The widespread dispersion and adoption of digital devices and applications has put businesses of nearly every sector on the path towards maximizing their efficiency and productivity by leveraging the abundance of new technology. For most enterprises, this has been done mainly using new automation tools, which not only help optimize daily processes for increased efficiency, but also negates a myriad of human error mistakes as well.
The rise of home automation is currently underway in households all across the globe. This refers to a network of hardware, communication, and electronic interfaces that work to integrate everyday devices with one another via the Internet. Usually, each device has sensors and is connected through WiFi, so they can be managed from a smartphone or tablet, anywhere and anytime.
This sector is growing quite swiftly, with the global home automation market coming in at USD 64.66 billion as of 2022, with experts predicting a CAGR of 12.3 percent, estimating a market value of USD 163.24 billion by 2028. Furthermore, the market revenue for the technology itself reached USD 45.6 billion in 2022, with an estimated CAGR of 10.6 percent, to bring the market revenue to a projected USD 136.5 billion by 2033.
“This high growth is not surprising in the least, given the variety of benefits a home automation system can provide to the average consumer and to landlords, building operators, public housing agencies, and more,” said Ollie Hynes, founder of Hub Controls based in New York state, and inventor of a distributed solution leveraging devices, broadband, software, cloud, and layers of automation. “The technology offers consumers increased comfort, convenience, and safety measures through the sensors and controllers they’re given access to. However, among all the advantages a home automation system can provide, the enhanced energy efficiency is by far the most prominent, and important benefit to the average consumer, especially with the current state of the energy industry.”
At a country wide-scale, there are already numerous countries dealing with issues relating to energy distribution and consumption, with the United States being no exception. According to the Department of Energy, today’s electrical system power outages and interruptions cost Americans at least USD 150 billion each year, with this estimate putting the price tag at about USD 500 per person.
On top of this, energy efficiency is a problem that also plagues consumers on an individual scale, with 44 percent of United States residents having to spend almost 10 percent of their salary on energy, as well as nearly 60 percent of residents having to often decide between paying for energy or groceries. These numbers become even harder to swallow when one realizes that 67 percent of energy used in homes today falls under the category of wasted.
“Driving down these numbers at the consumer level is where home automation technology can truly play an essential role, by providing the tools necessary to help consumers take better control of their energy, and make improved, and informed decisions when it comes to efficiency,” Hynes explained.
He gave an example of automatic energy reduction (AER).
“AER is what delivers the majority of your energy savings by reducing the amount of boiler-on time through intuiting a households’ preferences even more accurately than a human could,” Hynes said. This makes it easy for consumers to save on energy, which is found to be on average 36.63 percent worth of savings, even if they forget to monitor their energy use themselves.
Another important benefit of home automation systems is the ability to set an energy schedule for future dates and times in advance. At a day-to-day level, this gives consumers the ability to schedule less energy use during off-peak house hours, such as when the house is most likely empty, or at least less populated during school and work hours.
“On a longer time-scale, scheduling allows consumers to easily ensure more efficient energy use during extended periods away from the house when they wouldn’t normally have access to the energy levels, such as during a vacation,” Hynes explained.
Finally, with sensor devices and controllers being connected via Wi-Fi in a home automation system, this provides unparalleled control to a consumer, being able to tinker with their energy levels from nearly anywhere, at any time. The benefits of this ability are quite clear to imagine, as if someone realized they left something on only after already going out, they can quickly turn it off, or change the levels on the spot using their phone or tablet. This feature also comes in handy even from within the house, as there’s no longer a need to get out of bed to change the energy levels.
Overall, as we continue to move forward into an extremely digital age, the need for efficient energy use, and the demand for energy in general, is only going to grow with more new devices set to hit the market. While enterprises may have the funds necessary to subsidize such extraneous energy use, consumers must be wary of the energy efficiency, lest their utility bill creep up on them month after month. While a home automation system may seem confusing at first, investing in one can help households around the globe enhance their energy efficiency, benefiting both themselves, and the world around them.
Read the full article here
