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January 13, 2009

Study: Consumers Seek Convergence and Energy Management in Smart Homes


A study about state of the smart home was conducted by CABA's Connected Home Research Council, a non-profit research group.  It was funded by Whirlpool, Bell Canada, Cisco (News - Alert) Systems, Direct Energy, Hewlett-Packard Company, Legrand, Leviton Manufacturing, Microsoft Corporation, Procter & Gamble, the Z-Wave Alliance and Zensys.



Entitled ‘The 2008 State of the Connected Home Market Study’, the study shows that since 2005, the number of US online households that want centrally controlled and linked systems such as lighting, security and entertainment in a smart home has been fixed. But in 2008, the number of people who find product convergence appealing has substantially increased.
As an example, the survey points out Smartphone users had positive experiences with using mobile devices in the kitchen, not just for communicating, but for scheduling, managing grocery lists and listening to audio. Products that allow customers to connect with other smart home solutions via their cell phones have a readymade market.
The study reiterates product convergence is the biggest opportunity for growth. "What consumers want most is an easy, seamless way to integrate their smart home devices--their mobile device, their TV, their appliances, you name it," said Carol Priefert, senior manager, Whirlpool Corporation, the study's lead participant.
Mary Miller, Director of Marketing, Zensys, said the report affirms that consumers are more interested in connecting home technologies in order to save time, energy and money rather than just automating their homes. Miller added that Zensys was interested in providing consumers with ‘seamless and interoperable solutions’.
According to the study, people living in states where energy costs are high would be interested in smart homes since it would give them the opportunity to control costs.
David Dollihite, Chair of the Connected Home Research Council and Vice President of Product Development for Direct Energy noted that energy management in the home is a rising priority for consumers and that the study showed the need for a “cross industry collaboration in delivering a consumer-friendly solution to integrated energy management within the connected home.”
The study found that consumers are also interested in specific product solutions such as a wireless memory card for digital cameras (so the camera can 'talk' to their computer and printer) and a personal multimedia player that offers a range of video capabilities including 'download favorite shows'.
"As highlighted by this market study, the proliferation of IP devices in the home and increasing consumption of digital media creates abundant opportunities for the broader connected home ecosystem to work together to deliver the seamless experience that consumers are demanding," said Tony Wan, Director of Marketing, Cisco.
Listing statistics, the survey shows that 87% of those surveyed have broadband Internet at home. And with computers becoming ubiquitous, 58% respondents said they have two or more computers at home. Interestingly, 43%of those surveyed had built a home network that allows computers and other devices in the home to communicate with one another.
Studying the various online activities, the survey shows that checking news (72%) and instant messaging (49%) top the list while there is a substantial number (34%) engaging in online social networking via sites like Facebook (News - Alert).
Ninety percent of online households in the US are using the computer for entertainment purposes such as playing computer games, watching videos, listening to music, burning CDs, etc., the survey found.
The communications revolution has also affected phone usage, with 12% of consumers in the US using cell phones and 8% using VoIP (voice communication over the Internet) rather than landlines for home service. The study also found that 57% of online households use cell phones in the kitchen regularly.
Telecommuting has also seen a significant rise with the number of people working outside the office increasing to 38%. Fifty-one percent of workers who use a computer regularly at work saying they had some or complete freedom to choose from where they work, which is up from 43% in 2005.

Nitya Prashant is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Nitya's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jessica Kostek





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