The smart home is hoppin’. Just ask the analysts. Several recent reports indicate the home automation market is expected to boom in the next five to ten years, starting with Business Insider Intelligence. The group reports there are currently 1.9 billion connected devices in use worldwide, and that number is expected to reach 9 billion by 2018. Mirroring this trend, Juniper Research predicts that smart home revenues will reach $71 billion by 2018, up from last year’s revenue predictions of $33 billion.

These reports show rising consumer interest in home automation is increasing, but what’s driving this uptick?  What are the top priority for homeowners, and does the same apply for renters?   Does a person’s level of smart home knowledge also play a role in adoption?  And are pets more likely to spur smart home purchases for homeowners?

A new report from home automation software maker iControl Networks answers all these questions, summarizing the current market for 2014 and expectations for the future of the smart home.

2014 State of the Smart Home

 .

iControl conducted two surveys to capture the pulse of consumers.  In December 2013, it deployed a quantitative survey to 932 respondents, split between male and female respondents aged 25 years or older, with a total household income of $40K for renters and $50K for homeowners.  Then on April 2014, iControl fielded 10 questions using Google Consumer Surveys to an online sample of 1,000 US adults.  The online samples were demographically and geographically stratified, weighted to the most recent Current Population Survey, to ensure that the survey reached a representative sample of US adults.

The survey discovered that age, gender, and income level do not play a role in their adoption for smart home solutions, but instead affects their enthusiasm towards technology.  To that end, iControl categorized the respondents into Strong enthusiasts, Enthusiasts, Moderates, Ambivalents, and Disenthusiasts.

Strong enthusiasts represent 32 percent of the market that are more interested in home automation solutions with robust offerings.  They are the ones who not only want basic control over indoor and outdoor lights and thermostats, but also a solution to control home entertainment systems, appliances, door locks, garage door openers, lawn irrigation, and water leak warning/valve shutoff.

Security is of utmost importance

 .

Though changing the color of light bulbs or remotely turning appliances is an eye-catching feature for the smart home, personal and family security is the top priority for 90 percent of respondents, while 67 percent rated it as the top priority overall, and the respondents stated that not including a security capability in home automation is deemed unacceptable.

Of the home security features, 85 percent of the respondents stated that fire detection is one of the most important safety feature, while 60 percent considers it as the number one safety feature needed in home automation solutions.  Though carbon monoxide alarms are also important, only 64 percent put the warning in their top three important features, while only 11 percent see it as a top priority.  The respondents are less interested in location tracking for family members, integration with emergency wearable devices, or to monitor dependent care loved ones, with only 20 percent of respondents mentioned these features in their top three.

At this year’s SxSW conference, SiliconANGLE’s Senior Managing Editor Kristen Nicole Martin got a hold of Greg Roberts, Vice President of Marketing at iControl, who detailed the importance of security in driving adoption for their products.

“Our consumer research continues to tell us that the way to get to the mass audience with a connected home solution is through service providers, through professional installation, and utilizing platforms that not only enable connected home or smart home solutions, but layering those solutions on top of monitored home security to really drive the mass market adoption,” Roberts shared.

See the entire segment below:

• The cost of security: money & privacy

The survey also reveal that 51 percent of the respondents would pay up to $500 for a fully equipped smart home, while 32 percent are willing to spend more, about $500 to $3,000.

With security solutions in place, some parents stated that they would be more likely to leave their kids home alone at a younger age, 18 percent, as they can monitor their kids using live home video feeds, but women are less likely to leave their children home alone even if there’s live video monitoring.

Energy management

 .

Most home automation solutions promise energy management control, and 80 percent of the respondents stated that HVAC heating and cooling management is another important feature.  Reducing their utility bills and becoming more environmentally friendly plays a role in consumer adoption.  Sixty-six percent of the respondents name indoor lighting control, ceiling fan control, and water management as their top three desired features, and 42.5 percent are interested in replacing their old thermostats with a smart one.

iControl: State of the Smart Home 2014

As for smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, 51 percent stated that they are interested in replacing their smoke detectors with a smart one, while 49 percent are interested in changing their old carbon monoxide detector with a smart one.

“Energy management features are gaining mass market adoption because they are part of the connected home,” Letha McLaren, iControl Networks’ VP for Product Management, stated.  “The user experience around devices like smart thermostats and smoke detectors are much more compelling when tied to into a whole home system that benefits from not only environmental data but also valuable occupancy, weather and historical usage data.”

Pet monitoring

 .

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are about 218 million pets in the US, excluding the millions of pet fish, spending a monthly average of $500 on their non-human residents.  The report stated that Americans spend approximately $61.4 billion in a year, dedicating more cash towards pets than other seemingly important categories like apparel, phone bills, and even alcohol.

Undoubtedly, people love their pets. It’s no wonder homeowners are growing interested in home automation solutions that allow them to check on pets while away.  Fifty-two percent of respondents placed pet monitoring in the top five feature they want in a home automation solution, which is more than the 29 percent who put home entertainment and the ability to remotely control or automate home entertainment in their top five features.

iControl: State of the Smart Home 2014

Convenience

 .

Finally, one of the biggest factors that affect consumers’ purchase decision for home automation tech is convenience. It’s the promise of a life where one doesn’t have to fish for keys from the abyss some call a purse, or a smart thermostat that changes the temperature when no one’s at home, or connected lights that automatically turn on or off based on the time of the day. And the fact that everything can be controlled using a smartphone makes this technology more enticing for consumers.

Forty-one percent of the respondents believe that in the next one to two years, they will be able to remotely manage their home appliances, while 65 percent believe that it will take about five years for smart appliances to reach the mainstream.  In actuality, the technology is already available in some smart home appliances.

LG launched it’s new lineup of smart appliances, including a refrigerator with a camera, a washing machine that allows users to start and download wash cycles remotely, and a Lightwave oven that supports both NFC and WiFi.   These appliances are equipped with HomeChat, a feature that allows users to communicate, control, monitor, and share content with their smart appliances.  It uses Natural Language Processing and Line, a mobile messaging service.  It connects to your home’s WiFi network and in some cases, NFC can be used to control appliances.

To the future and beyond

 .

iControl survey respondents believe that mass home automation adoption is coming in the coming years, certain that more connected solutions will be available for consumers.  Fifty-six percent believe that in the next five years, home appliances such as HVAC and entertainment systems, clothing, food, and cars will all be connected with each other, while 53 percent believe that in the next 10 years, there will be a singular remote that controls everything in the home.

feature image source: iControl