What is the reason behind the growth of Home Automation System Market?

[ashwinkumar]

According to the new market research report of MarketsandMarkets The global home automation system market is expected to grow from USD 32.11 Billion in 2015 to USD 78.27 Billion by 2022, at a CAGR of 12.46% between 2016 and 2022. The growth of the market is attributed to factors such as significant growth in IoT applications, reducing costs of home automation systems (owing to technological and other advancements), continuous strengthening of product portfolios for home automation devices by leading manufacturers, and increasing importance of remote monitoring of residential properties.

 

[Dean Roddey]

The problem is, what do you consider actually home automation. They will be including lots of things that are only tenuously at best related to actual home automation. Many IoT's devices are not remotely home automation. Lots of them are standalone doodads that are not part of an overall system at all. Anything that cannot be integrated into a home-wide system really isn't contributing to home automation per se. 
 
But of course the folks who do those sorts of reports maybe wouldn't know the difference, or maybe they break those things out inside the report but no one ever reads it and so people get the mistaken idea that much of that activity is actually home automation related when it's not.
 
The Amazon Echo is a perfect example. They've probably sold a good number of those so far, but it's not an 'home automation' device. It's a voice controlled remote control. It related to home automation the same way that any other remote control does, in that it can be used to invoke actions on a home automation system. But, like most remote controls, few people are using it that way. Most of them are just using it in the simplest way, where the Echo talks to individual devices, without any actual automation going on, i.e. it's just a remote control.
 
But I'm guessing that probably all the Echo sales are probably marked up as gains in the automation market. Not that it's hurting the automation market or anything, and longer term it may raise more awareness of the greater possibilities available in automation. But, for now, it's questionable as to whether it should go in that column at all.
 
The same could be said, for example, about Z-Wave. The bulk of Z-Wave stuff sold is probably used in a way that only very marginally could be considered automation, and in many cases not at all so in that it's just being used to replace wired versions of the same things and used in more or less the same way. 
 
 
Anyway, the point of all that is, is the growth really in automation or is it mostly in the sales of individual widgets that are either completely islands unto themselves or that, though they can be used in an automation context, few of the buyers of them will ever put in the effort to make that happen.
 
 
That might seem like a tedious differentiation, but from an investment point of view, it seems like it would be important to understand. And, just from a technical standpoint of someone who is into this thing of ours, it's useful slash interesting to ponder as well.

 

[jkmonroe]

dean is right, but the answer is smartphones.  

 

[emrosenberg]

What are these integrated home automation routines you speak of?  I'm setting up my new home, and have done a lot of research on this as I was weighing my layout and system options.  I had strongly considered going with an OmniPro system for its automation/security/lighting integration, but the more I researched, the more I found that most things people were doing were of the 'gee whiz' kind, and maybe saved a button press or two.  I'll have a robust lighting system because I like the convenience, and some tie-in with security, but in thinking things through, for as many routines which could theoretically be automated, there are as many times I would deviate from that routine and it would be annoying.
I think it is helpful if/when tied in with energy/water usage because it can save money and resources.  But very few (and not my) utilities use much time based metering.  And there are some very good stand-alone sprinkler systems.  I guess there is the 'one-app' advantage, but even then it's not such a big deal to have all of the various automation apps in a folder on my phone, and then go to the one I want.  Again, that's maybe one more press than an integrated solution.  Not a big deal.
Voice control is useful on a daily basis.  The ability to adjust HVAC and monitor comings/goings remotely is nice as well.

 

[Dean Roddey]

There are various advantages to a full automation system, some of which are:
 
1. Information. You have access to information about your home any time you want, presented in a quick to digest way.
2. The whole house is available from wherever you are in it. It's not just about controlling things in the room you are in
3. The automation system can do things in response to other things happening. So it can controls lights in some areas of the house at some hours of the day/night based on motion. It can announce things over your audio system, such as someone entering the front gate or motion sensed when it shouldn't be or in response to weather forecast data and so forth. It can do things in response to particular doors being opened, or when the security system is armed in a particular mode or disarmed. The list goes on and on as to what you might want to do.
4. It can do things at scheduled times. So it can remind you take out the garbage, or let you know the weather conditions when you wake up, or turn the outside lights off/on at sunrise and sunset, or run the pool cleaner on a given day of the week, and so forth.
5. It can make things that are often difficult for the non-technical members of the home much easier, such as powering up and down the home theater or selecting media to play and where to play it. It can limit the range of things if you don't provide access to the actual hardware, such as limiting the maximum volume they can set so they don't blow your speakers. 
6. It can use external information to adjust internal actions, such as taking into account external weather conditions like temperature, rainfall amounts, humidity, and so forth, and adjust things like whether the sprinklers should run or if windows should be allowed to be open or if you might want to run extra dehumidifying cycles or that sort of thing. If you have controllable blinds, it can control them based on time of day.
 
