This study was designed to address the first research question of this thesis which, as a reminder, was:
What lessons can be learnt from previous experiences when retrofitting heat pumps into social housing?
Through the contextual interviews with tenants and landlords a better
understanding was acquired and lessons learned through their experience were identified. Objectives 2 and 3 of this thesis were achieved through the execution of this study, as evident in the study and findings reported and discussed above.
Objective 4 was to identify key positive and negative aspects of current processes to install heat pumps into social housing and highlight areas to address for
improvements to the service. This was achievable through the data and
understanding developed from the first study. The key positive and negative aspects are drawn out here, to illustrate what user requirements this thesis continues to address, achieving objective 4. This fulfilled the second stage of the user-centred design process and, consequently, informed objective 5: the second study carried out and presented in chapter 5.
Key positive aspects of current processes to install heat pumps
Tenants were satisfied when workmen took care in their properties during the installation, covering flooring and furniture and cleaning homes and gardens thoroughly.
Neighbours communicate about the heat pumps and help each other in using the system.
Home visits and personal explanations helped the tenant make a decision about the technology and use the technology.
Large-scale community installations are beneficial for both landlords and tenants. For landlords, it reduces the cost by having the equipment required in one place for a period of time to work on several properties. Tenants also prefer the work to be done on mass at one time, to minimise the disruption to their community or street.
167 Key negative aspects of current processes to install heat pumps
Lack of, or inadequate, written information materials were supplied Inaccurate messages delivered during the ‘selling of the technology’ or
setting unrealised expectations
Tenants were provided with a lack of control or understanding of control panels
There was no heating during winter months when installing during this time period
As outlined in the discussion above, in section 4.4, communication was a key aspect drawn out as an issue across various elements of the service and user requirements were identified through the emerging themes in the research of which elements needed further addressing to improve the service. The key user requirements were for improved communication in written information materials provided and verbal communication from landlords and installers.
It is clear that there are three main stages to the service of installing a heat pump system.
1) the ‘introduction’ stage, where tenants are approached about having a heat pump, informed about the technology and make the decision about having it installed,
2) the ‘installation’ stage at which the physical installation is carried out and the tenants informed how to use the system,
3) the ‘usage and maintenance’ stage, encompassing the tenants’ on-going use and experience of the heating system in everyday life and the on-going service the landlord provides in assisting tenants with the heat pump, maintaining the system or repairing any faults.
It is with consideration of the structure of these three stages that this research continues to address the service. The ensuing study, presented in chapter 5, investigates further the aspects within these stages that affect and could improve communication, in particular written information materials delivered.
168 In the purchase decision process, search behaviour is motivated in part by
perceived risk and the consumer’s ability to acquire relevant information with which purchase uncertainty can be addressed. Marketing theory suggests that consumers use information sources to reduce the uncertainty associated with services (Murray, 1991). This principle may be applied in this context but with a substitution of the word ‘purchase’ for ‘acceptance’. A heat pump system is new technology that the majority of people know little about, yet an installation into someone’s home makes it an essential part of their everyday living. This is likely to increase caution over the risk involved, as was evident in the research with tenants reporting their wariness over the technology describing it as “something knew” and that they “knew nothing about”.
As a result they will seek for better understanding of the system from whichever sources of information are available. This argues the need for more appropriate and adequate written information materials as a tangible, retainable point of reference for the tenants to obtain information. Furthermore, the better the information provided about the holistic service at the introduction stage, the more the risk and uncertainty is reduced as the tenants can be reassured that all aspects of the system installation, usage and maintenance are taken care of and that the tenant will be supported. The more uncertainty and perception of risk is reduced the more likely tenants would be willing to accept the system into their home.
This thesis is looking at the core service provided from the social housing landlord to the tenant when installing a heat pump. But, as shown above, other actors will have an influence on this process and the experience. The next phase of this
research investigates communication aspects of the service with a primary focus on written information delivery. It involves the social housing landlord, the installers and the tenants as it was identified that the landlord and installer are both the key communication channels interacting with the tenants directly.
