Aerial view of closely packed red-brick suburban houses with dark tiled roofs, chimneys, and small back gardens, with trees and greenery interspersed throughout the neighbourhood.
Case Study

Manchester City Council used remote monitoring to improve heat pump maintenance


Related Case Studies

Case Study

Two housing providers utilise remote monitoring to improve heat pump maintenance
Case Study

How Stockport Homes used digital telecare to strengthen independent living
Case Study

Utilising connectivity in social housing to spot damp and mould risk earlier
Case Study

Manchester City Council used remote monitoring to improve heat pump maintenance

Manchester City Council connected ground source heat pumps in a residential block to improve visibility of system performance, identify faults earlier and support more proactive maintenance.

Key facts

Homes connected 

57 

Technology 

Ground source heat pumps connected via public 5G 

Call-out reduction 

65% 

Potential avoided costs 

Up to £600 per month 

Results reflect early operational evidence. The project indicates an association between remote monitoring and fewer call-outs, but it has not yet established longer-term savings or shown that monitoring alone caused the reduction.

The challenge

Manchester City Council needed better visibility of ground source heat pumps operating in occupied homes.

Without remote monitoring, the council often only became aware of an issue after a resident reported a loss of heating or another problem. This could delay diagnosis, require repeat visits and reduce confidence in the technology.

The council wanted to test whether connecting existing systems could help repairs teams identify faults earlier, make better-informed decisions and reduce avoidable call-outs.

What was implemented

As part of the Connected Homes programme, Manchester City Council connected 57 ground source heat pumps in a residential block using public 5G connectivity and a manufacturer-supported monitoring platform. Repairs teams could view system data remotely, identify potential faults, improve triage and gather diagnostic information before attending a home.

Results

Operational outcomes

  • Recorded reactive maintenance call-outs fell from around 4.25 per month to around 1.5 per month during the reporting period.

  • This represented an indicative reduction of approximately 65%.

  • Maintenance teams gained better visibility of system performance and fault trends before attending homes.

Resident outcomes

  • Remote diagnosis created the potential to resolve faults faster and reduce disruption from avoidable visits.

  • Better information could help repairs teams give residents clearer updates about heating issues.

Financial outcomes 

  • Potential avoided operational costs reached up to £600 per month during the strongest-performing period.

  • This equated to approximately £10 per connected home per month.

  • Call-out reductions alone produced an indicative payback period of just over 11 years.

  • More financial benefits are anticipated, as these calculations do not yet cover wider potential value from faster diagnosis, better asset intelligence or future optimisation.

Key lessons for housing providers

  1. Treat monitoring as a service change. Define who reviews the data, what triggers action and how teams record follow-up before connecting equipment.

  2. Include connectivity from the start. Build monitoring, landlord data access and ongoing connectivity costs into future heat pump procurement rather than adding them later.

  3. Start with a defined need and cohort. Focus on homes where repeat faults, limited performance data or resident concerns create a clear operational problem.

  4. Test the technical approach early. Confirm heat pump compatibility, network coverage, router placement, platform access and supplier responsibilities before deployment

    Measure benefits from the start. 

    Record call-outs, repeat visits, diagnosis time, maintenance costs, system performance and resident feedback before installation. 

Confirm heat pump compatibility, network coverage, router placement, platform access and supplier responsibilities before deployment.

Before you start

Record call-outs, repeat visits, repair costs, complaints and available performance data. Agree the measures that will show whether monitoring is delivering value.

Check heat pump compatibility, public or private network coverage, router placement, platform access, cyber security and whole-life connectivity costs.

Identify who reviews monitoring data, how often they review it, what triggers intervention and how issues enter repairs workflows.

Explain why monitoring is being introduced, what information the system collects, how teams will use it and what residents can expect when a fault occurs.

Agree who will fund connectivity, platform access, monitoring, maintenance and support after pilot or grant funding ends.

Replication guide

  1. Select a priority group of homes. Choose homes where remote monitoring addresses a clear maintenance or performance issue. 

  1. Map the current service. Record how teams identify faults, diagnose problems, arrange visits and escalate repairs. 

  1. Build a joint business case. Involve asset management, repairs, sustainability, IT, procurement, data protection and resident engagement teams. 

  1. Confirm the technical and data model. Check compatibility, connectivity, platform access, data ownership, ongoing charges and supplier support. 

  1. Plan engagement and installation together. Coordinate resident communications, access, equipment installation and guidance. 

  1. Set response procedures. Define dashboard review, alert thresholds, repairs escalation and follow-up. 

  1. Track costs and outcomes. Compare callouts, repeat visits, diagnosis time, costs, system performance and resident feedback with the baseline. 

  1. Review before scaling. Confirm that the operating model, evidence and ongoing costs support wider rollout. 

Further information 

This case study draws on the Smart Energy deployment delivered through the Greater Manchester 5G Innovation Region programme (GM 5GIR), funded by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.

Partners included Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Manchester City Council and the organisations supporting connectivity, monitoring and delivery.  

For more information, or to share a similar project with the Connected Homes Innovation Hub, use the contact page.