Follow up to "The Smart Home is Dead" Hi, my name is Lee and I am part of the problem.

As a follow up to my last article, I thought I’d dig a bit deeper and break down some of the points that have resonated with industry peers. As I stated, this deserves more critical thinking and more discussion so I’m holding myself accountable to my own call to action.

 I wrote: "We need to define 'smart home' so we have alignment on what that is and how we talked about it."

Yesterday I received the following email: “To me, I’m building a connected home, to my wife it’s a smart home, and to my parents it’s some sort of magic. Similarly, to creating a “safe” home, “smart” is open to interpretation, and your article was on point .”

So, let’s jump in, because that frames this conversation perfectly.

Summary of what I think we need to do:

1. Collectively redefine smart home by segments
2. Label the segments by what they do instead of how they do it (great suggestion from a discussion with Jonathan Healey – thank you)
3. Use the labels to be purposeful and intentional when we are talking about the “smart home”

Assuming we are aligned on my above summary on redefining the smart home, lets segment the market to get an honest view. For example, take home building. At the macro, we understand the overall sentiment, but to get to a truer, more actionable data set, the industry breaks “home building” down to segments such as production, custom, single family and multi-family designations.

How I view the types of "smart homes" we have had for 50+ years:

• Motorized products: A keypad lock or motorized window treatments
• Home theater and rec rooms controlled via a remote control
• Centralized systems for utilities like HVAC, lighting control or distributed audio
• Automated home via centralized control and keypads: Crestron, Control4, Josh.ai, Brilliant and SmartThings etc.
• Security systems that go beyond just security
• App control of motorized products
• Megatechs focused on the UX of those app controlled motorized products 
• Smart speakers as the UX controlling those app controlled motorized products

So, let’s use these examples, but take it a step further to what I feel is most important: defining these components by what they do versus how they do it.

Disclaimer – I’m looking for ideas on what we should call these segments? Have a thought? Write me a comment please!

An “Aspirational, Cool, Makes Me Happy Home” or “When You See What My Home Does You Are Going to Have FOMO Home”  

I put these together because both are about how the products make consumers (you and I included) feel. If we are being vulnerable and honest, most of purchases in the smart home industry are driven based off how they make us feel based on being cool and how they are perceived. (For more on this, check out Ezra Klein's podcast "How Whole Foods, yoga, and NPR became the hallmarks of the elite").

A “Safe and Secure Home”  

Selfishly, I like this one seeing that I’m in the lock and access control industry, but putting that aside, it’s real. Whether it’s a full security system, exterior or doorbell camera, a single smart lock or sensors, consumers put these solutions in and have for years because they get a sense (again, a feel) of being safe and secure.

A “Helpful Home”  

I find this one to be broad, because there are so many definitions of “helpful.” Google Nest has started to apply this one. For instance, a keypad lock on your front door is ‘helpful’ for those of us with the thought process “I don’t want to carry keys or get keys cut anymore.” Or “How is mom doing? Lets check in.” If we can talk about our products and solutions that assist people in their daily activities as ‘helpful’, I believe it will resonate deeper than saying they are “smart.”

An “Aesthetically Pleasing Home”  

Many years ago, my wife and I had a technology design and installation company in Washington D.C. called energy + light + control. We sold millions of dollars of lighting and whole home controls for one reason - reduction of wall clutter. The look and feel of a home matters, most of all to the homeowner, and we’re not talking about it enough.

An “Aware Home”  

This is an area I feel the industry and I overlook way too much. Whether it’s situational awareness or just plain old notifications, consumers value the smart home products that can give them a sense of the homes awareness, whether they’re home or away. “Oh good, my daughter got off the bus and home from school safely.” “My dog has taken over the couch again.” “My sink is leaking.” Having products and solutions that provide updates and intelligence about the current status or predictive suggestion of your home provide an unparalleled experience of peace of mind for the homeowner.

An “Energy Efficient Help the Planet and Save Some Money Home”

I anticipate this to continue to be a hot topic for consumers and our industry. We, the industry, need to move beyond entertainment and work together to deliver energy efficient solutions composed of cost-saving products.

 A “Joyful Home”  

Whether it’s a dance party or trivia night via a voice assistant, our solutions and products do bring people a sense of joy.

My wife and I are fortunate enough to be building a home…pardon me... a “smart home.” We are putting in the following:

• Smart locks. Why? We don’t want keys, we like being notified when the door is locked and unlocked when either my wife or I are away traveling. I also work for Allegion.
• Security system with a doorbell and exterior camera. Why? My family feels safer with it at night and if we are away, we get notified when it goes off.
• Wifi. Why? Because its 2019.
• Universal remote controls at each TV with a companion streaming service. Why? We cut the cable cord awhile back and the set-up works. It’s localized which is to us, centralized enough.
• Distributed audio with in ceiling speakers. Why? Because we like to entertain, we like to listen to music as a family and the speakers can be tastefully hidden in the ceiling, without detracting from the aesthetic of the room.
• Lighting control system. Why? I’m brainwashed by my years working at Lutron ?? but in all seriousness three reasons (1) energy savings (2) the All-off button and (3) reduction of wall clutter.
• Receptacles that have USBs. Why did I put this in the smart category? Because I’m shocked how many neighbors comment on how cool and “smart” they are ???♂?.
• My daughter is building her own intercom system for her bedroom door using a connected button, cheap cameras and IFTTT service. Why? Because I wouldn’t buy her one, but I said “if you build and program it, you can have one.” Thank you Stacey Higginbotham for the direction.

Is it a “smart home?” Some purest in our industry would say, “No. It is not fully automated.” My counter to that is, if we segment it by what it does, I’d say “yes.” Our home is an “Entertaining + Cool + Safe + Aware + Aesthetically Pleasing Home.” And the products and systems we put in are smart to the point that they create those feeling.

We call it “Our Home.”

What do you think? How do you see it? Maybe, start with what’s in your home and what does it do for you? What should we call the segments?

Thank you Erin Mann for your help on this article.