Home tech can help homeowners save time, money and gain peace of mind. Here are six ways home buyers can leverage home tech to win.
Technology is a part of life for nearly everyone. When it comes to home ownership, home tech has the ability to automate routine tasks, improve efficiencies, keep us safer and more secure, help us stay connected with friends and loved ones and even keep us more entertained.
We found this handy infographic from Deloitte based on their 2014 Global Mobile Consumer Survey (US edition). While it covers both home tech and auto technology, we’re focused on the home tech here – but you might find both interesting. Scroll to the bottom for a large version of the infographic.
Home Tech – Who Wants It?
The Young – 17%
Compared to older generations of consumers surveyed, the youngest generation valued home tech the most (no surprise). This generation is also the most interested in self-driving automobiles.
Smartphone Users – 65%
No surprise here either. Consumers who are smartphone users are most interested in home tech products. Since many home technologies are designed to be controlled via smartphone app, it’s a marriage made in tech-heaven.
All Consumers – 55%
A majority of consumers are interested in incorporating home tech into their daily lives. Probably not surprising since home tech covers a wide range of products, from appliance efficiency to lawn and garden care, entertainment and more. And they don’t expect it for free; 71 percent of consumers say they’re willing to pay money to incorporate smart solutions into their homes.
6 Home Tech Solutions that Improve Life for Home Owners
Home Security
Security systems, alarms and monitoring have been around for decades. Today’s home tech gives home owners the ability to monitor their homes inside and out, 24×7.
Home Access
Smart home tech also enables home owners to lock and unlock doors, provide people who live in (or need access to) the house with their own unique security codes for keyless entry, track comings and goings and more:
- No more copying keys for kids – every member of the household can have their own unique keyless entry code (and mom and dad can track when kids come and go)
- For housekeepers, service professionals or home care providers
- For UPS, FedEx and other delivery services – the homeowner can open the door when UPS arrives, UPS can tuck the package safely inside and the door can be re-locked remotely by the homeowner
- For guests staying in the home on a temporary basis or who are occasional visitors
- For housesitters or dogsitters staying while the homeowner is away
- For employees or even customers in the case of home-based businesses
Entertainment
Today’s home entertainment stations can do it all. Not only can they stream cable or satellite programs, they can record them for later viewing and bring them up on demand. A homeowner can start watching a program in one room, pause it, and pick it up in the next.
And it doesn’t end with programming. Wi-Fi and streaming options give today’s home owner access to a vast universe of entertainment, from subscription based networks to pay per view. Consumers can even purchase gift cards for streaming platforms like Netflix, eliminating the need to provide a credit card if they so desire. Home tech with Wi-Fi access can also enable the homeowner to surf social networks and the internet from the same comfy couch or chair where they view their favorite shows, sports and movies on TV.
Appliance Control
You need never run out of milk again. Smart appliances can send homeowners a photo of what’s in the fridge in case they forgot their shopping list or let them program a shopping list right on the fridge’s front panel. Smart appliances can change the way you clean your clothes, wash your dishes, cook your food, make your coffee and more.
Utility Control
Yes, thermostats have been programmable for a while, but today’s homeowners can install smart utility controls that enable them to program complex schedules or control heating and cooling from their smartphones. Smart utility controls themselves can be set up to automatically adjust the home’s utilities to help the homeowner heat and cool their house more efficiently, reduce energy usage for hot water heating, etc.
Landscape Control
Sure, sprinkler systems and automatic irrigation systems have been around for a while. But today’s home tech is continually advancing, which means that today’s systems do more than just go on and off when you tell them to. Smart landscape systems can actually measure plant and soil moisture to avoid watering (and save the homeowner money) when it’s not needed to increase watering frequency (and save the homeowners yard and garden) when it is.
You might also like: Most-Wanted New Home Features by Generation
Click to open full size version in a new window.