What’s the situation with smart homes?

Voice assistants, software and IoT integration are entering Italian homes, according to the latest report from the Politecnico di Milano, following an international growth trend that we also observed in Amsterdam, in the more “residential” strand of smart buildings on display at ISE 2019.
Let’s get back to the Italian market, where revenue connected to smart homes grew from 250 to 380 million euro in 2018. Indeed, according to the IoT Observatory at the Politecnico di Milano, downstream of the study that was just shared with the public on 15 February (which we attended with much interest), last year’s rhythm recorded from solutions for smart homes is comparable to, if not higher than, that of the main European countries. Good news, even if in absolute terms these 380 million are only ahead of Spain (300 million euro, +59%), while the gap between us and Germany (1.8 billion, +39%), the United Kingdom (1.7 billion, +39%) and France (800 million, +47%) is still vast.
Looking at the technological choices of the “Italian” smart home, the largest portion of profits is related to solutions for security, which amount to 130 million euro, equal to 35% of the market. In second place we find the main new product for 2018: smart home speakers, which, in addition to generating 60 million euro in sales (16% of the market), also directly or indirectly brought along a good portion of the overall increase. Slightly lower are connected household products, equal to 55 million euro and 14% of the total. Heaters, thermostats and smart AC units, for managing heating and climate control, account for 12% of the market (about 45 million euro) and, in this case, too, the Politecnico underlines the growing integration of these systems with voice commands, which offer the consumer greater benefits in terms of energy savings and comfort. Finally, standing out with growth of 50% compared to 2017 are smart lighting solutions, increasingly “connected” to wellbeing and efficiency.

“The market of solutions for the smart home is growing at a very fast rate, hauled along by the arrival in Italy of smart home speakers that, in addition to generating a large volume of sales, have also led to more sales in the entire sector,” confirms Angela Tumino, Director of the Internet of Things Observatory, during the “Smart Home: Look Who’s Talking!” conference in Milan on 15 February. “The traditional supply chain of manufacturers and technicians has not yet been able to fully take advantage of the opportunities offered by the new IoT solutions for the home, losing ground in comparison to retailers (traditional and online), manufacturers, insurance, utilities and telco, which together cover 50% of the market. However, some signals of greater integration for the future have been glimpsed.”
Far from being “surpassed,” then, the smart home still has much to offer integration professionals in Italy: just think that the average expenditure per citizen here is equal to 6.3 euro, compared to 42 euro in the United States!
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