Home Automation Market in Indian Scenario

Let’s say if you are on the way to office, and suddenly you remembers that you forgot to switch off your AC and you are really got worried because it will increase your energy bills. What will you do in such a situation? Will you go back home to switch it off? It will work out when you are only few miles away from your home. What about you are far away from home? Don’t worry, just take your smart phone from your pocket and log into your Home Automation System on the phone and switch off your AC wherever you are.
Sounds cooool!!?? Yes, this is one of the example where the home automation comes into your help.

What it is?
The automation and control systems market may be broadly classified into building  automation and home automation, finding deployment in industrial, commercial and
residential settings. The commercial market which includes offices, educational institutions, hospitals and other types of buildings accounts for a bulk of revenues of the automation market. On the other hand, the residential market is regarded as an immense growth opportunity in the present scenario due to the increasing proliferation of dwelling units in a large number of cities and towns across the glob.

Home automation is the residential extension of “building automation”. It is automation of the home, housework or threshold activity. Home automation may include centralized control of lighting, HVAC(heating, Ventilation and air conditioning), appliances, and other systems to provide improved convenience, comfort energy efficiency and security.

The popularity of home automation has been increasing greatly in recent years due to much higher affordability and simplicity through smartphone and tablet connectivity.

Home Automation Market: An Overview

The rise in standard of living, combined with the growing awareness of both security and energy efficiency driving the demand and supply side for home automation products. Though the economic crisis has somewhat dampened the construction of luxurious
automated homes, researches are of the view that it will once again flourish in the coming years, as the technology-savvy young generation of today becomes home owners in the near future.

Market is mainly driven by the declining cost and complexity of home automation products. Once perceived as “elite class-only,” the home automation products are gaining widespread popularity mainly because of the development of standard-based technologies that can be integrated into existing communications/utility infrastructure of modern homes, resulting in lower cost systems that eliminate the need for bulky hardware and cabling.

If you go through my previous post about the “Nest Learning Thermostat” you will get a fairly good idea how they did revolution in thermostat industry, with their classy design and cool interface.

Home Automation Market in India
The India automation and control systems market has seen significant changes in dynamics over the years. Initially concentrated in the areas of HVAC and security
systems; the market has now evolved into newer areas like lighting systems, fire detection systems, entertainment systems and energy management systems as well. The
automation not only integrates different automation systems as mentioned above but also enables substantial power savings.

If we take the recent market study on the home automation, it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 30% over the 5 years to 2016, with applications such as security, lighting and energy management likely to play an important role in achieving this significant growth rate.

Increasing data thefts, burglaries, demand for enhanced security, need for energy management / conversion are a few of the key factors that have spurred the India automation and control systems market.

Smart home products are becoming an affordable luxury to the average Indian, while the increasing awareness of energy efficiency and smart living has been growing over the last few years. However, India is still not the lucrative choice for home automation majors. Honeywell Security, which has been prominent in the global home automation business over the last 20 years, launched its home systems business in India only in 2006. Legrand India, a subsidiary of the Legrand group based at Limoges, France, a manufacturer of electrical installation and information network products, has been in the smart home products space in the country since 2003. Researchers, however, conclude that home automation has a long way to go in India, but surely the interest is catching on 🙂

Major Players in Home Automation Market

Major players contributing to the growth of the global home automation market include AMX Corporation, ABB Ltd., Control4, Crestron Electronics Inc., GE Security, Haier Group, Home Automation Inc., Honeywell International Inc., Lightolier Controls, Lutron Electronics Inc., Schneider Electric Ltd., Siemens AG, SmartHome Controls Ltd., Smarthome Inc., Vantage Controls Inc, among others.

Apart from these Global players, there are quite a huge number of domestic players who are competing in the Home Automation Market. The list includes Astute Automation, Gadgeon Smart Systms, Energy Innovations, Sotereaa Systems, Intouch Networks, Cardea Smart Living Solutions, Smartbus Automations, Bandbord Innovations, Techaigle Systems – Mumbai

Source (biztechreport, wiki, cmrindia)
Images ( Liam Bell, Bill labus)