Key Growth Drivers of The Global Smart Home Market
Posted by Andrew Thomas on February 13th, 2019
The smart home is a term commonly used to define a modern residence that has appliances, lighting, air conditioning, heating, entertainment video, and audio systems, TVs, computers, security systems that are capable of communicating with each other and can be controlled by a remote or a smartphone by a time schedule. A smart home is a home with faster, better operating abilities and performance.
The smart home is a major evolutionary step in the residential space and they have the living environment convenient, safe, sustainable and modern. Earlier, only the rich and elite thought of incorporating smart home solutions to their living space, that is not the case anymore. Today, smart home technologies have become affordable and most households use smart home automation in some form or the other.
Constant technological advancement has majorly influenced the popularity of the global smart home market, which has led to the constantly expanding global smart home market size. Just a few years ago, smart homes were marketed as homes with advanced security systems such as CCTV cameras, smart doors locking systems and surveillance systems. Today smart homes have expanded to include fire detection systems, electronic lighting systems, energy efficiency monitoring, gas leakage detection, entertainment systems etc. in countries such as India, the market for smart homes is growing each day. This is primarily due to the increase in double income households in tier 1 and 2 cities. With income flowing from two streams, the family is financially capable to opt for smart home and therefore a higher standard of living.
Globally, the key driving factor of the global smart home market was the need to ensure the safety of the home when it is unoccupied, either when the inhabitants are at work or for extended periods during vacations. While parents are out at work, they can keep an eye on their children or the elderly members of the house via smart surveillance features that can be monitored from anywhere via a smartphone or computer. In an integrated township, the security features are integrated with larger security measures at a project level. Another key driving factor of the global smart home market is the increasing internet penetration and rising crime rates in the city leading to rising concern about home security. While awareness about smart home technologies is slightly lower in non- metropolitan cities. The overall situation and adoption rate of this product is quite positive. Some of the popular features in a smart home are lighting control, security (motion sensors, video door monitoring, curtain sensors, fire detection), entertainment systems, smart air conditioning, smart refrigerators, GPS navigation, and door locking systems.
There are still certain challenges to the global adoption of smart homes. Cost of installation and maintenance along with lack of awareness act as major hindrances. Moreover, smart homes are still seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. Things like smart air conditioners and smart TV’s are desirable but not a necessity. However, slow progress is still seen as progress and awareness and acceptance levels are increasing and very soon smart homes will be the default choice for homeowners.
