Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is a question by the Hon Kenneth Lau and a written reply by the Secretary for Development, Ms Bernadette Linn, in the Legislative Council today (July 8):
Question:
With the ageing population in Hong Kong, the home safety of and emergency support for singleton elderly persons have drawn considerable social attention. There are views pointing out that some advanced cities around the world have been actively making use of big data analytics from smart infrastructures (such as smart water meters or electricity meters) to monitor the daily routines of singleton elderly persons, so as to prevent cases of solitary death. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Regarding existing buildings, as of May 2026, the WSD has replaced smart water meters for about 15 000 domestic and non-domestic consumers. About 7 000 of these are installed in private buildings, and about 8 000 are installed in three public housing estates. Subject to resource availability, the WSD plans to further replace smart water meters for another about 800 000 existing consumers from now until 2032. The WSD will consider giving priority to high water consumption users or those in remote areas to optimise water conservation and reduce manual meter-reading costs respectively.
(3) & (4) The Housing Bureau stated that the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has been actively promoting smart estate management by applying technologies such as IoT sensors, AI image analysis, mobile device applications and smart access control systems, for enhancing estate management efficiency, strengthening security and optimising service quality, and creating a safer and more liveable living environment for elderly tenants in public rental housing (PRH) estates. The HA is pleased to explore with the relevant departments the feasibility of data sharing and technical interfacing, and to study the use of smart methods using abnormal data as a supplementary indicator to better identify high-risk situations concerning home safety of elderly households, subject to privacy constraints and consent of the elderly tenants. The HA will, as always, continue to pay heed to the views of the community and make good use of technology to enhance elderly services and home safety in the PRH estates. The WSD stands ready to collaborate with the HA to explore how smart water meter data can support the HA’s smart estate management, thereby assisting estate offices in following up on elderly care cases.