EPISODE · Jun 4, 2026 · 10 MIN
From Reactive to Proactive: Designing Air Quality Sensors That Residents Actually Want - #OT46
from Air Quality Matters · host Simon Jones
This week, we dive into a fascinating paper from the Journal of Sustainable Futures titled Co-creating Sustainable Innovations in Irish Social Housing Through Participatory Research, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about indoor air quality intervention: What if the single biggest barrier to deploying environmental sensors in homes isn't the technology—but the complete absence of trust, agency, and meaningful participation from the people whose living rooms we're trying to monitor? In Ireland, social housing providers act as landlords responsible for repair, maintenance, and dealing with problems like dampness and mould. But their strategy is almost entirely reactive—waiting for residents to call and report a problem. By the time that call is made, the resident has likely already been exposed to harmful levels of damp and mould for a prolonged period, and the building's infrastructure may already be compromised. The SHINE project (Sustainable Homes Integrating Non-Intrusive Environmental Sensors) aimed to transition from reactive maintenance to proactive monitoring using low cost environmental sensors. But the researchers knew they couldn't just drop technology into people's living rooms without asking them first. Key Topics Discussed: The Historical Baggage Problem: Top down regeneration and sustainability projects in Ireland have a shaky track record. Dolphin House residents spent over a decade fighting for regeneration due to horrific living conditions and severe mould. Despite 25 million allocated in 2016, years later only a fraction has been retrofitted. When you have that kind of historical baggage, trust is understandably low. The Fear of Surveillance and Data Exploitation: When you tell someone you're putting a sensor in their home, their mind immediately jumps to surveillance. Residents worried landlords were spying on them, recording audio and video, that data would be weaponised to evict them. What if environmental data showing a resident lived in a damp, mouldy home found its way to a health insurance provider? It could literally affect their ability to get coverage for lung conditions. The Challenge of Meaningful Participation: Consultations can easily turn into forums for venting. Stakeholders advised that the project had to clearly answer the resident's fundamental question: what's in it for us? If sensors are just seen as a tool for the landlord to save money on maintenance, residents will push back. The narrative has to focus on how sensors save the resident's time, reduce their bills, and protect their health. The Blame Narrative Problem: For years, the narrative around mould has been to blame the resident—telling them they just aren't opening their windows enough or they're drying too many clothes indoors. Approaching residents with a patronising or blaming tone will cause them to instantly refuse participation. Co-creating sustainable innovations in Irish social housing through participatory research https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2026.101740 The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The One Take Format and the Participatory Research Paper 00:01:11 The Reactive Maintenance Problem: When Waiting Means Harm 00:01:54 The SHINE Project: Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Monitoring 00:02:35 The Historical Baggage: Why Top-Down Projects Fail in Ireland 00:03:49 The Participatory Research Approach: 28 Stakeholder Voices 00:04:27 Barrier One: The Fear of Surveillance and Data Exploitation 00:05:40 Barrier Two: The Challenge of Meaningful Participation 00:06:32 Barrier Three: Specific Needs of Vulnerable Populations 00:07:25 The Engineering Response: Data Minimization and Edge Computing 00:08:10 Flipping the Power Dynamic: User Control and Inert Design 00:09:16 The Real Barrier: Participation by Design, Not Technology 00:10:09 Closing Thoughts: Listening First, Building Better
What this episode covers
This week, we dive into a fascinating paper from the Journal of Sustainable Futures titled Co-creating Sustainable Innovations in Irish Social Housing Through Participatory Research, to explore a question that fundamentally challenges how we think about indoor air quality intervention: What if the single biggest barrier to deploying environmental sensors in homes isn't the technology—but the complete absence of trust, agency, and meaningful participation from the people whose living rooms we're trying to monitor? In Ireland, social housing providers act as landlords responsible for repair, maintenance, and dealing with problems like dampness and mould. But their strategy is almost entirely reactive—waiting for residents to call and report a problem. By the time that call is made, the resident has likely already been exposed to harmful levels of damp and mould for a prolonged period, and the building's infrastructure may already be compromised. The SHINE project (Sustainable Homes Integrating Non-Intrusive Environmental Sensors) aimed to transition from reactive maintenance to proactive monitoring using low cost environmental sensors. But the researchers knew they couldn't just drop technology into people's living rooms without asking them first. Key Topics Discussed: The Historical Baggage Problem: Top down regeneration and sustainability projects in Ireland have a shaky track record. Dolphin House residents spent over a decade fighting for regeneration due to horrific living conditions and severe mould. Despite 25 million allocated in 2016, years later only a fraction has been retrofitted. When you have that kind of historical baggage, trust is understandably low. The Fear of Surveillance and Data Exploitation: When you tell someone you're putting a sensor in their home, their mind immediately jumps to surveillance. Residents worried landlords were spying on them, recording audio and video, that data would be weaponised to evict them. What if environmental data showing a resident lived in a damp, mouldy home found its way to a health insurance provider? It could literally affect their ability to get coverage for lung conditions. The Challenge of Meaningful Participation: Consultations can easily turn into forums for venting. Stakeholders advised that the project had to clearly answer the resident's fundamental question: what's in it for us? If sensors are just seen as a tool for the landlord to save money on maintenance, residents will push back. The narrative has to focus on how sensors save the resident's time, reduce their bills, and protect their health. The Blame Narrative Problem: For years, the narrative around mould has been to blame the resident—telling them they just aren't opening their windows enough or they're drying too many clothes indoors. Approaching residents with a patronising or blaming tone will cause them to instantly refuse participation. Co-creating sustainable innovations in Irish social housing through participatory research https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sftr.2026.101740 The Air Quality Matters Podcast in Partnership with Particles Plus https://particlesplus.com/ Eurovent (https://www.eurovent.eu/) - Aico (https://www.aico.co.uk/) - Lindab (https://www.lindab.ie/) The One Take Podcast in Partnership with SafeTraces (https://www.safetraces.com/) and Inbiot (https://www.inbiot.es/?utm_campaign=simon&utm_source=airqualitymatters&utm_medium=podcast) - Farmwood (https://farmwood.co.uk/) Do check them out in the links and on the Air Quality Matters Website. (https://www.airqualitymatters.net/podcast) If you haven't checked out the YouTube channel its here (https://www.youtube.com/@airqualitymatters-SimonJones). Do subscribe if you can, lots more content is coming soon. Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: The One Take Format and the Participatory Research Paper 00:01:11 The Reactive Maintenance Problem: When Waiting Means Harm 00:01:54 The SHINE Project: Shifting from Reactive to Proactive Monitoring 00:02:35 The Historical Baggage: Why Top-Down Projects Fail in Ireland 00:03:49 The Participatory Research Approach: 28 Stakeholder Voices 00:04:27 Barrier One: The Fear of Surveillance and Data Exploitation 00:05:40 Barrier Two: The Challenge of Meaningful Participation 00:06:32 Barrier Three: Specific Needs of Vulnerable Populations 00:07:25 The Engineering Response: Data Minimization and Edge Computing 00:08:10 Flipping the Power Dynamic: User Control and Inert Design 00:09:16 The Real Barrier: Participation by Design, Not Technology 00:10:09 Closing Thoughts: Listening First, Building Better
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From Reactive to Proactive: Designing Air Quality Sensors That Residents Actually Want - #OT46
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