One third of people plan to buy a smart home device in the next year, many due to “forced adoption” because so many appliances and other home devices are now built with connected capabilities, according to a new report about smart device ownership from Clutch, a business-to-business research and rating firm.The report shows that a little more than half (53%) of people today own a smart home device.
Smart home devices also are popular because it’s easy to add a smart security system or other smart devices once a person already has a smart thermostat (or vice versa), researchers noted. Once a person is familiar with one, he or she is more apt to buy another.
According to the report, security system users benefit most from the remote monitoring benefits of smart home devices. Smart security systems (50%) are the most commonly owned smart home device, ahead of smart thermostats (48%) and smart lights (46%).
Cost (26%) is the primary concern people have with smart home devices, somewhat ahead of security vulnerability (21%).
While more expensive to purchase than “dumb” legacy devices, over time smart devices can reduce some utility costs in the home because the thermostat, lights, etc. can be adjusted remotely or automatically to save on energy costs, according to the report.
The report also cites the following perceived smart device benefits:
- More than half of people (53%) claim that smart home thermostats decrease utility costs. This is double the number who think a smart home thermostat increases utility costs (24%).
- Lowering utility costs (30%) is the primary benefit of owning a smart electric plug.