According to recent research by Parks Associates, 25 percent of the broadband households across the nation find an energy monitoring service “very appealing.”
In more good news for cable operators that offer home automation services, 22 percent were interested in an appliance monitoring service while 26 percent found an HVAC monitoring service very appealing. Parks’ research also found that more than 50 percent of U.S. broadband households would pay $2.99 per month for a bundle that includes all three value-added monitoring services.
“Strong consumer interest in value-added monitoring services opens important revenue opportunities in the energy markets,” said Tom Kerber, director, home controls and energy research, Parks Associates. “However, success requires market strategies that offer unique bundled offerings, combining monitoring services enabled by connected products with more traditional service contracts and home warranties.”
Home automation, monitoring and security services are early drivers for the Internet of Things (IoT.) Cisco said in its research that the IoT worldwide market would deliver $19 trillion – with $14.4 trillion and $4.6 trillion in the public and private sectors, respectively – of economic value over the next decade
The home automation market features cable operators, such as Comcast, AT&T, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks and Cox Communications, who are leveraging their existing customer relationships and broadband services to gain entry into the home automation and security sector, as well as product lines from major retailers such as Staples and Lowe’s. Last year, Apple announced it would be joining the smart home sector with its HomeKit service.
