One byproduct of the pandemic amongst homeowners is an increased interest in smart home technology, according to a recent survey by realtor.com. As more employees are working remotely, many homeowners are prioritizing the safety and security of their homes. Not surprisingly, interest in smart home gadgets s highest among young people, aged 18 to 34.
While home security is the prime concern, the survey found that energy efficiency and entertainment are also on many wishlists.
Smart home technology continues to advance and it will be interesting to see what emerges in the new year. Security, of course, remains a driving force behind the tech boom while voice assistants are securely second in demand.
Machine learning or artificial intelligence has made great strides in learning users’ behaviors and preferences and can regulate temperature in the home, for instance, without human intervention.
Finally, devices that aid in healthy living such as improving sleep quality through controlling lighting are certain to grow in popularity.
With residential electricity usage in the United States expected to increase 24% by 2040, it’s hoped that smart home technologies can help reduce peak time power usage.
The basic idea is to reward consumers who move energy usage to nonpeak times.
Currently tests are being conducted to develop new optimization algorithms which will help minimize usage and, thus, costs.
These days there’s no doubt that smart home technology is a lucrative market but before it can move towards true market-buyer adoption several problems must be overcome.
Principal among these is simplicity of use. Homeowners don’t want to face complex setup instructions and more and more manufacturers are offering wider support to help with installation.
Security and privacy also remain key issues. Products must be designed with prevent eliminate current vulnerabilities with an eye to the future as well. Moreover, devices that can store sensitive personal data must ensure that this data can be protected.
According to The Future of Tech report home automation products are expected to reach $1.8 billion through 2018. This is a 74% growth rate as security and monitoring devices continue to rise in popularity.
Of course, the continued growth of devices such as Alexa and Google Home are pushing sales while the report also cites emerging technologies such as virtual and augmented reality as well as drones both of which are more in the hobby category.
Finally, more mainstream products such as headphones, lead by the in-ear wireless variety, continue to experience strong sales.
Forty-five percent of homeowners planning to do a remodel in the coming year will be incorporating smart systems in their upcoming renovation according to Houzz’s 2016 Smart Home Trends Survey.
Home security tops the list followed by entertainment systems, climate control and lighting systems.
In all cases, a majority of the respondents hope to spend less than $1,500.
Finally, roughly 37 percent said they’re not interested in adopting smart technology at this time.