diff --git a/include/thingset++/ThingSetValue.hpp b/include/thingset++/ThingSetValue.hpp
index e3ce77e..1022da5 100644
--- a/include/thingset++/ThingSetValue.hpp
+++ b/include/thingset++/ThingSetValue.hpp
@@ -61,6 +61,11 @@ class ThingSetValue : public ThingSetEncodable,
         return _value;
     }
 
+    operator const T &() const
+    {
+        return _value;
+    }
+
     T *operator&()
     {
         return &_value;