The Housing & Development Board (HDB) has developed the Smart Hub, a platform that integrates data across 10,000 public housing blocks in 24 towns. Presently, we face many urban challenges such as ageing infrastructure and climate change. To overcome them, HDB is leveraging the power of data to create housing estates that are more efficient, sustainable, liveable and safe.

Supporting the Smart Hub is the enabling infrastructure of Sensors and Connectivity. HDB is deploying sensors and various communications technologies to monitor the operations of estate services (e.g. solar PV, elevators, waste collection). Data from residents and municipal services are also integrated into the Smart Hub.

Beyond real-time monitoring, the Smart Hub automates and optimizes systems through the use of AI, ensuring critical systems function reliably without posing safety concerns. For example, by shifting from a reactive mode of maintenance to a proactive one for HDB’s 25,000 elevators, faults are diagnosed before they occur, maintenance cycles are optimized, and HDB and local councils are better equipped to deliver good service to residents.

Through the capabilities and potential of the Smart Hub, the public housing landscape of Singapore will be transformed into estates that learn.

https://www.hdb.gov.sg/cs/infoweb/homepage

• Singapore

• Indigenous and nomadic peoples
• Citizens

Data and ICT will be a common and important enabling infrastructure to bring about sustainable development in all cities and across all industries. The model of the Smart Hub in collecting nationwide data for residential estates can be replicated in other industries (e.g. industrial) as well as other cities.

The Smart Hub enables data collection from a suite of sustainable technology deployed in public housing estates. Through performance monitoring and data analytics, we are able to further stretch sustainability targets by quickly rectifying operational issues and identifying opportunities for optimization.

The Smart Hub will enable all of Singapore’s public housing estates to be safer, more resource efficient and resilient through real-time monitoring, proactive maintenance and an optimization of smart building systems. Most importantly, through a better understanding of the complex interactions within our housing estates, the Smart Hub will improve the quality of living for 80% of Singaporeans housed in 1 million dwelling units across 24 residential towns. For example, residents will experience safer lift journeys, increased neighbourhood security, more efficient utilities, and a comfortable living environment even in the face of harsher weather patterns due to climate change. This is in alignment with the targets of SDG 11 where the environmental impact of cities is reduced; and plans for resource efficiency, adaptation to climate change and resilience from the housing unit to the residential estate level are adopted. Moreover, HDB has already begun to implement clean energy infrastructure in new and existing housing estates. Through performance monitoring and identification opportunities for optimization, the Smart Hub enables us to further stretch the reliable, sustainable and affordable energy goals laid out in SDG 7. Taking Punggol eco-town – comprising 96,000 residential flats – as an example, the Smart Hub will stretch annual energy savings by 18% to 47 GWh while increasing annual energy generation by 3% to 40 GWh. Water savings will increase by 25% to 1.1 million cubic metres while the amount of recycled waste will increase by 10% to 2600 tonnes each year. Finally, service reliability would improve by 50% and manpower resource requirements would reduce by 30%. All in all, the Smart Hub will help to promote the values of Shared Responsibility between government agencies, local councils, industry partners and residents for the upkeep of housing estates. As well as Social Equity for all residents to live in estates that are inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.