The expected surge in smart thermostat sales will have equipment manufacturers, many of whom have their own proprietary controls, competing with the well-known universal thermostat brands, such as Nest, Honeywell, and ecobee.
According to a recent study by Parks Associates, 13 percent of U.S. broadband households owned a smart thermostat by the end of 2017. And while that’s still under a quarter of eligible homes, that number has nearly tripled from just three years prior, influenced by factors like the ubiquity of the smartphone and the rise of in-home AI.
Actually finding the mercury-containing culprits can be a bit of a riddle, partly because there’s no way to know exactly how many are still out there or where they are located.
Despite the fact that there’s a lot of airtime given to smart thermostats in the media and throughout industry conferences, the reality is that only about 15 percent of households own a smart thermostat, according to Rob Munin, president at Lux Products.
These devices are being sold by the millions, and in most cases, the distribution is directly to the consumer — the sellers are avoiding the traditional manufacturer-to-wholesaler-to-contractor model that our industry has used for years.
A study by scientists at the University of Leeds (I Googled it … it is a thing) said it takes a minority of just 5 percent to influence a crowd. So that means that 95 percent of people can be following for no good reason. That might explain the popularity of the Kardashians.
It’s a well-known fact that HVAC — the smart thermostat — is the first point of entry into smart-home sales. And with more than half of U.S. households predicted to own a smart speaker by 2022, according to a late 2017 study by Juniper Research, it’s a prime opportunity for HVAC contractors.
It started with smart thermostats. Now, in today’s world of smartphones, smart speakers, and Wi-Fi connections in 89 percent of U.S. households (as of 2017), smart homes are expanding in scope beyond heating and cooling controls — the first major foray into the smart-home concept — as manufacturers work to keep up with customer demand for continuous connection.
DunAn Microstaq Inc.’s HC-MSEV USHC Retrofit Kit netted the gold award in the HVAC Light Commercial Equipment category of this year’s Dealer Design Awards contest.