Are our Homes Getting Smarter?

How much interest do homeowners have in installing structured cabling and smart home technology?

Enough to demonstrate that home connectivity is on the rise, according to Connection Research's 'The Sustainable New Home in 2008' consumer study.

The study shows that nearly 50 percent of Australian households rate smart lighting as an important feature to have in their homes and 22 percent of households are considering installing home theatre in the next 12 months. Pay TV is currently in 34 percent of homes, with 20 percent of homes either definitely installing or considering installing it over the next 12 months.

The survey was conducted via email in over 7,000 Australian households. It looked at the proportion of homes with structured cabling, home automation, digital entertainment and communication technology, as well as considering the interest from households in installing these technologies.

Of the homes surveyed, around one quarter have distributed audio, 23 percent have smart lighting and 16 per cent have remote control security and access. In the households that don't have these technologies, there is considerable interest in having them installed within the next 12 months: 26 percent for distributed audio, 17 per cent for smart lighting and 12 percent for remote control security and access.

The number of households with home theatre, either in a dedicated room or not, stands at 29 percent. A further 18 percent are considering installing home theatre in the next 12 months and four percent plan to definitely do so.

Households are getting greater use out of their PCs, with 32 per cent of homes having two or more of their PCs networked. A similar number has more than one PC connected to the same internet connection. Twenty-three percent of homes are using their PC as a digital server, connected to the sound system and/or video system, with a further 17 percent of homes planning to do the same over the next year. VoIP telephone is currently only in 11 percent of homes, but over the course of the year, a further 18 percent of households are expected to come on board.

The study shows that not all home automation features receive equal interest or importance. Energy-efficient lighting and the ability to get broadband internet are rated far higher in importance than data networking, curtain/shutter control and the ability to control devices and lighting remotely via phone or internet. The importance of energy-efficient lighting rates higher than rainwater tanks, solar energy and grey water, with 80% of households ranking it as a very important feature. Interestingly, fewer households rate smart lighting as important as energy-efficient lighting, suggesting the two terms are not widely equated with each other.

When it comes to willingness to spend money on home automation features, households are holding tight to their purse strings. Around 30 percent are not willing to pay any more for structured cabling, a figure that climbs to around 40% when it comes to specific home automation features.

On the up side, half of our households are only willing to spend up to $5,000 for structured cabling and 18 percent are willing to pay even more.

Consumer awareness of home connectivity still has a long way to go. Only fifteen per cent of households are aware of structured cabling and rate it of high importance, compared to 30 percent who have heard of it but know nothing about it.