Vidomes solves moisture problem with sensors and real-time measurement data

Vidomes in Delft has been giving people a home for over a hundred years, in approximately 19,000 rental homes and apartments. In doing so, commitment and satisfied customers are important core values. When a tenant was troubled by rising damp from the crawl space, Vidomes used sensors and measuring data to determine the cause and then solved the problem with an insulating measure. Here supervisor mutation & repair Driekus Dijkmans tells about his experiences with Inscio.

Just as we do toward our tenants, Inscio was very thoughtful after our initial conversation and put their money where their mouth is by helping us solve the moisture problem.

A key advantage of the solution they offer are the insights based on near real-time available measurement data

Now that the problem under the first floor has been satisfactorily resolved, we as a corporation also want to get a better understanding of the temperature differences and air quality above the floor over a longer period of time

Making a difference

Vidomes is a housing corporation in the Haaglanden region that focuses on people with insufficient opportunities in the housing market in Zoetermeer, Leidschendam-Voorburg, Delft, Rijswijk and the Hague district Leidschenveen. By properly matching properties with tenants and paying extra attention to pleasant and safe living, Vidomes is making a difference for many people. "We try to be involved and decisive for our tenants by offering quick solutions to resident reports about their rental property," says Dijkmans. "Like for a lady who was dealing with rising damp and mold from the crawl space under her home in Leidschendam. This could lead to health risks in the long run. This home is located along a body of water that has a direct connection to the Vliet River. To solve such a problem, it is important to first thoroughly analyze whether it is caused by a missing soil improvement, the concrete bun floor (also called combination or stalton floor) or insufficient ventilation."

Measuring under the floor

"At the house mentioned in Leidschendam, we wanted to take measurements in the crawl space under the floor without having to bother the resident," Dijkmans continues. "Through a colleague from the planning maintenance department, I heard about the solution developed by Inscio for remote monitoring of properties." Inscio provides smart sensors and measurement data for real-time monitoring of the behavior of roofs, foundations, facades, painting and other valuable assets. "Exactly what we were looking for to be able to analyze the moisture problem in Leidschendam," Dijkmans said. "After an initial conversation about this with co-founder and owner of Inscio Jeroen van de Laar, we decided to start a pilot together. To that end, sensors were installed in the crawl space at two homes. The desired solution was insulation, but that was only possible if the crawl space was much drier. Ventilation holes were therefore drilled in the facade at the problem house to control the moisture content, and not at the other house. This allowed us to remotely measure which "drying method" works best or fastest in both crawl spaces.

Sensors

Measured values per hour

Gigabytes of data

Housing

Putting your money where your mouth is

"We installed a custom solution at Vidomes for remote condition monitoring of crawl spaces based on humidity, temperature and air quality," says van de Laar. "Our Internet-of-Things (IoT) sensors communicate all readings based on a fixed time interval via a dedicated communication network to our cloud platform and an app with dashboards and graphs. This combination consumes extremely little energy, allowing the system to transmit measurements for years without maintenance and also without inconveniencing the homeowner or tenant. Easy and accessible to install and use on a subscription basis." "Just as we do towards our tenants, Inscio was very thoughtful after our initial conversation and put their money where their mouth is by helping us solve the moisture problem," Dijkmans continued. "An important advantage of the solution they offer are the insights based on virtually real-time available measurement data."

More sensors for more data and insights

Vidomes involved the resident in question from the beginning and informed her about the work to solve the moisture problem. After being somewhat skeptical at first, she is now happy and satisfied with the solution achieved. "The data our sensors collected showed that drilling additional holes to improve air flow in the crawl space would not have sufficient effect, but that an insulation layer under the floor would help," says Dijkmans. "Once the first floor was dry enough in the summer, an insulating underlayment was installed and the moisture levels dropped significantly. Now that the problem under the first floor has been solved satisfactorily, we as a corporation also want to get a better understanding of the temperature differences above the floor over a longer period of time. In order to be able to assess whether the insulation improves the indoor climate and living comfort and thus indirectly contributes positively to the resident's health, Inscio is going to install more sensors in the coming period for even more data and insights."

Call us or send us an e-mail!

Whether you want to use our standard solution for roofs and facades or are looking for a solution to a specific problem: get in touch and we will discuss the possibilities.

Office

Het Klaphek 5, 3401 RZ Ijsselstein

E-mail

info@inscio.nl

Yes, please!

Ernest +31 (0)6 29 08 55 52
Jeroen +31 (0)6 53 58 79 86

Vidomes solves moisture problem with sensors and real-time measurement data