Anyhoo, it's basically a matter of imagination and the particular gear you want to control as to what's doable.

 

[emrosenberg]

Dean,
I agree with you on many of the benefits of automating certain systems within a house, but I still struggle to see the benefits of integrating these separate systems together.  An irrigation system which alters its behavior based on prevailing weather conditions is great, as is a lighting system which offers timing based responses, as is a home theater remote which allows for a simple button press to set up the proper viewing environment.  However these all work well as standalone systems - I just don't see, outside of a very few limited cases, where having it all integrated offers any real benefit.  And it comes at a price - not just the $ one, but the time it takes to set them up, and also that not that many routines so consistent that they benefit from automation.  For a couple of examples - having a door opening, or geo-fenced activation of lights which is conditional upon time of day is great, but really it saves a single button press on a well-placed lighting keypad near the front door (or garage door).  Yes, you can get more finely tuned thermostat behavior, but realistically a $50 programmable t-stat accomplishes 95% of the comfort gains and $ savings.  And while you can set things up to make complicated interactions hidden from non-technical users, that comes at the price of those non-technical users making a slight change result in all sorts of unanticipated downstream events.
Put simply, we don't really have 'smart' homes that can understand the user's desires and then automatically create the proper environment.  What we have is a programmer who attempts to anticipate the most widely used scenarios and hope that covers everything.  And the cost for that is massive (I would guess that for a 2500 sq foot home, to fully automate lights, home theatre, audio, irrigation, security, access control, etc. is over $20k).

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

I found the biggest benefit to my (previous) home automation system was the ability to connect disparate systems with one software solution.  I didn't use CQC but instead used HomeSeer (version 1.7).  Both CQC and HomeSeer offer this ability.
 
I can't speak for CQC (though I'm sure it has this capability) but integrating all of these systems really wasn't that difficult.  Also, once integrated into 'devices' setting simple rules so one system could interact with another was very simple.  Sure, I got into more complex interaction that required some coding, but this was my choice as this was a 'hobby' also.
 
I've said this before but one is really missing out on a lot of benefits of installing all of their hardware if they don't do this.  My (older) system included:
 
Ocelot for Sprinkler Logic and other timers (I loved how the Ocelot programmed timers)
Relay 8 from WGL for sprinkler system
Weather Wizard from Davis Weather (wind, temp, rain)
Axis Camera System (241 Q integrated about ten analog cameras)
X-10 Lighting
W-800 Sensor to incorporate various DS10a Sensors
Doorbell sensor
Fire/Smoke Sensor
Washer/Dryer Sensor
Salt Level Sensor (for water softener)
Elk M1 Security Panel (w/ extra relay outputs and Ethernet interface)
Phone interface (forgot what this unit was called but it was discontinued)
12-bit analog to digital sensor (eight channels)
 
I could do all kinds of automation tasks with Homeseer such as:
 
Announce garbage night every half hour starting at 7:30 PM until I 'saw' the side gate open (knowing I took the trash cans out).
Announce when washer and dryer were finished via whole house speaker system (high on WAF)
Send a series of pictures to my phone when someone pressed my doorbell
Don't water lawn if temp below freezing or high winds
Don't water lawn if rainfall was significant
Announce when my or wife's car was arriving home (got great distance using W800 and external antenna (all described in separate How-To's)
Had status of what vehicle was at home (represented by picture icon on my garage)
Had phone and computer interface of all the above
Closed garage door automatically if system was armed in 'Away' mode and garage door was opened (did a chirp of sirens and flashed garage lights before closing)
Could open/close garage door at button press on phone (and watch camera in garage while doing so)
Of course the turn lights on/off based on armed status, time of day, arriving home, etc...
Announce who was calling on phone via whole house speaker system (also send email on who called)
Turn lights on based on alarm status (fire etc...)
Send email if salt level was low
Send email if filters needed changed (sensed filter doors open/closing)
Know the distance my garage door was opened (to the nearest inch).
 
This is just the tip of the iceberg...many forum members here do far more complex actions with their systems.
 
One can not obtain all the above actions UNLESS they had all of their separate systems interconnected.  Unfortunately, there isn't 'one' software/hardware solution that offers all the needs of a 'true' home automation enthusiast.
 
Of course, this is just my opinion, but this was one of the main reasons CocoonTech was started!  Getting ideas of how to integrate separate systems together to satisfy ones automaton needs.

 

[LarrylLix]

Many people use the ISY994i irrigation module with weather inputs to calculate how much and when to water. For some people this is very important as there are fines for watering your garden on even or odd days of the month and water can be very expensive.

I use my ISY994 to notify me the dryer is done with the clothes and send me an emergency notification of the dryer doesn't shut off. It has happenned once before the HA.

