Doing research for another post led me to a website offering a ton of smart home statistics. One that jumped out at me was the general attitude among Americans that smart home technology is now a necessary part of their daily lives. What are your thoughts?
I am curious about others’ thoughts because I recently joined the smart home community myself. I do not consider smart home tech necessary to my daily life, but it sure is helpful. Yet I can imagine at some point down the road concluding that it is necessary.
Smart Home Adoption Is Growing
At the heart of my question is the reality that smart home adoption is growing. Data from a separate source shows that 45% of U.S. households have at least one smart home device. Growing numbers of households have more than one device. It probably won’t be much longer before the 50% threshold is breached.
Data from my original source shows that, among all smart device owners surveyed in 2023, two-thirds expressed that the technology was necessary to their daily lives. It would appear that smart speaker, smart lighting, and smart thermostat users can’t imagine going back to living without smart home tech.
What Makes It So Attractive
Additional data from that same source indicates that more than half of all smart home tech owners are motivated by safety concerns. This is telling on several fronts. First, it clearly indicates a blurring of the lines between home security and home automation. People are starting to see them as one in the same.
Equipment providers do not mind promoting the idea. Vivint is one such provider. Originally known as a national leader in home security, Vivint now sells and installs home automation devices alongside its security offerings. Customers can now get whole-home systems that improve safety, efficiency, and convenience in a single package.
The other telling aspect is the general view of smart home technology for improving safety. Where first- and second-generation alarm systems were a hard sell for consumers, many of those same consumers are now open to investing in security systems powered by smart devices.
Pricing Plays a Role
I need to believe that pricing plays a role in all of this. Expensive technologies few people can afford don’t enjoy widespread adoption. And without widespread adoption, one would not expect people to consider a new technology necessary for daily life. Think of the automobile.
If you have never owned or used one, your chances of considering it valuable to your daily life are pretty slim. But start driving and things would change. A similar scenario exists with home automation.
Falling prices have made home automation more affordable for more households. For example, anyone can pick up a brand-name smart speaker for under $50. I waited for a sale and got two Amazon Echo Dots for that price. With prices being so much lower, more people are willing to invest.
Changing How We Live Our Lives
Home automation is literally changing how we live our lives. Personally, I have programmed my lights so that I never have to return home to a dark house again. That is a significant lifestyle change as I get older. And it’s just one example. I interact with my home quite differently now that I have smart tech installed.
As the technology becomes more integrated, more of us will take it for granted. It will become as natural to us as the automobile. And at some point, I’m guessing most people – myself included – will consider smart home tech a necessary part of daily life.