Smart home technology is no longer a space-age fantasy. It is now a worldwide reality and growing in popularity at a staggering rate. There are expected to be nearly 500 million smart homes worldwide by the year 2025, while global smart home market revenue is forecast to reach a value of more than 141 billion U.S. dollars by 2023. Current household penetration of 10.6% will take a quantum leap to 21.4% by 2025. No matter how you crunch the numbers, it’s clear that the planet’s love affair with home automation has only just begun but what is it that we love the most?
A new survey released during CES 2020, branded as the most influential tech event in the world, revealed what it is we like the most:
- 34.6% thought the technology was cool
- 20% said it would help them save money on their energy bills
- 16.4% said it would improve the security of their home
- 14.1% selected convenience
We can relate to all of those answers. Smart home technology is certainly cool, but that would mean different things to different people. For example, the thought of returning home on a cold winter’s night and stepping inside a cosy and warm house that has been automatically heated by smart technology might be your idea of cool. Or the notion of crystal-clear audio in every room of the house, with the ability to play different music in each room, might be your definition of cool. Or for you, cool might mean being able to go away on holiday with full peace of mind, knowing that your smart security system is protecting your home in a way it’s never been protected before.
Of course, a lot of the love directed towards smart home technology is for practical reasons e.g. energy efficiency and security. With this in mind, we thought we’d share the survey’s favourite products and solutions in order of preference:
- 32.8% put smart thermostats at the top of the list
- 32.2% selected security
- 28.9% selected smart lighting
- 26.3% selected voice activation (like home assistants)
- 20.2% motion sensors
- 19.7% smart plugs
These facts and figures explain why the popularity of smart home technology is skyrocketing all over the world. There’s the definite “cool” factor; home automation is fun to use and is capable of doing some truly mindblowing things. But there’s also a down-to-earth appeal based on the more functional aspects of smart technology and devices. It’s this combination that will see smart homes become more common throughout New Zealand and the rest of the world, and if you’re keen to join that revolution feel free to get in touch.
