UPDATED 12:06 EDT / JULY 15 2015

NEWS

Grandma vs. whippersnappers: How age influences smart home trends

Is the smart home only for millennials? A new report reveals some interesting disparities and similarities amongst age groups when it comes to consumer interest in the smart home. Turns out, age is more than just a number.

Icontrol Networks, Inc. released its second annual State of the Smart Home report, which revealed some interesting trends regarding smart-home adoption.

The survey was conducted during spring 2015 among 1,600 participants consisting of 1,000 respondents from the U.S. and 600 from Canada. The survey revealed that interest in purchasing smart-home devices increased by 93 percent for those who have personally seen the smart devices in action.

“We’ve been in this space for more than a decade, and in the last two years we have seen excitement over the ‘Internet of Things’ explode,” said Bob Hagerty, CEO of Icontrol Networks. “For smart home to really hit its stride, the industry must focus on what consumers really want – peace of mind. For the second year in a row, our survey clearly shows that people are predominantly interested in the security benefits of smart-home technology, and once that box is checked, the new and exciting smart-home features and devices will follow.”

The survey revealed that one of the biggest influencers in smart-home adoption is age.

Old vs. Young

Adoption

The survey revealed that those most excited about smart home technology are millennials, aged 25-34, with 79 percent of the respondents showing interest, with parents, at 76 percent, a close second. In general, 50 percent of the population are now excited about the technology.

Benefits

The report stated that 78 percent of U.S. consumers aged 55+ are excited about smart-home devices because of the cost savings, while millennials, at 40 percent, are more interested in greater productivity and ability to manage work-life balance that one gets when fitting your home with smart-home devices.

Care for the elderly

Fifty percent of North Americans stated that they would sleep better at night if their parents or grandparents had smart-home technology. Seventy-four percent of the respondents who identified as parents themselves shared the same view, and 72 percent of millennials stated the same.

What to automate

As for purchasing smart-home solutions, the survey revealed that those who identified as parents were more likely to purchase a smart-home hub and smart-home services, 66 and 65 percent, respectively, in the next 12 months compared to the 62 and 61 percent of millennials. In another note, 59 percent of millennials are more interested in connected lighting compared to only 54 percent of those who identified as parents.

Other findings

According to the survey, though 90 percent of respondents believe that security is the top driving force for smart-home adoption, 72 percent of the respondents are more interested in smart thermostats, 71 percent in smart locks, and 68 percent in a master remote for all the connected devices. Interest in smart outdoor lighting and home monitoring cameras tied at 65 percent.

Aside from age, the region where you live influences your decision as to what connected devices to purchase. The survey revealed that those from the Midwest are more interested in a connected kitchen, those from the Northeast are more likely to purchase a connected home camera, those from the West are more interested in self-watering plants, and those in the South are more likely to purchase a smart thermostat.

photo credit: The Matrix via photopin (license)

A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU