Sustainable Homes Integrating Non-intrusive Environmental Sensors
Empowering social housing communities through citizen science, environmental data, and just transition research.
SHINE is an interdisciplinary research project investigating how national clean energy ambitions intersect with the social housing sector. By combining non-intrusive environmental monitoring with active citizen participation, we generate data-driven evidence to combat energy poverty and inform inclusive climate policies in Ireland.
Our Project
The transition to a low-carbon society must be fair, inclusive, and grounded in the daily realities of all households. SHINE explores how non-intrusive environmental sensors—measuring parameters such as indoor temperature, relative humidity, and carbon dioxide—can be paired with citizen science to improve living conditions in social housing.
Rather than viewing tenants as passive data sources, SHINE actively involves residents as co-researchers. Through real-time feedback loops and participatory engagement, the project fosters household energy literacy while capturing vital insights into indoor air quality, comfort, and energy resilience.
Funded under the SEAI National Energy Research, Development & Demonstration (RD&D) Programme, SHINE provides the empirical evidence needed to guide national retrofitting strategies, support housing management, and ensure that Ireland’s clean energy transition leaves no community behind.
Core Research Pillars
1 – Citizen Science and Tenant Empowerment
2- Socio-Technical Data and Sensor Research
3 – Just Transition and Housing Policy Innovation
Key Objectives
We expect several individual stakeholder groups will benefit in different ways from our proposed solution:
Addressing energy poverty
Informing Public Policy
Improving indoor air quality
Advancing Climate Resilience
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