Technology and new business models are transforming the way we manage our homes and buildings to improve efficiency, sustainability, comfort, convenience, safety, and profitability. Amid this transformation, the intersection of technology and competition is ushering intelligence and the integration of buildings into the smart city ecosystem and longer-term trends such as the Internet of Buildings. A convergence of technologies will drive new growth opportunities and shift market dynamics by reducing operation and infrastructure costs and improving the financial optimisation of buildings.

 

Now that technology has entered the homes and buildings of many around the world, players in the industry should take advantage of the opportunities ripe for growth, says Frost & Sullivan in its latest analysis, Global Homes and Buildings (H&B) Industry Outlook, 2018, which predicts that virtual voice assistants, artificial intelligence, and blockchain will take the industry to the next phase of evolution.

 

Five paths to growth

 

Part of Frost & Sullivan’s Home & Building Growth Partnership Service programme, the Global Homes and Buildings (H&B) Industry Outlook, 2018, anticipates H&B market revenues to reach US$1.19bn in 2018, with double-digit growth in segments such as connected homes and LED lighting spurring significant market expansion. 

 

The analysis also offers Frost & Sullivan’s top predictions for the home and building industry, along with key technologies, regional outlooks, revenues by market, and leading companies to watch. Trends and growth opportunities in industry sectors such as the home industry, residential, LED lighting, connected home, smart thermostats, lighting controls and lighting management systems, low-voltage-switchgear, facility management, HVAC equipment, BAS and BEMS are also provided.  

 

In its analysis, Frost & Sullivan sets out five recommendations for market players to exploit growth opportunities in the global H&B sector, beginning with the suggestion that participants should adopt open, wireless communication protocols to develop IoT-enabled products. Market participants are then urged to innovate with machine learning algorithms and partner with utilities to market energy management and connected home products. The third recommendation is for the development of vendor-agnostic software platforms to be compatible with Software-as-a-Service and other hardware. In addition, market participants should forge partnerships with companies that will help integrate systems in homes and buildings, and the final recommendation is that they should improve total customer experiences by adopting customer-centric business models.

 

Follow the lead of innovative companies

 

“With fierce competition resulting from new entrants, business models, IoT-based product offerings, and price, it is imperative for deeply entrenched players to create new and additional revenue streams by leveraging disruptive innovations that address specific challenges in the industry, such as data monetisation, virtual voice assistants, artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital ceiling, and Li-Fi,” said Anirudh Bhaskaran, Industry Analyst, Home & Building at Frost & Sullivan. 

 

Bhaskaran recommends players emulate innovative companies such as Siemens, Johnson Controls, Honeywell, Schneider Electric, Compass, Sodexo, Amazon, Google, GE and Tesla, who provide open source platforms and products with functionality integration, and embrace a customer-centric approach.  

 

“A wave of targeted artificial intelligence solutions will be seen this year, mainly incorporating machine learning algorithms in building energy management and home automation and control products,” noted Bhaskaran. 

 

From a regional perspective, energy efficiency and low-carbon technologies are key topics in Europe, driven by high electricity costs and legislative pressures.  In the US, large revenues will be drawn from IoT-based markets, especially connected homes, smart thermostats and connected lightings, while in the Asia-Pacific region, building management systems, elevators and air-conditioning markets will grow at an accelerated pace due to continued investment in infrastructure projects.