If my washing machine spills water on the floor it shuts' it off and shuts of the water supply to the house. Same thing with my utility room and dishwasher, with leaks. Shut off the water and notify me if nobody is home. Otherwise ring some beepers.

We get notifications when the dryer is done, so we don't have to iron the clothes or sheets. A second warning is done, and then a text message is sent. (to the wife )

Many of my lights are controlled by HA for entering rooms fully light, with huge bulbs and yet those same ones come on at 8-10% in the middle of the night, for a pee run. No blindness yet!

My furnace fan runs in cycles when needed to keep an even temeperature throughout my two levels of home. But why waste the energy when I am not home? Why ventilate with outside air when I am not home, away on vacation, wasting precious heat energy in the winter or A/C energy in the summer? Why have cold chills when the winter wind blows? Have the stat compensate before it gets draughty.

I calculate the dew point at multiple spots around the home to see if bringing in fresh air is beneficial or drying my house out, in the winter, and it prevents mold from forming in my cold cellar, by NOT bringing in summer moist air, with a dew point that will result in an increase of humidity by ventilation.

Photovoltaic system let the batteries go dead? Get a notification by two different methods so you don't get caught and ruin the batteries with sulphation of the plates.

Tying the systems together has a lot of benefits and your imagination is the limit once it is done.

My God man...if we didn't tie our email systems, our plumbing, solar systems, our security system, laundry systems, motion sensing system, HVAC systems, HRV system. security system, and weather to our home automation system, what would the point be in having most of them?

Think of a computer without a keyboard, mouse or monitor? Why tie those systems together, especially to your router?

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Photovoltaic system let the batteries go dead? Get a notification by two different methods so you don't get caught and ruin the batteries with sulphation of the plates.

 
You should consider graphing the charge cycle (battery voltage) for a 24 hour period.  You can easily see if you are meeting the full charge compliance and let the charge system go into 'trickle' mode (this is harder to describe than looking at a charge graph).  
 
I did this with a lot of weather sites (work related) so I could verify my calculations (watts generated in a certain amount of solar power).

 

[LarrylLix]

 
You should consider graphing the charge cycle (battery voltage) for a 24 hour period.  You can easily see if you are meeting the full charge compliance and let the charge system go into 'trickle' mode (this is harder to describe than looking at a charge graph).  
 
I did this with a lot of weather sites (work related) so I could verify my calculations (watts generated in a certain amount of solar power).

Thanks but it has been analyses all to hell with charts and graphs and S.G. Definitely improved things over the years.

If you boil you cells dry, or your batteries get old impedances change.
If you have charge equipment that is temperature compensated and other equipment that uses fixed voltages for switching modes, charge cycles can just get missed for days.

I have learned one thing the hard way. There is always something new that can pop up with PV charging of batteries in a complex system with so many components.

Monitoring them with an HA system works best to get human attention in the all-else-fails situation. Maybe once Outback gets their shit together and makes dependable software it won't be necessary. Then the hardware will probably go up in smoke again.

 

[emrosenberg]

All these things are nice to have, but most of it can also be accomplished through stand-alone systems.  And the smartphone/tablet provides a single platform for managing them.  Sure, you have separate apps, but that is a positive (more customized for the specific system, quicker and more reliable updates from the manufacturer) as much as a negative.  It takes 10 seconds for me to set up a reminder to take out the trash ("OK Google, remind me to take out the trash every Tuesday and Friday at 8pm").  Integration is time-consuming to set up and test, requires maintenance, and costs money.  And it often only save a single button press.
I like this stuff, and have set much of it up, but I can understand why so few people do, because at the end of the day most of it is of the "I did it because I can".  For example, I enter my passcode on the door lock, which automatically turns the alarm off and triggers an "I'm home" lighting scene.  Realistically, you can just open the door, press the "I'm home" button on the keypad which is right next to the door, and enter the code on the alarm panel, and you've accomplished the same thing.  All the other stuff cost money, time, and creates it's own set of security and reliability issues.
And the nature of these integrations is that they are rule-based.  But life isn't so neat.  For a simple example, if my wife and I are watching a movie I prefer the lights low for an immersive experience, but if the kids have some friends over then the movie becomes more background and they want the lights higher.  So the 'movie' rule is ignored as often as its used.  Unless of course I set up a different scene for that, but you get to the point where it's just easier to do things manually because every situation is different.

 

[batwater]

In your examples what can be accomplished is the control of disparate solutions with individual pieces of software and never the twain shall meet unless you, the human, manually make things happen by flipping different apps to get the desired result. You are putting forth the argument that the specialized customization of each app is a good thing, My personal experience has been that the more variety my family has to deal with the less likely they are to use something.  A consistent interface/method for turning lights on and off (add to that dim level, color changes etc) is good, having 3 different methods of turning lights on and off because they have to go into 3 different apps (I have 3 different lighting technologies that meet various requirements) is bad and a show stopper in this household.
 
