(Finance) – Despite the end of bonuses and energy incentives, in 2024 the Smart Home market returns to grow in double figures: it reached 900 million euros, +11% compared to 2023. A good result, if compared with the Europe, where in the first six months of the year an average growth of +6.5%was observed, even if the pro-capita expenditure in Italy is still about half of the European one (15.5 euros per inhabitant, compared to 32 , 5). The market is driven by security solutions, such as video cameras, sensors for doors-fines and connected locks, which represent 28% of the value. Smart appliances follow (19%), energy saving devices such as boilers, thermostats, thermostatic valves and connected air conditioners (16%) and Smart Speaker (14%). These are some results of the Search on the smart home of the Internet of Things Observatory of the School of Management of the Polytechnic of Milan, presented during the conference “New challenges for the Smart Home between AI, data and sustainability: Mission (IM) Possible?”. One of the over 50 different strands of research of digital innovation observers of the Polimi School of Management that deal with all the key issues of digital innovation in businesses and in the public administration.
2024 brought important news on the demand of smart solutions for the home, With an increase in the awareness and maturity of Italian consumers: today 6 out of 10 already have smart objects at home, even if only 4 out of 10 have connected them to the Internet. In any case, the propensity to purchase new devices in the future is high: one in three is said to be interested. But there are also important news offered: increases the range of services that can be activated by the user and these are increasingly innovative, thanks to the enhancement of the data collected by devices and the integration of Iot solutions with artificial intelligence. The sale of hardware is a means of expanding their customer base, but companies are increasingly aware that the real value must be sought elsewhere.
“The last few months have brought important news on the market – he says Giulio Salvadori, director of the Internet of Things Observatory -. On the one hand, consumer awareness grows and, in part, of the installers and maintenance chain, more and more convinced of the potential of the Smart House solutions. On the other hand, there is an increasing audience of companies that focuses on the enhancement of data, offer of new services and integration with artificial intelligence solutions to retain its customers, guaranteeing an increasingly personalized experience and creating value thanks to collected data. In 2025 the challenges for the Smart Home will be the evolution of the ecosystems for interoperability, with Matter in the front row among the most relevant initiatives, and the arrival of the Data Act, which aims to regulate and harmonize fair access to data, including those produced by smart objects at home “.
The market – Also in 2024 it is the safety solutions that drive the sales of the smart home market, with 250 million euros (28% of the value, +28% compared to 2023). The hardware generates the most relevant share of turnover, but the offer of advanced services and functionality grows. For example, devices integrate other smart objects at home and/or use artificial intelligence algorithms to detect potential infractions. The Smart appliance sector follows, with 179 million euros in the market (19%) and important growth in the last year (+13%). Also in this area we work on new services enabled by the data collected by the connected devices and algorithms of AI. For example, partnerships were born between energy suppliers and manufacturers to use devices when energy costs less: the cost of energy is made to vary according to the actual demand levels and the appliances can decide to activate when the moment ‘Energy is more convenient. It slows down the market of smart devices for energy saving, which is worth 141 million euros (16% of the overall value, -5%), the category that has been affected more than the reduction of state incentives, especially for B2B channels manned by distributors and installers. Despite the decline, positive signals are observed for the offer: users are increasingly attentive to the reduction of consumption, both for the increase in energy costs and for the growing environmental sensitivity. 32% of consumers would like to activate consumption management services and, among them, 71% would be willing to spend on their activation. In fourth place, the Smart Speaker market: 125 million euros, 14% of the market, slightly decreasing (-4%) in line with the international framework: in the first six months of 2024 62 million speakers were sold in the world , in reduction (-5%) compared to the same period of 2023 for the progressive saturation of the market. But new smart features enabled by Genai are coming, which will allow more intuitive interactions with vocal assistants. It will become easier to create integrated scenarios with the other smart devices in the house. In the sales channels, 2024 was a positive year for many actors, but not for the so -called traditional supply chain which has undergone a contraction in turnover (345 million euros, -5% vs 2023) mainly due to the reduction of incentives. Despite this, the question is growing the interest of consumers towards solutions conveyed through this channel. And the installs offered, for a long time that has been put as one of the brakes to the spread of smart solutions, they show that they start really understanding the opportunities offered by the Smart Home.
Consumers – 69% of Italian consumers meet the Smart Home (+10% vs 2023), 59% have smart objects and 41% connected them to the home Internet network (+3%). Looking at consumer expectations for the future, the percentage of users interested in the purchase of new devices connected to the home (32%, +2% vs 2023) is maintained high. To manage the Smart Home, it considerably increases the use of apps ( +18%vs 2023) and, to a lesser extent, vowel assistants (24%, +4%). The share of those who use both interfaces (15%, +6%) also increases. The interaction via app has become not only more widespread but also more frequent: 87% of consumers use them at least 1-2 times a week (72% every day), 10% at least once a month, while alone 3% use them less often. These results also derive from their good usability: 43% attribute the maximum score (5 out of 5) to ease of use, 37% assign a score of 4 out of 5. “The app is confirmed as the main interface between user and the various smart devices (72%), but there is still work on integration with other home devices – he explains Angela Tumino, director of the Internet of Things Observatory -. Looking at consumer expectations for the future, desire is to have a safer house (30%), in which we can interact comfortably with connected devices and plan their operation (28%), and in which energy consumption can be controlled and save (23%) “.
On the front of Smart devices for energy saving, There is a strong interest in the use of state incentives (53% of respondents), a decisive element in the future intentions of purchase. Both in positive terms: almost 1 consumer out of 5 states that an increase in state concessions would push him to evaluate the purchase in the coming months. Both in negative terms: if the incentives suffered reductions in the coming years, 15% of the users concerned would give up the purchase.
Incentives and energy saving – There “Case Green Directive”, To be received by May 2026, it must guarantee an average reduction in the primary energy used in residential buildings compared to 2020 by at least 16% by 2030 and 20-22% by 2035. Considering the situation at the end of 2024, the additional share of energy saving necessary to align Italy with the targets must be at least 40 thousand GWh per year for the next ten years. In this scenario, in addition to renewable energy sources and sustainable materials, an important role will come from Smart Home solutions for energy saving. Many consumers declare themselves available to invest in this type of solutions in the face of an increase in bonuses and incentives. This could help reduce annual energy consumption between 2,600 and 3,100 GWh/year in Italy, affecting between 6.5% and 7.8% on the objectives set by the Case Green directive. In addition, an increase in energy incentives would have a considerable impact also on the market value of the Smart Home in Italy, quantifiable in an increase of 105 million euros/year for the next 3 years. Technologies. The evolution of the Matter protocol continues, which from its debut in October 2022 represented a milestone for interoperability in the Smart Home. The road, however, is still uphill.
“The latest version brings significant innovations with it, further expanding the potential of the standard, with increasing attention to energy efficiency, – he explains Antonio Capone, scientific manager of the Internet of Things Observatory -. However, the protocol has yet to face some technical and ecosystem challenges that slow down its diffusion: among these the limited descriptive capacity, the high hardware requirements, the preference for Legacy ecosystems by some manufacturers and the complexity in the addition of devices to the network . Despite this, the innovations introduced are progressively reducing the fragmentation of the ecosystem, contributing to the overall maturation of the standard “.