Focus on Smart Energy Management, Unmet Needs, and Opportunities
Consumers play a key role in driving various trends in the connected home energy industry. Their perceptions determine the success or failure of various initiatives and innovations in the market. This survey was designed to capture valuable insights regarding energy aspects and adoption trends associated with connected home solutions.
The study offers an in-depth understanding of perspectives around the current and future adoption trends with regard to home energy management and IoT-enabled offerings. This is in addition to the demand drivers and preferred business models that will resonate with customers. More than 1,200 occupants/homeowners with home Internet access residing in rural, urban, and sub-urban areas across the US and Canada were included in this survey. They are all involved in the decision-making process for investments in consumer electronics and communication technologies for their residences. The response patterns are also broken up by regions for both the US and Canada to provide insights of how trends vary across these regions. The observations from this survey range across adoption trends, system/device control factors, brand perceptions, energy cost perceptions, and preferred delivery models for energy and related services with a special focus on the role of utilities. Respondents closely related to the perception of connected home to systems with high energy consumption. This was followed by systems/devices accessible over Wi-Fi such as connected security, entertainment systems, and appliances.
The primary drivers of interest in connected homes were utility/energy/cost savings, followed by convenience and security. Energy costs are a high concern area for most respondents in both Canada and the US. Energy-saving investments made in this regard, however, have an expected payback period of one to two years, which was the most desirable payback period among respondents.
Research Highlights
The key highlights of the research include the following:
- An opportunity to understand the consumers’ perceptions of connected home energy management and IoT-enabled offerings
- Insights to help assess the current state of adoption and unmet opportunities to address in the future.
- Learning about homeowners’ preferences, adoption criteria, key benefits, and technical barriers.
- Perspectives on smart energy management needs, demand drivers, and preferred business models that will resonate with customers’ needs.
Key Issues Addressed
- How do homeowners/occupiers engage with smart energy solution providers today?
- What motivates them to select some brands over others?
- How satisfied are they with their current service providers?
- How do they envision working with their service providers in the future?
