Mark Seaman, head of Samsung B2B Integrated Offering Team, looks at the fast-growing smart homes movement and how taking a digital-first approach can not only provide better ROI for housebuilders, but also help consumers save money.
Recent reports that UK energy prices are falling may seem to be positive, but it’s important to pay attention to the actual numbers. If we look carefully at the House of Commons’ Research Briefing on Energy Prices then it’s clear that, despite recent drops, energy prices still remain high.
In fact, the quarterly price cap in July 2024 is still around 29%, or £350, above summer 2021 levels. As a result the House of Commons recommends that, with no sign of a return to pre-‘energy crisis’ prices, the only way to substantially reduce energy bills and still heat and power homes is to increase energy efficiency. While the decline in prices is still good for consumers, it’s important that they keep an eye on energy usage.
In June 2024, Samsung released its Smart Home Buyers Index (SHBI). The research showed that nearly 80% of people in the UK want their next home to be a smart one, and 70% are aiming to improve their energy efficiency through smart technology. This desire for energy efficiency has been born out through measuring internet searches over the last year. The analysis showed that appliances such as air source heat pumps are seeing the highest search volumes across all categories of smart devices. There’s a clear desire among consumers to not only improve their energy efficiency, but to have the right technology to enable this.
However, the smart home movement isn’t just financially beneficial for the occupiers of connected spaces, or only important when considering energy efficiency. The SHBI also showed that people who want to move into smart homes are willing to pay a premium of around 7.7% on the UK average house price. When this is combined with the number of people who want one, it becomes clear that there is real potential upside for developers and homebuilders that are ready to engage the right partners to deliver these homes.
What’s more, the incentive for the industry to build smart homes isn’t just about getting a higher price in the short-term or having a larger potential occupier pool. A home that is set up for connected living is one that’s easier and cheaper to maintain. In fact, the more smart devices and appliances that can be fitted and that join the ecosystem, such as washing machines, dishwashers and TVs, as well as heating solutions, smart fridges and even security measures, the more insight property managers and the people maintaining homes have. Proper oversight of a home’s devices facilitates preventative maintenance, just one way that significant cost savings can be made by monitoring devices to detect any signs of an imminent breakdown. Of course, if there is a breakdown, engineers can arrive with the right tools and parts to fix the issue, saving even more time and money.
For property managers, the ability to have a connected dashboard that has oversight of the device and appliance portfolio in a residence, or multiple properties, can lead to real efficiencies and increased profitability, as well as protecting homes from leaks and other hazards. This is where a platform like Samsung’s SmartThings can really shine, providing residents with a simple and intuitive way to control their home, and a connected ecosystem for property managers to ensure that everything is running smoothly and as it should.
Whereas in the past choosing a new home was a decision largely based on price and location, today’s consumers want more. Overwhelmingly, they’re saying that they want to live a connected life and to move into homes that enable this. But it’s not technology for the sake of it, they want to put smart devices to work, helping them tackle the issues that are most important to them. This presents a real opportunity for the industry, not only in helping people make the most of their homes and savings, but in seeing real ROI over the long term.