Top 5 Takeaways – Consumer Value Propositions of Smart Home Systems

The core value propositions for smart home systems are safety and security, followed by energy management services. At Smart Energy Summit last February, speakers on the session “Role of Energy Management in Smart Home Solutions” discussed the opportunities associated with incorporating energy management solutions into the smart home as well as challenges in creating value successful propositions and developing marketing programs to improve awareness.

• Bill Alderson, Director, Marketing and Digital Services, Rheem
• Dennis Mathew, VP, Xfinity Home Product Management, Design & Deployment, Comcast
• Todd Nolte, Marketing Technologies Manager, Carrier, United Technologies
• Carlos Nouel, Director of Partnerships and Joint Ventures, National Grid
• Jeremy Warren, Chief Technology Officer, Vivint

Five key takeaways from the session included: 

1. In bundled smart home options, energy management is an important feature, but it needs to be simple to understand. Energy management purchases are often emergency purchases (like a broken AC unit or hot water heater) and so the value proposition has to be easy to digest and resonate with the consumers’ immediate (and future) needs.
2. Consumer savings from home energy management devices/services are important but are not the best value proposition to promote. Convenience, peace of mind, etc., are also very important and consumers need to understand the whole value proposition if companies want to increase market adoption.
3. Smart products need to be smart without being too complex. If the consumer doesn’t find them easy to use relatively quickly, they either won’t adopt the technology, or they won’t get the full benefit and will eventually drop the solution altogether. Make user automation simpler and data easier to process and the consumers are more likely to participate.
4. Consumers don’t understand kWh. They understand money.
5. The effectiveness of pilot programs depends on whether the objective is to learn or force product on consumers.

For more information about Smart Energy Summit, or to download the Event Summary, Click Here.

Next: Integrating Energy Management Capabilities into Smart Products
Previous: Challenges and Opportunities of Integrating a Comprehensive Energy Solution

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