Dr Tim Walker, a research fellow at the University of Exeter, discusses the findings from a research project on the social value of home sensor systems in housing.
Sensor systems and housing
The quality of indoor home environments has a profound effect on the health and wellbeing of residents, particularly vulnerable groups. Issues such as damp, mould and poor ventilation pose significant risks not only to the physical and mental health of residents but also to the long-term structural integrity of properties. To address these challenges, housing providers are increasingly adopting sensor-based systems that monitor indoor environmental conditions in real-time, enabling a proactive approach to property management and resident support.
However, the value of these sensor systems goes beyond the early detection of problems. The potential for generating social value (measurable benefits that enhance the lives of residents and the broader community) is significant. Researchers at the University of Exeter, in collaboration with Aico/HomeLink, the Housing Associations’ Charitable Trust (HACT), the Charted Institute of Housing (CIH) and Coastline Housing, have developed a series of guides and resources to help housing professionals understand the wider societal impact of sensor systems (the original research underpinning these guides is published in the Housing and Society Journal).
You can download the guides for free at: https://t.ly/mntpC.
Understanding social value in housing
Social value refers to the broader benefits of an activity beyond its direct financial return. In the context of housing, social value measures how innovations such as sensor systems positively affect people’s health and living conditions. It’s a way to quantify the wider societal impact, for example reducing the strain on public services such as the NHS.
It’s possible to assess social value by using the social return on investment (SROI) methodology. SROI gives a financial value to the positive impact of an activity in relation to the resources invested. In this project, we collaborated with Aico/HomeLink, Coastline Housing, HACT and the UK Social Value Bank to understand the costs and benefits of using SROI.
For every £1 invested in a home sensor system, we found that it creates £2.68 of social value (a SROI ratio of 2.68). For comparison, projects tackling homelessness typically have an SROI ratio of around five, and initiatives promoting sports and physical activity have a ratio of around three.
This positive SROI illustrates the potential of sensor systems. Just imagine the collective effect if we scaled this innovation across the UK housing sector. With the NHS spending £1.4 billion each year treating people affected by poor housing, adopting sensor technologies on a larger scale could make a real difference; it could not only improve living conditions but also reduce the pressure on the healthcare system and help other housing-related problems.
The Social Value Guides
As housing providers across the UK work to meet regulatory demands and improve the quality of their housing stock, understanding the social value of new technologies such as sensor systems becomes increasingly important.
We have produced a series of guides designed for housing providers (incl. local authorities & ALMOs) to help strategic and operational teams forecast the wider impacts of adopting a sensor system. The series includes:
- The Social Value of Home Sensor Systems: An Introductory Guide. This guide introduces housing professionals to the concept of social value as it relates to home sensor systems. It highlights how these systems can make homes safer and healthier and offers insights into how housing providers can measure this impact.
- How Home Sensor Systems Generate Social Value: An Evidence-Based Guide. This guide provides a practical tool for housing providers to plan and evaluate sensor system projects in alignment with their organisational goals.
- Evaluating the Social Value of Sensor Systems: A Case Study and Guide. This guide goes through the process of evaluating the social value of a sensor system. Using Coastline Housing as a case study, it provides a forecast for the potential SROI.
The overall purpose of these guides is to help housing professionals make informed decisions, ensuring that the adoption of sensor technologies aligns with their broader organisational goals and contributes positively to residents’ lives. You can download the guides for free at: https://t.ly/mntpC.
Dr Tim Walker is part of an interdisciplinary research team at The European Centre for Environment & Human Health (ECEHH), studying the relationships between housing, health and the potential of sensor technologies. If you are interested to know more, please contact Dr Tim Walker at t.w.walker@exeter.ac.uk.
Dr Tim Walker is a research fellow at the European Centre for Environment & Human Health (ECEHH) at the University of Exeter. This project was funded by the Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Aico/HomeLink.
