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Sensing the home

Further project information

  • Smartline
  • Sensing the home
  • Digital Inclusion

Smartline brought together an interdisciplinary team of epidemiologists, economists, geographers, mathematicians, data scientists and sociologists. Our research is focused on understanding technology readiness, healthy homes and the potential for business innovation to improve health and wellbeing.

The research activities focused on residents from more than 200 homes across Cornwall, owned and managed by Coastline Housing. This is helping us to provide valuable insight into people’s lives, predominantly in lower income areas, to inform businesses, housing associations and policy-makers.

Throughout the project, a number of research papers have identified links between the home environment and residents’ physical and mental health and wellbeing.

The data gathered and research carried out, provides a unique and complex picture of the relationship between
indoor environments and people’s health and well-being.
Smartline has shown that when mediated by a responsible Social Housing Association, technology has a valuable role
to play in monitoring internal environments, identifying and potentially preventing issues that can affect physical and
mental health.

However, technology alone is not an answer and effective standards of governance are necessary to ensure tenants
are empowered and protected.

Key insights from the project:
• A mouldy odour in the home is linked with a higher risk of asthma for residents

• Mould modelling devised within the Smartline project and using sensor data can identify risks of mould, and
has future potential to predict and reduce the growth of mould

• Simple remote dashboard interpretation of humidity, temperature and other internal data can help Housing
Associations to prioritise stock management and provide proactive customer support

• Sensor technology can highlight issues and reduce health costs, but it is not a complete solution –
organisations need to have the capacity for in-person response

• Industry wide standards of governance are needed to ensure data collected by sensors in social housing is
used in tenants’ best interests and that tenants have access to their data

• Digital inclusion barriers and relationships with individuals and communities must be considered when
introducing technology into people’s homes

• There is significant potential to link up internal sensor data with health data in order to prioritise those who
are most vulnerable but there is a need for organisations to be prepared to act on this intelligence.

 

 

Further project information

  • Smartline
  • Sensing the home
  • Digital Inclusion
Sensing the home

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Contact details

European Centre for Environment and Human Health

University of Exeter Medical School

Peter Lanyon Building 12

Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 8RD

  • T: +44 (0) 1326 371859
  • E: ECEHHAdmin@exeter.ac.uk

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