IDM - Supplying Warmth

IDM offers people with disabilities professional services to gain greater control around their home environment. For example, remotely controlled central heating, kitchen and bathroom adaptations,partnership working with agencies such as mental health support. We install products to better protect families with small children or people with frailties from hazards such as scalding water and surface hot radiators.

Remote Control Heating

Our diverse range includes supplying and installing intelligent heating for users that have difficulty reaching controls due to disability, for support workers who can assist remotely if a tenant is unable to operate the heating or if there is a wish to control thermal comfort through choice.

Our overiding principle as an organisation is to build relationships with people, either directly or through housing providers or support agencies. So friendly contact through home visits, phone calls and emergency services remains our key focus in service delivery.

Increasingly, people ask for optional extra's to improve comfort in their homes. Technology exists now to control heating through mobile phones, a helpful aide if you have left the heating on and are heading on a holiday, for example!

The use of this technology is also helpful for people with limited mobility. In support of a professional and friendly heating team, controlling your heating using a phone or remote control can be comforting.

IDM works with people and support organisations to tailor systems to meet users' requirements. Users can also have integrated systems, incorporating ventilation and/or lighting control as part of the remote control package.

Equally, users that wish to control interior thermal comfort and lighting from outside a property can take advantage of a remote control system. This can be especially advantageous for people whose working patterns alter at short notice, for staff supporting people with disabilities, for office environments and storage facilities or simply as a lifestyle choice.

We supply and install new as well as adapt existing heating systems to accommodate new mobility access, providing more choice for customers.

We work with specialist manufacturers and suppliers to create the right remote control system for your needs, giving you greater ability to achieve desired thermal comfort levels.

Radiator Guards, Heating and Anti Scald Controls

IDM supplies and fits controls that greatly reduce the risk of hot water scalding or burns from radiators and other forms of heating.

Scalding and burns within the home occur every year throughout the UK. The elderly, very young and the physically or mentally impaired are especially vulnerable when using baths, showers and sanitary facilities. Scalding and burns can cause significant injury and there have been numerous court cases and prosecutions for building owners and organizations that have not carried out appropriate duty of care requirements.

But such accidents are avoidable. Products are available to minimise risk, creating a safer environment for vulnerable people and re-assurance for support workers and organisations.

Two specific areas where IDM can help are in providing (i) Hot Water Controls and (ii) Heating Safely to the user, using controls and products to greatly reduce the risk of accidents due to scalding and burns.

Hot Water Controls

Hot water can be more safely delivered to a users tap through the installation of a Thermostatic Mixing Valve (TMV). In most domestic situations, people will control water temperatures for a bath shower or wash by feel and use of mixer taps. But this may not be suitable in all situations, which is why TMV's can prevent accidental scalding. This is especially the case where hot water needs to be stored at high temperatures to avoid contamination such as legionella.

Although TMV's can be advantageous to all users, they are particularly beneficial in homes for elderly and vulnerable people.

Fitted in the hot supply to terminal fittings, TMVs blend hot and cold water and ensure a constant and safe outlet temperature, eliminating any risk of scalding. They instantly shut off the flow of water in the event of an interruption to either hot or cold supply.

Heating Safely

Heating through systems with radiators is generally safe. Radiator temperatures can be safely controlled using thermostatically controlled valves and system controls. However, there may particular environments where safeguards from accidental skin burning on radiators is recommended and IDM advises on the best solution in each case, offering choice from a wide range of guards.

Bathroom and Kitchen Adaptations

IDM designs and installs new bathrooms and kitchens for elderly, less abled and registered disabled customers and welcomes the opportunity to work with you whether you own a single dwelling or manage a portfolio of properties.

We have knowledge, expertise and resources to deliver projects, small and large, with an added advantage of using our heating systems expertise to ensure your use of water is comfortable, controllable and affordable. We can work with designers in the installation, if you choose, produce bespoke kitchens and bathrooms, use our suppliers to get best prices. We believe we have an edge over our competitors in that we can offer you greater flexibility as well as use our skills and ability to incorporate excellent water, electricity and gas use, without you having to use several contractors.

Cleaner Environments for Special Needs

We can create a more suitable home environment for people who suffer from lung debilitating diseases, such as asthma and emphysema, by providing heating and cooling systems that control moisture and dust within the air.

The system we design and install is more commonly called a heat recovery system, in which a home must be properly sealed, ventilated and heated to a temperature to suit users' requirements.

The system works by extracting stale warm air in homes for fresh air warmed through a specially designed ventilator under conditions whereby the interior of the property is well sealed from draughts, typically through windows and doors. Conversely, it can also extract stale cold air to help cool incoming fresh warm air to a cooler temperature during warm summers. The key to this system is a tightly sealed internal environment.

The installation costs are relatively high, measured against conventional heating systems. Space is required to install the ventilator and ducts to and from each room in unseen voids and a back up heat source is normally required to increase heat during extremes of temperatures. But the system has many advantages, most notably the ability to control air conditions for people particularly vulnerable in moist and dusty environments. It also recycles existing heat effectively, has the potential to significantly reduce heating bills and contributes towards carbon footprint reduction.