The challenge
The Alliance has many homes with flat roofs. Those roofs last about 30 years before being replaced or renovated. 'We inspect the roofs visually,' says Director of Innovation Thomas van der Vlis. 'That means an inspector goes up onto the roof to look at the bitumen, for example. But that has become more complicated as we have started using roofs in other ways. 'A roof should be tight, stop moisture, cold and heat. But today there are also green roofs that cool, blue roofs that capture water, and roofs on which heat pumps or solar panels are mounted. 'Roofs are basically not made for this kind of intensive use,' Thomas says. 'So better quality control is more necessary than ever. But also more difficult at the same time.'
The innovation
The Alliance is also engaged in a material transition. Together with our roofing partner Consolidated, we are going to use bio-based insulation material on the roofs. We are doing pilots with that. And because it's all new and the function of roofs is changing, the Alliance wants to know how that material behaves. 'A few years ago we came into contact with the company Inscio,' says Thomas. 'That has developed smart sensors that are placed in roofs and take measurements there. The sensors are connected via a public LoRa network and the readings are insightful in real time. . We can see how humidity, moisture and temperature are developing in the roof, flat or sloped. This allows us to spot abnormalities and take early action if a leak occurs or other problems arise.'
'We want to further digitize our homes so that we know better the condition of the home. By installing the smart sensors, we can measure the quality of our roofs 24/7. This makes maintenance more predictable, allows us to budget smarter and keeps costs under control.' Thomas
The solution
"If you intervene in time, you can potentially extend the life of a roof by about 15%. The sensors can also be used in facades and crawl spaces. In bathrooms, they can be cast into the concrete. 'We want to further digitize our homes so that we know better what the condition of the home is. By installing the smart sensors, we can measure the quality of our roofs 24/7. This makes maintenance more predictable, allows us to budget smarter and keeps costs under control.'
Thomas van der Vlis
Director of Innovation - the Alliance