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Phase 2: Refinement & Development
Presented through Chapter 4, the exploratory phase of research depicted a contextual understanding of heat pump installations in social housing. By interviewing tenants and landlord representatives of multiple social housing organisations, the positive and negative aspects of current installation practises were identified. From this, areas that could be improved by the design of the service delivery were highlighted.
Applying user-centred design to a service adds a degree of complexity, as described in chapter 3. The first exploratory phase (chapter 4) produced a rich understanding of the installation service and highlighted areas that could be addressed to improve the service. A whole service and all of the touchpoints creating its delivery cannot be addressed at one time, particularly within a scope such as this doctoral thesis. A key aspect was highlighted in the first study that could be further addressed to improve the service: communication, with a particular focus on written information materials. Communication was highlighted as an issue and across various
touchpoints and interactions, the breadth of which were surfaced by exploring the holistic service as far as possible, with the landlords and tenants. This first phase of exploration research, therefore, covered the first two stages of the user-centred design process: firstly, to understand the contextual issues, service process and experiences and, secondly, to define user requirements from the research findings.
The defined requirements were at this point high level and broad, due to the scope of the investigation of a service. The area of communication was an overall
requirement to address, with various touchpoints identified that needed designing or improving. Whilst the first exploration phase provided rich and detailed insight into the installation service, the level of detail around the requirements was not sufficient to address the touchpoints, particularly from a user-centred approach perspective. Therefore, this second phase of research is titled ‘refinement and development’ and involves a second iteration of more focused exploration before progressing to the design stage.
170 As outlined prior, the scope of a service means that not all touchpoints can be addressed at one time. The key touchpoint felt, on the whole, by both landlords and tenants to be inadequate or lacking was written information about the heat pump system and how to use it. This touchpoint was a tangible part of the service delivery and, applying the philosophy of this research, required a user-centred approach to develop it. As such, the second phase of research was to understand the contextual issues and define the requirements of this particular touchpoint. The broader view of the communication aspects of the service was maintained and further
investigated also in this second phase, to refine the requirements of other relevant service aspects and develop recommendations for improvement. This wider view of the service maintained at this stage also placed the development of the written information within the service context and any limitations.
Whereas the first study established an understanding of the context and what could be done, the second study was to augment a refined understanding of how
something could be done to address key problem areas. A user-centred study was therefore designed involving the service recipients and the service providers of heat pump installations in social housing properties to address the identified areas for improvement. The purpose of the study was to form a deeper contextual
understanding, generate ideas for potential improvements to aspects of
communication in the installation service and to obtain insights and user generated ideas for requirements of how these should be developed. The focus of study with tenants in particular was to develop requirements and ideas for the information materials for their usage.
One of the social housing organisations that participated in the first exploratory phase of this doctoral research continued their participation for this second phase of research through to development of the physical touchpoint. The continuation of their involvement established this organisation as the case for this research
investigation. This phase of research was in order to fulfil objective 5 of this
doctoral thesis, outlined below as a reminder, and was an iteration of the first three stages of the user-centred design process.
171 Objective 5 of this thesis was to:
Carry out a second phase of explorative empirical study, using qualitative user-centred research methods, to refine user requirements and generate ideas for how to approach measures to improve the service of installing renewable technology in social housing.
The following diagram, Figure 22, is a depiction of how this second phase of the research applies as iteration within the user-centred design approach.
Figure 22: Refinement and Development phase of the UCD approach
This chapter firstly describes the method employed to further explore and define requirements for the communication-related issues and written information provision. As with the first study, following the user-centred design approach, this involved both the service recipients and service providers to obtain a balanced perspective. The findings from this empirical study are reported and discussed to outline the progression into developed solutions. The recommendations for improvements to the design of the service to install heat pumps into social housing homes are subsequently presented.
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