If you are interested in tying pieces of controlled technology together to achieve an aggregated result e.g. a single trigger, unlock the door, causes multiple things to happen then you need something in the middle to glue it all together. Just to illustrate the point about multiple events being possible if connected together with automation software consider this: You are driving home, your phone identifies, using geofencing, that you are heading home and then when you finally arrive at the "I'm Home" geofence your garage door opens, the door unlocks, the lights are turned on and the alarm is disarmed (with proper pass phrase of course) Further, knowing that you are heading home (and knowing that no one else is currently home) your automation system adjusts your HVAC to be at your desired comfort level by the time you arrive. Oh by the way, it knows that you are driving because of your velocity so it behaves differently than if you were walking or cycling. In this use case example it is hard to imagine that you could do this safely while driving (or cycling) flipping through various apps on your smart phone to accomplish the desired end results (which you have decided is important to you and your family)  
 
Or how about this one, your windows are open and your HVAC kicks in, wouldn't it be nice to be able to know about this discrepancy and define sets of rules to execute based on a set of desired scenarios? Or, again, the windows are open but this time the weather station notes rainfall and the automation system, knowing that the windows are open alerts the family members that the windows are open, it's currently raining on the house and there is a potential for water damage.
 
We don't have AI today that can learn user patterns and apply them to new environmental changes (controlled technology) based on said behaviors though a Nest thermostat comes close as a point solution, 
 
Some are in the camp of I just want to remote control my stuff and don't care about deriving additional benefits from being able to connect it together, others are in the camp of hey how can I connect this together to make it more convenient so that when I get home I don't have to worry about finding my keys, juggling the baby and the packages in my hands so that I can unlock the door, turn the alarm off and turn the lights on.
 
BTW it all costs money and none of this is really necessary at all to live regardless of whether it is integrated together or is silo'ed systems. You say tomato, I say toe-mah-toe, you want cherry tomatoes to eat one at a time, I like tomato sauce so that I can spread it around and make lasagna, using the sauce to meld the meat, cheese, and pasta noodles together into a dish, all is good...

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

I'm glad you brought up geofencing.  I did this with Tasker on my Andriod, it would notify her that I would be home in XX minutes (get dinner started as I had a sporadic schedule).
 
As far as cost, it's really just the price of the software solution as you (most likely) have all of the hardware you want to integrate.  Of course add-in's and plugins (phone interface, plugins for specific pieces of hardware, etc...) could get pricey, but again you don't have to do this all at once.

 

[tmbrown97]

To me, the proliferation of all these one-off apps and new attempts at new ecosystems are what've caused my interest in home automation to wane.  It's just not as cool to say you're lights are automated when you show someone and they say "yeah, I can do that with alarm.com or Hue".  It just isn't the same.
 
There are some great examples of above... we have some logic in our systems that'll actually notify us when the outside temperature is lower than the inside temperature AND the HVAC is in cool mode, telling us to open up some windows and hit on the whole-house fan.  Or things like on the once a year family trip where we get home at 2:00AM; the patio lights are off and the garage doors are disabled - you enter the dark patio and just press the doorbell switch and it turns on the exterior lights.  Or my kids who were potty trained before they were tall enough to reach the light switches - when they open their door, it alerts us in our bedroom as well as turns on the lights in their foyer and bathroom.  It goes on... for one client we turned off the infinity edge of his pool when wind speed picked up.  You could tie so much in with cross-system control.  Hell, my favorite function of the current system is the "all lights off" as soon as the exit timer on the security system expires keeping me from having to go around the house behind the kids.
 
I'm sure someday HomeKit or whatever Google is doing will tie all this stuff together the way we did manually via Elks and Omnis 10 years ago and they'll make it simpler to hook up for the non-techies - at the cost of having your entire system run by the cloud, and for a monthly service fee.  How irritating it'll be to have to pay $100/month for your smarthome and still have it only be as reliable as your internet connection; and with new news headlines exposing how entire houses are being hacked.  It really does kill the mood for me.

 

[LarrylLix]

I spent most of my summer trying to solve some humidity problems in a cold cellar with HA.
 
After running an exhaust fan while humidity was over say... 72% inside and finding the humidity rising anyway...
I reasoned that humidity was not the right answer.
 
I reasoned that bringing in 90F outside air with 70% humidity was becoming 90% humidity when the outside air is brought in a cooled to 65F., making the problem worse.
Then I discovered dewpoint and how to calculate it properly. As a good predictive figure it solves the how come...?
 
For humidity control it is well worth it for predictive results of ventilation and it's easy to do from temperature and RH sensors.
 
 
All this takes HA with some intelligence, not remote control.