NEWSLETTER – Q3 2022

2022: The Year of the Smart Home

Where Do We Go from Here?!

Twenty-Twenty-Two – The year of the Smart Home as purported by nearly every industry data report and anecdotally from dealer and manufacturers alike. Who could have predicted it? Well, we could have. We have been laying the foundation for this level of adoption for the past two decades. As any good futurist will say — “The future is not something to predict. The future is something to build…”

As we approach the fourth quarter of 2022 and important industry events such as CEDIA Expo, Light + Building  CES, ISE and even IBS and KBIS around the corner, we took a time out to chat with some of the industry’s leading editors. This group hears it all, sees it all, and tests it all. We asked for their insights on the banner smart home year that has been 2022 and to find out their thoughts on where we build from here.

The Supply Chain Crunch
We can’t talk about 2022 without addressing the serious  impact the supply chain crunch has had across the industry. We are  far from the only group that has felt these effects, and they are far from over.

“Some categories of equipment have quickly flipped to an oversupply state, while others remain backlogged into next year. For products that are in over-supply, integrators will have an opportunity to obtain products at lower prices if the manufacturers look to unload their growing inventories,” says Jason Knott, Chief Content Officer at CE Pro

The Rise in Consumer Awareness
Despite the crunch of availability for some smart home products, demand has remained high. According to Interpret’s Smart Home Matrix , 41% of new home buyers would like their home to include smart home technology, and 35% are willing  to pay a little extra to have smart home technology pre-installed before they move in.

Amy Stoneham, Editor at HiddenWires adds, “Despite cost of living and other issues consumers are facing, they are still investing in their homes, whether that’s with entry-level home technology, such as voice assistants, smart speakers and TV, off-the-shelf home security products, etc., or in the high-end with a fully integrated home.”

There is no denying that the introduction of new initiatives such as Matter has garnered significant consumer attention this last year as they work to bring their products to market. Conversations around interoperability, which has been a key pillar of the Z-Wave technology for the past two decades have spiked. Consumers, end-users, dealers, integrators, and manufacturers alike are taking a critical eye to how everything in the home works together.  While some in the industry may be unsure of how this will impact their business, Knott provides a good perspective,

“I am most excited to see the effects of the first products rolling out with Matter. It is unknown exactly how it will affect the smart home industry, but I anticipate a big bump in consumer awareness at minimum. Dealers should take advantage of that awareness by marketing their services more aggressively.”

Jeremy Glowacki, Executive Editor of Residential Tech Today has noticed that with increased consumer awareness, some traditional areas of the market like audio and video becoming more and more commoditized but it is paving the way for professionals to dive into new categories as the CI channel tends to lead the market for innovations in the smart home space.

Building Up from Here
Now the question on everyone’s mind – with the potential of a recession looming and after some of the most successful years yet, where do we build from here? 2022 may have very well paved the way for some categories to get their much-deserved time in the sun. Each editor we spoke with noted the growth in the lighting category with special attention to fixtures.

“Lighting fixtures continue to be THE category with explosive growth. More integrators are adding master electricians to their staffs to be able to install line-voltage lighting fixtures, in addition to low-voltage. Energy and energy management are also gaining steam,” says Knott.

Glowacki echoes the sentiment on energy management. “The future of this channel will definitely involve making more connections to residential power quality and renewable energy, whether that’s battery backups or bridging solar, EV charging, and microgrids together.”

Tied closely to lighting are the health and wellness categories which over the years have had mixed adoption among the professional install channel but those tides seem to be shifting.

“The lighting and wellness markets are very high on people’s radars this year. Both HiddenWires’ and CEDIA’s market research from this year told us that lighting is very important in a smart home and consumers now want human-centric lighting to help with their wellbeing. Since the pandemic, consumers are very aware of their mental and physical wellbeing and how the home can help improve both using technology and automation,” says Stoneham.

The possibilities abound for those companies who are willing to focus on the personalized experience consumers are looking for, are you one of those companies?

Quality, Reliability, Interoperability –

WiDom Continues to Build Forward on Z-Wave

This fall Z-Wave Alliance Member, WiDom, will celebrate their 10th anniversary an important milestone for any company in the smart home space. What is even more fortuitous is the anniversary will fall while the company is participating in the Z-Wave Pavilion at Light + Building in Frankfurt, a show that they are eagerly anticipating. We sat down with the team to learn more about what the last 10 years have meant to them, their latest certified products, and what we can expect to see from WiDom in the future.

From the founding days WiDom was set on creating their products on the Z-Wave protocol and they still maintain notoriety for creating the smallest Z-Wave devices worldwide. Giorgio Galante, CEO and founder of WiDom shared “All of our products are made in Italy, and we are committed to maintaining the highest quality standards, we chose to use Z-Wave because of the reliability of the technology. The certification process provides a level of authority and further demonstrates the quality level of our products.”

Most recently, WiDom has earned certification for the Energy Driven Switch C 7 and the Smart Dry Contact Switch 7, with its variant products. Both products have been upgraded to the 700 series, and have been an important staples in the WiDom product line. The Energy Driven Switch in particular has been a popular product. “As Europe battles with the energy crisis, the awareness of energy consumption and trying to save as much as possible continues to rise. People are paying closer attention to the consumed energy and the produced energy – not only for traditional households but also in industrial contexts. Our product line offers solutions for installers, even with utilizing the 700 series we were able to maintain our dimensions which is critical for installation in the junction box,” says Giorgio.

Giorgio Galante, CEO of WiDom
As the company prepares to be part of Light + Building they are excited to return to in-person events and show off their new products – not just the latest switches but even more that are currently in the certification pipeline. Looking to the future, Giorgio sees the key trends in the smart home category focusing in on the quality of life in the home. “Consumers are becoming increasingly interested not only in energy savings but in multi-sensors, and air quality that further enhance the automation features in their home,” she said. For their part, WiDom will continue to develop their product portfolio on both the 700 series and 800 series with special attention to the professional market, new products are currently under the certification process. “Our latest products offer an offline set up mode that allows professional installers to configure integrations without being connected to the network. We are looking forward to showing professional installers how these new features support their business.”
The Z-Wave Alliance will be hosting their popular pavilion at CEDIA (September 29 – October 1), Light + Building (October 2 – 6) and CES 2023 (January 5-8). To see which companies are participating or to secure your space in one of the pavilions visit www.z-wavealliance.org.

Register today for the Z-Wave Summit Member Meeting! 

The Z-Wave Member Summit Meeting provides an unrivaled opportunity to participate in a series of discussions on state of the market today, predictions for the future, workshops, networking and more. Complete event details are on the registration site linked below.

Z-Wave Summit Member Meeting 2022
Atlanta, GA   |   November 15-17, 2022

Click here to REGISTER NOW!

Volunteering Makes a BIG Difference 

Getting involved with the Z-Wave Alliance by joining a committee or working group makes a big difference in the work the alliance can produce. The more we work together the greater the impact we can have!  

Already part of a working group or committee? Make sure you are joining calls to contribute to the work that is being done. Find the meeting schedule here.

Help Consumers Find Your Products!

Adding your products to the Z-Wave database makes it easy for end-users and integrators to find your devices as they look to complete their projects. Make sure people know what you have to offer, submit your products here.

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