1 in 9 UK HOUSEHOLDS TO BE ‘SMART’ BY END OF THE YEAR
3.1 million households will spend £715 million on smart home systems; UK well ah...
1 in 9 UK HOUSEHOLDS TO BE SMART’ BY END OF THE YEAR
3.1 million households will spend £715 million on smart home systems; UK well ahead of global adoption but considerably behind US
One in nine (11%) UK households will have at least one smart system by the end of this year, rising to over one in four (27%) households in five years, according to global forecasting firm, Strategy Analytics.
The number of UK households with some form of smart home system – automated entertainment, energy, appliance, security or healthcare systems typically controlled remotely through internet technology – will increase 43% on last year to 3.1 million in 2014, spending a total of £715 million. This is forecast to double to £1.4bn across 7.7 million UK households in five years (2019).
“Whilst telecom brands are leading the drive in Europe, energy companies are dominating the early take-up of smart homes in Britain,†explained Bill Ablondi, Strategy Analytics’ Director, Smart Home Strategies advisory service and author of the forecast. “British Gas re-launched its smart home thrust in late 2013 under the Hive brand and now has almost 100,000 subscribers. In addition, Google subsidiary Nest struck a deal to offer its stylish thermostat through nPower while E.ON is actively preparing its launch after a trial in Milton Keynes.â€
“Take-up will be boosted by cool’ companies such as Apple and Samsung becoming players, alongside a steady stream of elegant single-purpose devices from various companies including Belkin, Dropcam, Piper and Tado, enabling it to be increasingly easy and affordable for people to set up smart home devices.â€
How the UK compares globally
Entitled “2014 Smart Home Systems and Services Forecast†the study – conducted across the US, China, France, Germany, Italy Spain and the UK – shows the UK will be well ahead of the global average (5% of households) in smart home adoption this year but considerably behind the US (17%). Worldwide revenues in 2014 will hit £29.3 billion, with the US accounting for around 37% (£10.9 billion).
UK smart homes will spend an average £234 each on the technology, less than half that of US homes (£517).
Ablondi concluded: “Annual revenues from smart home related hardware, services and installation fees will grow by just under 20% each year to nearly £70 billion worldwide in 2019 when 224 million homes, or nearly 1 in every 8.5 globally, will have at least one type of smart system installed.â€
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