A new report from August Home and Comcast’s Xfinity Home includes survey results that indicate as many as 30 million households – about a quarter of the 124 million homes in America – in the U.S. are poised to add home-focused smart tech over the next 12 months.
In this survey, which included nearly 1,300 U.S. consumers, an incredible 18% indicated that they were strongly considering purchasing a new smart home product in the next 12 months. Of that percentage, 56% indicated that they had already installed at least one smart home product.
What about folks that have yet to make the leap to smart home technology? The survey revealed that 12% of respondents that fell into that category were planning on making a smart home product purchase in the next 12 months.
This effectively doubles the number of homes that are running smart home technologies to 30 million by this time next year.
Security a big concern for homeowners
One of the primary motivations behind this surge in home smart tech interest: security.
As many as 63% of the survey’s participants indicated that security was at near the top of the list of motivations behind their interest in smart home technologies.
“Smart home technology is creating a new paradigm for home security,” said Jason Johnson, CEO of August Home Inc. “The new era of smart security and smart home products offer consumers visibility and control over their homes that previously had not been available with traditional security systems.”
These security devices include Internet-enabled streaming cameras with two-way communication and remote recording, alarm systems with app integration, and even electronic doorbells that alert you when someone approaches your front door.
The reasons given for this sudden adoption of smart technologies include news of break-ins in the neighborhood (46%) and new home ownership (26%).
Home smart tech lovers seek illumination, too
This doesn’t necessarily mean that security is the only reason for homeowners to purchase smart home technologies. In fact, 54% of survey participants indicated that solutions for remotely controlling lights are among their primary motivations for upgrading their home with 19% indicating that they’re interested in individually-controlled light bulbs.
Smart home technologies are also becoming increasingly inexpensive. As we move towards more inexpensive and readily-available smart devices, the barrier for any home to adopt smart tech is quickly fading away.
If there is one thing this survey shed light on, it’s that the Internet of Things is becoming more of a “thing” for homeowners across the country. This is good thing, as it has the potential of igniting a new wave of innovation and technology that consumers are hungry for.
So, whether you’re interested in connecting your home’s security system to your phone, monitoring your front porch through a video doorbell, or simply controlling your home’s lighting from your phone, you’re definitely not alone.
