Smart Home, Safety and Security Highlights at CES 2019
Though not always RMR-friendly, smart home products can deliver peace-of-mind through connectivity, and in turn help the security industry expand and attract new consumers.
(Photo: CES)
Editor’s Note: SSI has partnered with Parks Associates for the creation of DIY FYI, a column designed to help dealers keep track of important smart home market developments, what the competition is and whether they want to jump into something they see as a new opportunity.
Safety and security remain the leading value propositions for the smart home. Consumers consistently rank security and safety as top value propositions, followed by energy management, and Parks Associates’ consumer research finds 38% of smart home device owners reported security of their home and family as the main motivator for their purchases.
Smart home solutions that are outside of safety, security and energy often lack clear value propositions to entice mass-market consumers, leaving some connected living products struggling to pinpoint the value proposition for their connected products or new form factors. As a result, many new product announcements and features in this space continue to focus on the consumer need to keep the home safe.
At CES 2019, the largest U.S. consumer electronics show of the year, smart home companies showcased the following security-related trends and devices:
A focus on the peripherals of the home illustrates the expansion from protecting inside the home to include the outside as well.
- ARRAY by Hampton Outdoor Lights: ARRAY announces a series of connected outdoor security light fixtures to work alongside its Video Coach Lights. The Video Coach Lights have microphones and speakers included to allow homeowners to converse with visitors to their home, so with the outdoor extensions, homeowners can monitor and answer the door anywhere outside as well as inside the property.
- Ring Smart Lighting: Ring announced motion-sensing lights to provide a sense of security around the home. Its lights integrate with its lineup of cameras and doorbells to record video if a light detects motion.
More companies are creating product lines catered to consumers who live in apartments and are unable to install wired devices.
- Ring Door View Cam: The battery-operated device replaces a door’s peephole and features HD video with two-way talk.
- Brinno Duo Smart Peephole DoorCam: The device can be retrofitted to a door’s peephole and takes a photo when it detects motion. The images are stored and sent via an email notification.
- Remo+ DoorCam 2: A second generation of the DoorCam, the device hangs over the door to provide video surveillance with motion detection and two-way talk.
The battle for the front door heats up with a number of new smart door lock products.
- ASSA ABLOY’s August Home and Yale: A new deadbolt, called the Emtek EMPowered Smart Lock, is integrated with August’s Cloud technology to allow for remote monitoring of the device. For interior rooms, Yale has introduced the Assure Lever Lock, the first product on the Assure line that is not a deadbolt. Its entry options include push buttons and captive touch. Both of these locks are HomeKit enabled.
- Kwikset Premis: Consumers can control this HomeKit-enabled smart lock through Siri commands, and it also features a touchscreen.
- SECURAM Touch: This smart deadbolt is accessible through fingerprint touch, remote access and codes. It features auto-locking and allows for guest access through one time use codes.
Companies are trying to mitigate false alarms and accelerate response times with features that allow for devices to connect directly to monitoring stations or pinpoint distress locations.
- Alarm.com Smart Signal: This emergency signaling function is an in-app feature in Alarm.com’s mobile app. It allows property managers and homeowners to notify their monitoring station directly when an issue arises. This feature can also be used to verify an alarm when it occurs as well as identify a false alarm.
- First Alert OneLink Safe & Sound: This smart smoke and carbon monoxide detector includes a built-in speaker that sends alerts to indicate the type and location of the emergency in the home.
These products will enhance the experiences and value propositions for current security device owners, while the market for residential security solutions continues to grow with new self-installed systems and individual connected products, designed to expand security penetration beyond current levels (22% of households in the U.S. subscribe to a professional monitoring service). 3
Individual smart products have the potential to be the most disruptive. They generally do not use a consumer-funded recurring revenue model but still deliver peace-of-mind through connectivity, which will help the security industry expand and attract new consumers.
While the traditional models for monitoring revenues may not be in place for these smart home households, the smart home is an expansive ecosystem where new product lines, enhanced capabilities and new service options will create opportunities for all players in the security industry.
Dina Abdelrazik joined Parks Associates in 2016 as a part of the connected home team. She has participated in numerous smart home projects and has authored reports on voice assistant technologies, smart home strategies and home security. Dina frequently speaks at industry events and briefs with many industry leaders about company and product developments. She currently studies market trends and consumer behavior, focused on emerging technology products and services.
Dina earned her MS in Marketing, with a concentration in Marketing Analytics, from the University of Texas at Dallas and a BA in Advertising from Southern Methodist University.
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