It should come as no surprise that
the average consumer in 2016 has a general idea of what a smart home is, with a
recent study estimating that 30 million U.S. households will add smart home
technology in the next 12 months. But
what may surprise you is that the market remains largely the domain of early
adopters – including the purchasers of new homes – because the hype doesn’t yet
match the reality. If, as market
researcher Gartner is predicting, the typical family home could contain more
than 500 smart devices by 2022, the transition from early adopter to mainstream
consumer will require simplicity and ease of use over shiny, new products which
don’t serve to budge the status quo.
So how can the building industry
bridge this gap? By focusing the most on
those smart home services which interest consumers the most – like home
security, cited by 63 percent of consumers in a recent study commissioned by
August Home and Xfinity Home – and pairing them with triggering events, most
notably moving into a new house (26 percent) or remodeling an existing one (14
percent). Yet because the speed of
adoption and lists of concerns can vary by age group, providing consumers the
ability to match their individual wish lists with these products and services
is essential.
Fortunately, there are initiatives
already underway to educate consumers about smart home options. For the existing home market, Coldwell Banker
has recently partnered with CEDIA, the global trade association for home
technology, to launch a smart home education curriculum for its brokers and
agents. Offered via Coldwell Banker
University by a CEDIA instructor, the program will focus on just how smart home
products are changing the way people live and interact with their homes. Given that the company’s Smart Home
Marketplace Survey concluded that almost half of Americans either own or are
planning to invest in smart home technology by the end of 2016, the plan is to
give their agents an advantage when marketing their listings.
Fortunately for home builders, our
industry is a lot further ahead in this game, with the Housing Innovation
Alliance acting as a collaborative think tank since 2006. Sponsored by Pittsburgh-based housing
innovator IBACOS, the alliance now includes more than 75 leading builders as
well as more than a dozen building products suppliers and manufacturers. With the mantra “builders helping builders,”
the alliance also assists its members with the marketing, appraisal and
financing of ‘high-performance’ homes.
The alliance achieves its goals
through three primary areas: How We Live
(identifying ways in which builders can best understand how consumers view the
performance of their homes), How We Build (sharing best practices, trends,
codes and standards), and The Future of Housing (analyzing and sharing global
and technological trends shaping housing in the years to come).
In order to better demonstrate the
benefits of a high-performance home, Avid Ratings has also recently introduced
its GoTour program. Both virtual and
augmented reality give potential buyers the ability to ‘tour’ a home before and
after it’s built to view all of the technology options – even those usually
hidden behind walls. By allowing viewers
to cycle between rooms as well as among categories such as lighting, appliances
and other energy efficiencies, they can jump-start their own research on how to
save money, which might even result in a larger selection of options when the
contract is signed. Even better, since
virtual reality allows potential buyers to view these systems from the comfort
of their own homes, they can save both time and money by not having to drive
somewhere else to see it in person.
In order to simplify comparison
shopping for consumers, IBACOS has also introduced its own rating to better
gauge thermal comfort for its residents.
As opposed to just measuring energy efficiency – which may be at odds
with comfort much of the time – the Thermal Comfort Rating Metric (TCRM) would
let buyers decide how important comfort is when weighed against cost and
efficiency. For builders, a realistic
rating system could help reduce the cost of callbacks when buyers are prepared
for these trade-offs, and have had their specifications tweaked into the
building of the home itself.
Finally, there’s also a network
effect at play here, in which greater penetration feeds on itself. According to iControl’s most recent State of
the Smart Home report, 66 percent of consumers who know someone with a smart
home are likely to be more interested in these technologies – and that’s even
before they step foot in your model home.
My column for the June 2016 issue of Builder and Developer magazine is now posted online.
