The evolution of smart home technology in recent years has also brought about increased demand for residential security products.
According to a new report from Research and Markets, the smart home market is expected to grow to over $58 billion by 2020, growing at an estimated compound annual growth rate of 17 percent over the next five years. The biggest contributors to this anticipated growth in the global market are demand for energy efficient solutions and enhanced home security.
“Today, fundamental trends have emerged to drive the acceptance of smart homes, the aging population is increasing the demand for new services in homes; the increased penetration of portable devices has led to a dramatic increase in digital access technologies, which is also a major enabler for smart home applications; and there is a strong push by a wide range of leading players, such as telecom and utility service providers, and appliance manufacturers providing smart home devices,” the research firm wrote in a statement.
Additionally, Research and Markets said that energy management along with security and access control are the most demanding smart home solution as both accounted for 65 percent of the total smart homes product market in 2014.
The residential market is also a growing source for surveillance camera demand. According to a recent research note from IHS Senior Analyst Josh Woodhouse, consumer awareness of video surveillance and home video monitoring is increasing. IHS predicts that over 11 million consumer and DIY network cameras will be shipped worldwide this year. Like many end users in the commercial market, consumers have also begun to use cameras beyond the scope of just security.
“Cameras in the home are very much lifestyle products that invoke consumers to regularly check-in at any detected change in environment, whether this is checking if the kids are home from school, or if their pets are okay. The regular events detected by cameras’ sensors or connections with other non-video devices means higher user engagement with the camera. This can justify potentially lucrative cloud storage add-on fees, which made Dropcam such an attractive buy for Google’s Nest Labs,” wrote Woodhouse. “The active monitoring approach is a stark contrast to the closed circuit (CCTV) analog camera and DVR systems available in many DIY stores. These systems are traditionally installed and left running until there is an event noticed by the user which requires a video review. Nevertheless, there will remain a large market for this type of equipment for more of a passive security conscious consumer.”
Woodhouse added that the recent addition of 4G cameras for consumer applications was a “natural progression” for the market.
“What 4G and battery power enables is the further evolution into truly portable home monitoring. Start-up Link-U along with Panasonic’s Nubo are vying to be the first to offer portable home monitoring when shipments start later this year. Nubo’s IP66 rating will allow for use outdoors, an advantage over Link-U and current Dropcam models. Concepts such as the FLIR FX, which combines a portable home monitoring camera with both a dashboard and action camera, could be a glimpse into another potentially interesting direction for the category,” concluded Woodhouse.
