Merchants must switch on to smart homes
The demand for sophisticated technology and gadgets in the home is rising fast, paving the way for smart home. Following the launch of its White Paper on smart homes of the future, Honeywell’s Andy Mansfield says stocking the right products is the first step to helping customers capitalise on this growing trend.
“Developments in home technology have grown at a staggering pace over the past few years, and homeowners are quickly turning to devices that offer them more convenience, efficiency and financial flexibility.” says Andy. “Experts have suggested that the number of multi-connected devices, known as ‘the internet of things’ will grow to more than 26 billion by 2020, a 30-fold increase on today’s figures.”
A recent Honeywell survey found that nearly half of all homeowners (47%) said they would be interested in having a fully connected smart home where they could control everything from a tablet or phone. When asked why, 71% mentioned lowering their energy bills. Nearly three-quarters of installers say they would like to be capable of providing fully-integrated systems, and 86% say they would be eager to learn more about smart home technology.
However, if smart homes are to become a viable solution for homeowners, they need buy-in from the industry as a whole – and that includes manufacturers, installers and builder’s merchants. Nearly three-quarters of installers say they would buy their smart gadgets from a local builder’s merchant. Equally, manufacturers have a responsibility to work more closely with merchants, helping to ensure they are stocking the right products and providing or signposting the right training.
There is a whole new market emerging which is there for the taking for the UK installer – and their merchant. The key is tapping into it.
