HEATING, VENTILATION & AIR CONDITIONING 49 A SMART REVOLUTION
Neil Budd from IMI Heatmiser explains how smart technology is now an integral component of achieving comfort at home for occupants.
T
he UK housebuilding market is embroiled in arguably its largest period of upheaval since the post-war building boom. Alongside the introduction of key legislation such as the Future Homes Standard, and an industry grappling with how to meet tough govern- ment housebuilding targets, there are changing demands from house buyers on expectations of what technology homes should have as standard. These forces are having a huge impact on how homes are designed, where they are built, and what they need to achieve as buildings, from energy effi ciency to quality of life, throughout the life span of their use. For housebuilders and property developers, smart technology adoption within the fi t out of units is no longer a perk for the most exclusive of properties. Smart technology is now expected as standard by a popula- tion that is at the critical ‘early majority’ stage of the technology adoption bell curve, which describes how people react to, adopt and accept new innovations in technology. For example, by 2027 it is expected that the smart home market will achieve 50% market penetration with more than 15 million homes being ‘smart homes,’ with
the overall market valued at £13.2bn by 2028.
Now homeowners can tangibly see how smart technology – often controlled by smart phones – can offer increased control, convenience and effi ciency they want and expect to see the technology included in their new build properties. During the ongoing cost of living crisis, where homeowners at every socio-economic level need to closely manage their utility bills, the use of smart thermostats is a tried and tested way to incorporate smart technology into a home design. Research from NIQ Consumer Intelligence shows that smart thermostats are now among the top 10 smart tech devices consumers use in their home, alongside smart plugs, smart speakers and smart lighting.
Smart room thermostats give homeowners precise comfort control while helping to cut energy use. Available to housebuilders in both wired and wireless options, the products are able to connect seamlessly via RF to a hub for reliable and responsive performance throughout the home, working with all major heat sources including heat pumps, electric systems and boilers. It is also possible to connect smart home thermo-
stats with leading smart home platforms such as Alexa, Google Home, HomeKit and IFTTT, or operates as a standalone system through a dedicated app. Government policy is driving the industry towards delivering more energy effi cient, easier to manage heating systems that can adapt to the changing climate and not rely upon a single source of heating that UK homes have become accustomed to since the post war house building boom.
The Government’s recent decision to back the Warm Homes Plan in the spending review will commit £13.2bn in the coming years to upgrade the standard of heat sources and heat conservation in existing housing stock, with the ultimate objective of bringing household energy bills down by £300 by 2030. Crucially, the Warm Homes Plan will allow for homes to be heated by different sources, from solar panels to heat pumps and other low carbon heating solutions. This will have to drive manufacturers and housebuilders to work more closely together to help deliver climate control systems that place heating management at the fi ngertips of every home occupant, while making it easier for technology agnostic users to manage
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