Date: 17 August 2026
Author: (this will open in a new window)Kate Milne, Economist at FarrPoint
Smart home technology is becoming an increasingly important tool for housing providers, local authorities, private landlords, and housing associations. From connected sensors and energy monitoring to remote diagnostics and digital platforms, smart solutions can help improve resident outcomes, reduce costs, and support better property asset management.
However, the value of smart home technology does not come from the devices alone. It comes from understanding how those technologies perform in practice, what benefits they deliver, and whether the investment represents good value for money.
Through FarrPoint’s smart home evaluation work, we help housing providers assess the economic, operational, and social value of smart technology. Our independent approach supports organisations to understand return on investment, identify the strongest use cases, and make evidence-based decisions about future deployment.
The drivers for smart home investment vary depending on the organisation, housing stock, tenure type, and resident needs. However, FarrPoint’s work has shown that most investment decisions are shaped by five key priorities.
Smart home technology can help housing providers offer more responsive and proactive services. Connected systems can alert staff to potential issues before residents need to report them, while digital platforms can improve communication and visibility around repairs, maintenance, and support.
For residents, this can mean fewer disruptions, faster responses, and greater confidence that their home is being managed safely and effectively. For providers, it can lead to improved service quality and stronger resident relationships.
Smart technologies can provide valuable insights into property conditions and resident wellbeing. Use cases include monitoring indoor environmental conditions, identifying risks linked to fuel poverty, supporting independent living, and enabling earlier intervention where residents may be vulnerable.
For example, data from heating systems, temperature sensors, or energy usage patterns can help identify homes that may be underheated, signalling potential affordability issues or fuel poverty. Assisted living technologies can also support residents with additional needs, enabling more tailored and preventative support.
The value of these solutions depends on how effectively data is translated into action. FarrPoint’s evaluations consider not only whether the technology works, but whether it supports better outcomes for residents.
For many housing providers, one of the strongest drivers for smart home technology is the potential to reduce avoidable costs.
Smart solutions can support more efficient repairs and maintenance by identifying issues earlier, enabling remote diagnostics, and helping teams prioritise investments. They can also support better void property management by providing visibility of empty homes, detecting leaks, monitoring security risks, identifying heating or energy issues, and helping reduce the time and cost associated with bringing properties back into use.
At portfolio level, smart data can reveal patterns across property types, locations, and assets. This can help providers target investment more effectively, reduce reactive maintenance, and improve long-term asset planning.
FarrPoint’s economic evaluations help quantify these benefits, assessing potential savings, implementation costs, payback periods, and wider return on investment.
Housing providers are under increasing pressure to demonstrate that homes are safe, well-managed, and compliant with evolving standards.
Smart home technology can strengthen compliance by providing better evidence on property conditions, system performance, and risk areas. This may include monitoring heating performance, water systems, fire safety equipment, energy use, security, property access, and environmental conditions.
Importantly, smart technology can help organisations move from periodic checks to more continuous insight. This gives providers better information to support decision making, prioritise action, and evidence the steps they are taking to manage risk.
Smart home technology also has a role to play in preparing housing portfolios for the future. As expectations around connectivity, energy efficiency, digital services, and decarbonisation increase, housing providers need to understand how technology can support long-term asset strategies. This includes assessing whether homes have the right connectivity, whether systems can work together, and whether solutions can be scaled across different property types and resident groups.
FarrPoint helps organisations move beyond isolated pilots and siloed systems, supporting a more joined-up approach where devices, data, connectivity, and operational processes work together.
A key lesson from FarrPoint’s smart home evaluation work is that value varies significantly by use case, property type, and operating model. A solution that delivers strong results in one setting may not provide the same return elsewhere.
That is why robust evaluation is essential. FarrPoint helps housing providers understand where smart technology can have the greatest impact, whether the benefits justify the costs, and what return on investment can realistically be achieved.
Working with Archangel and Bield Housing and Care, FarrPoint quantified the benefits of IoT-enabled housing, identifying measurable savings and a 4.4:1 return on investment, and providing the confidence to scale the solution across a wider housing portfolio.
We are currently working with a number of other housing providers across the UK to help build the evidence base for smart housing and inform future investment decisions. From council-managed social accommodation to large retirement homes, all facilities come with their own challenges and potential gains that FarrPoint can help understand and make informed business cases.
Our work considers the full picture: outcomes for residents, operational benefits for teams, impact on assets, scalability, and the changes needed to realise value. FarrPoint provides independent evaluation and economic analysis to help organisations quantify ROI, understand impact, and make confident, evidence-based decisions about future deployment.
Smart home technology can deliver better services, safer homes, lower costs, and stronger compliance, but only when it is targeted effectively. FarrPoint helps housing providers cut through the noise by independently evaluating what works, where value is created, and whether investment stacks up.
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