“We need networked data and systems that map a complete process.”

Ms Esser, as a consortium partner in the predecessor project ForeSight, the GdW played a key role in developing the idea of a uniform access point to all relevant smart living data and the associated use of artificial intelligence (AI) in residential buildings. What was the deciding factor for you and your association to get involved?

Our approximately 3,000 member companies are professional operators of apartment buildings. Then, as now, smart living solutions were predominantly tailored to single and two-family homes and are not very scalable for larger housing stocks. With our participation in ForeSight, we wanted to actively contribute to creating awareness and the technical and organizational basis for an overall view of multi-family buildings.

We need networked data and systems that map a complete process, from elevator inspection to commissioning and building access for the tradesperson. At the time, we also found the opportunity to test the use of Kl in the processes and tasks of housing companies particularly exciting. The methods and technical components developed in the ForeSight Toolbox, test data, exemplary use cases and the experiences of the housing industry and residents in test and real operation are now important foundations for the follow-up project SmartLivingNEXT.

What were the most important findings for you after completing the ForeSight research project that were useful to you in retrospect?

With 17 project partners from very different trades, it was initially important to establish a common understanding of the respective roles, possibilities and limitations. The GdW contributed the perspective of the housing industry to ForeSight in various work packages. During the course of the project, it quickly became clear that the housing industry would not generally be a direct customer of a Kl platform, but that it was an important target group. One important finding was that a uniform data room and uniform standards for Kl solutions offer enormous opportunities for service providers as solution providers for housing companies. Housing companies are primarily in the role of potential end customers or intermediaries for their residents. This insight needs to be reconsidered at the present time with the developments and advances in generative AI.

Specifically, for example, the cooperation of various industry participants in the application areas of “drone flights”, “digital doorman” and “energy management” was elaborated and already tested in real residential environments in the Future Living building complex of GSW Sigmaringen in Berlin-Adlershof. In the use cases, the GdW focused in particular on legal aspects and the acceptance of the new technologies by tenants and housing company employees. The collaboration resulted in valuable insights into the practical implementation of the use cases discussed. Together with GSW Sigmaringen, the GdW documented this in two working aids on the topic of “Use of digital access systems in apartment buildings” and “Possible uses of drones in the context of the housing industry”.

You are not only the chief executive of the GdW, but also on the board of the Smart Living economic initiative. The initiative recently issued a statement stating that it intends to actively support the SmartLivingNEXT technology program following on from ForeSight. What does the economic initiative hope to gain from the new SmartLivingNEXT technology program and why is it so important to you?

ForeSight has laid important foundations for the path to digital residential real estate, but comprehensive practical proof has yet to be provided. Criteria for functioning business models have been described, but no model has been implemented. We hope that SmartLiving-NEXT will be the next decisive step towards practical implementation. Our focus is also on six satellite projects that implement and test prototypes of their own applications, for example in the energy and care sectors. We expect that the new components and services introduced here will expand the application possibilities for other companies and promote increasing implementation in the industry.

SmartLivingNEXT is about a universal ecosystem for digital services. Can you tell us from your experience which services you think will be in demand from tenants in the future and have potential for digitalization? Please also think about completely new services that do not yet exist for a variety of reasons, but which could be created with SmartLivingNEXT technology.

The housing industry always has two questions in mind: Firstly, how can digitalization support housing companies in building operation and the necessary tenant communication, and secondly, how can digitalization increase the living experience and satisfaction of residents through tenant services? The answers often point to two sides of the same coin. For example, smart heat cost allocators and water meters with contextualized consumption data in real time help to control the building more energy-efficiently, for example by adjusting heating curves that are usually set inefficiently. As an additional product, tenants receive transparency about the development of ancillary costs, even in an anonymous comparison with other tenants, as well as very specific recommendations for action, for example for heating and water use. Another example is the intelligent doorman, which allows craftsmen etc. to enter the building completely autonomously without keys after the sensor system installed on the elevator has independently issued an order for predictive maintenance. Concrete advantages: The housing company can simplify key management and reduce costs, and the tenant can easily enter the building and the elevator even with full shopping bags or walking aids.

When you think about the needs of your member companies, which services would be of specific interest to housing companies in order to make their day-to-day work more efficient?

Customer service applications are of central importance. Accessibility for our tenants and the acceleration and simplification of the associated tasks are currently the absolute focus of our member companies. The high level of digitalization already achieved in the letting process will continue to increase. This also applies to newer applications in the area of sector coupling, such as linking heating control with the tenant electricity mode. Energy management solutions are also increasingly being used in connection with e-charging stations. Tenant portals/apps, which are particularly widespread among larger housing companies, will dominate tenant communication throughout the sector in the future. Individual housing companies are already actively involved as “pioneers” in the development of solutions with partners. Examples include digital thermostats and energy cooperatives. There is also increasing cooperation with PropTech companies with the aim of building and implementing better products. These activities will increase.

The digitalization of residential buildings is currently making slow progress. What do you think is the reason for this and how can SmartLivingNEXT help to accelerate this development?

There is a high level of willingness in the sector to break new ground with good digital applications. This was confirmed by a GdW software survey conducted in April 2024 with over 1,000 participating housing companies. Of course, there is still room for improvement in many areas. In addition to solutions for better interoperability and legally compliant data exchange, we hope that SmartLivingNEXT will above all provide political impetus.

Specifically, we as an industry need:

• a legal extension of the purpose limitation for the processing of data from remotely readable equipment for consumption recording in order to record the energy consumption of buildings and to conduct modern digital tenant communication on energy costs,

• the recognition of digital measures as apportionable modernization measures – no restriction to structural changes. Digital building technology (gateways, building networks, actuators and sensors, digital goods and mail delivery systems) must also be eligible for apportionment,

• a digital update for service charge law to make the operation of smart living solutions and sensor technology financially viable,

• an extension of the scope of application of the Metering Point Operation Act (MsbG) to include building meters for drinking water supply and wastewater disposal,

• as funding, a continuation of the “Age-appropriate conversion” funding program (no funds for 2025 so far!) and a locally implementable link with the EUR 4,000 grant for measures to improve the living environment under long-term care insurance.
  

With regard to tenants, the implementation of the above list must be flanked by further social measures. These include basic digital government services for rental/administration processes. The identification and authentication of tenants and interested parties analogous to the Bund.lD is one of the standard tasks in society and companies. It is also important to exchange data and information digitally instead of creating and exchanging documents for proofs, certificates or documentation such as housing entitlement certificates and residence registration, etc.). Overall, we need to digitally strengthen the municipalities as partners of the housing industry and residents.

What long-term changes in the housing industry do you expect from the implementation of smart living technologies?

AI will also conquer the housing industry even more. Housing companies already offer a wide range of services, from the Kl Club to the Kl workshop and “everyone can test”. The GdW itself will also use Kl to inform its members in future. This is just the beginning in the industry. Initially, bots will largely replace physical employees on the service hotlines of larger and medium-sized companies over the next few years. Physical call partners will then only be available for special topics. Drones are becoming the standard technology for assessing damage to facades and roofs. Digital communication with tenants via platforms or apps will also be standard in the future. Younger generations are already used to this today and expect the same from housing companies. Of course, tenants will still have access to an “analog way” in individual cases in the future. I very much hope that in a few years’ time, we will have removed the current obstacles to digitalization, making digital building control legally and economically viable. This is also particularly urgent because we already lack the necessary skilled workers today and this is being exacerbated by the mass retirement of the “boomer” generation.

Ms. Esser, thank you for the pleasant and detailed interview!