10 years ago, if we told you that in a few years, you’d be able to control the lights in your house with your mobile phone, you’d have thought we were nuts! But with a connected home, that’s exactly what you can do; and it doesn’t stop at lighting.
In fact, connected home technology has become so popular that TechNavio analysts anticipate the Connected Home Machine to Machine (M2M) Market in the US to post a CAGR of over 35 percent for the 2013-2018 period.
So what is a connected home?
A connected home refers to a house or residence equipped with a machine to machine (M2M) technology. It uses an IT-based control system that anticipates and responds to the needs of the residents or the users. A connected home enhances the security of the house and provides comfort, convenience, and entertainment to the users by using advanced wireless technologies.
Connected home applications include:
Why should you want a connected home?
There are many advantages to using machine to machine technology and transforming your residence into a connected home. TechNavio analysts have pinpointed 3 important reasons why US citizens are choosing to upgrade to a connected home:
Growing Need to Reduce Home Energy Consumption
Currently, the average annual electricity consumption for a US residential utility customer is 10,837 kWh, an average of 903 kWh per month.
Due to this increasing consumption of electricity by residential users, the US government is focusing more on green technology-based energy devices. It is also encouraging the usage of smart-grid HAN to enhance operational efficiency among residential users. Further, the increasing cost of energy in the US is driving the adoption of smart devices for lower energy consumption.
Connected homes can potentially save customers hundreds (maybe even thousands) of dollars by regulating home systems and appliances to run at non-peak hours.
Increasing Usage of Smartphones and Smart Appliances
US consumers are becoming digital device savvy because of the availability of technologies for providing high-speed communications and the increasing adoption of smart devices. Almost 148 million Americans use smartphones, which is almost 62 percent of total mobile users, and it is expected that by 2014, 60 percent of mobile users in the US will own a tablet.
In addition, the adoption of smart appliances such as refrigerators, washing machines, gas and temperature controls is increasing more than traditional home appliances. This is because most of the home appliance device manufacturers in the US are reducing the manual activities required for the operation of the device and its energy consumption. Therefore, users are saving both time and money by using digital home appliance devices rather than traditional devices.
Increasing Aging Population in the US
Demographically, the aging population in the US has increased drastically over the past few years. Currently, the average lifespan of a person in the US is 79 years. Almost 25.7 percent of the population of the US is above 55 years. That means that almost 79 million people of the US are above 55 years. In addition, 19.1 percent of the population (almost 59 million) is above 60 years, and 13.4 percent of the US population (almost 41 million) is above 65 years.
Connected home M2M services not only reduce the physical burden on the aging population but also provide peace of mind for their relatives. For instance, relatives can track the activity of the elderly person remotely through the security cameras installed in the house. Further, the elderly person can access multiple infotainment and basic household facilities such as lights, TV, thermostats, and gas controls over their smart phone without any physical movement.
Also, connected home machine to machine services enable the aging or physically disabled patient to contact their physicians instantly. A connected home also provides peace of mind to the near and dear of aging people with degenerative diseases such as dementia.
For more information, view our 2014-2018 report on the Connected Home M2M Market in the US.
