateway which tracks when events are triggered within the alarm system. Events, which could include fire alarms, button tests, mains absence, faults and alarm tampering, will then be reported to the HomeLINK Portal.
English Heritage can also set up notifications when events are triggered via email or text message. This information is valuable to those managing a dispersed estate as it ensures they are informed of any events in the system. This is said to be a key reason for the trial, with English Heritage having to manage large estates across various parts of England.
Dan Little, National Sales Manager at Aico says: “It has been great working with the English Heritage; their portfolio of properties is undoubtedly different to those we typically work with. That being said, they still face the same asset management challenges around maintenance and compliance. Seeing the Aico technology in these environments shows its versatility and ability to help solve unique problems.”
In addition to fire detection, English Heritage is exploring the use of the Ei1025 Environmental Sensors which monitor temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels. Wirelessly connected to the Ei1000G Gateway, these sensors come with a 10-year lithium battery. Monitoring these conditions creates a better maintained, healthier and more energy efficient space where condensation, damp, mould and indoor air quality are being considered.
Ashley Hardy, Estates Manager (North) commented: “The technological advancements in Aico’s Gateway enable us to monitor vast and disperse sites in real time. The technology provides us with the confidence and assurance that our sites are adequately protected. Should anything happen the Gateway responds immediately and notifies us of potentially hazardous scenarios such as if the detector has been removed or loss of power.
“In addition to this, we are able to remotely monitor our sensitive historic properties for environmental factors such as humidity, heat loss and air quality. Providing insights into potential trends in the use of the building and delivering accurate data to enable us to counteract potentially harmful or unfavourable conditions.
“Ultimately the Gateway assists the Estates team to dynamically monitor our portfolio of significant historic properties, preventing harm and providing confidence in the infrastructure of the estate.”
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