Electronic Express

Tech features put home security in the palm of your hand

Story by Electronic Express

Kelly Harbaugh
for Electronic Express
New technology makes it easier than ever to monitor home security.

Smart home adoption is growing at a faster rate than the industry predicted, and the availability of advanced home security features seems to be the tipping point. In fact, three studies have found home security to be a driving factor in the adoption of smart home technology.

According to Coldwell Banker, 2020 has been the benchmark year for smart homes to become mainstream, but their survey of over 4,000 U.S. adults revealed that homeowners are ready to spend the money to “smart stage” their home now. Other research has revealed the same trend. The 2016 Houzz Smart Home Trends Study reported that almost half of all home renovations are incorporating smart technology. August Home (makers of smart remote locks) and Xfinity Home (a division of Comcast) reported that smart homeownership will double this year, as their study found that 30 million households will add smart technology.

Houzz found security features to be the most popular upgrade, and the most common reason given was to protect the home against intruders. The ability to monitor the house while away was a close second. People surveyed by Coldwell Banker said that when buying a home, security was the most appealing pre-installed smart home technology. August Home found that family safety was the biggest motivator for smart home adoption, and that neighborhood crime was most likely to drive interest in smart home products.

“Smart home technology is creating a new paradigm for home security,” Jason Johnson, CEO of August Home, said in a press release. “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.”

There are a variety of products on the market that offer smart security. Overall, connected cameras and video doorbells are the most popular, as they let homeowners monitor their house in real-time through smartphone apps. Homeowners are alerted to visitors and can even “answer the door” while away from home, making it easier to prevent a break-in.

Some devices, such as the Home Wireless High-Definition IP Security Camera from Withings, perform more than one function. The Withings camera monitors air quality and enables two-way communication from your phone. The Ring Video Doorbell is triggered by motion and also allows you to communicate with visitors from your phone or tablet.

Other popular features include connected lighting systems that can be controlled remotely and smart locks that allow homeowners to unlock the door from their phone. Although security was the highest concern, nearly 30 percent of homeowners surveyed by August Home would grant temporary access to home service providers. Consumers are more willing to give access to service providers who visit regularly and establish trusting relationships, such as house cleaners and dog walkers, but 19 percent would allow entry to a package delivery person.

This reveals the second driving factor behind smart home technology: convenience. The ability to improve management of a busy lifestyle or simply turn on the lights and adjust the thermostat before arriving home ranked just behind security concerns as a motiving factor for smart home adoption.

“Our data shed light on how renovating homeowners are embracing smart technology,” Nino Sitchinava, principal economist at Houzz, stated in a press release. “These homeowners aim to improve the comfort, convenience, safety and energy usage of their home during their renovations, and smart technology appears to address many of their needs.”

The value of smart home technology is well understood by today’s consumer, and smart home products are popular with those who are buying, renovating or even selling a home. Furthermore, this widespread adoption is not limited by age or income. Coldwell Banker reports that Americans over age 65 are more likely to have a smart temperature product than millennials, and Americans with a household income of $50,000 to $75,000 are adopting smart home technology at a nearly identical pace to those with a household income of $75,000 to $100,000.

As the demand for smart home technology continues, we can expect to see even more innovative products introduced that further enhance our safety and convenience.

This story is provided and presented by Electronic Express. Members of the editorial and news staff of The Tennessean were not involved in the creation of this content.

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