May 27, 2013: Shipments of Remote Access Thermostats to Quadruple by 2017
Approximately 3 percent of the 38 million thermostats shipped globally in 2012 gave consumers the ability to remotely adjust the temperature and other comfort settings in their homes through their smartphone or tablet, the study indicated. Shipments last year of thermostats with remote access and control functionality amounted to 1.3 million units, with the number projected to increase more than fourfold to 5.9 million units by 2017.
“With the rising popularity of smartphones and tablets, consumers are increasingly looking to control aspects of their lives through their handheld devices. Turning up the temperature in your home on a colder day while you are on the train going home is a very appealing proposition,” said William Rhodes, senior market analyst for the Building Technologies Group at IHS.
Remote access thermostats — many with built-in Wi-Fi functionality — allow users to carry out a variety of tasks, including changing temperature settings, viewing energy consumption, taking advantage of the latest firmware update from the thermostat provider, and using weather data to optimize the home environment.
“Historically consumers were only motivated to install a thermostat when they built a new house or when their furnace, boiler, air conditioner, or even thermostat itself broke,” Rhodes said. “Now, however, connected thermostats are creating new demand in the market as consumers look to enhance their comfort levels.”
North America is leading the trend toward connected thermostats, enjoying a higher shipment penetration than in any other region of the world, notes the IMS Research report. Across the United States and Canada, an increasing number of new entrants are also heavily promoting the benefits of remote access and control, helping in turn to drive the market overall.
The ability to control the comfort of one’s home from any location is arguably the most heavily publicized trend currently impacting the thermostats market, the report states. Even so, the market for remote access and control thermostats is forecast to gain growing interest this year, with shipments in 2013 for the devices climbing a robust 46 percent to an estimated 1.9 million units.
Publication date: 5/27/2013
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