'Smart Home? What's That?'

According to Parks Associates, approximately two-thirds of U.S. broadband households are unfamiliar with smart home products or services. Further, few consumers know what smart home devices and services are, who sells them, or where to buy them. Nearly 70% of U.S. broadband households are unfamiliar with where to buy smart home products, but 20% intend to acquire one or more smart home devices in the next 12 months, Parks says.

Other findings indicate:

• 13% of U.S. broadband households own at least one smart home device.
• 48% of consumers who own a smart home device are less than 35 years old.
• Smart home devices are expected to exceed 20 million units by the end of 2014, increasing to nearly 36 million units by 2017.
• 16% of all U.S. broadband households intend to purchase smart lights in the next 12 months, and 16% intend to purchase a smart programmable thermostat.
• 60% of owners with three or more smart home devices find interoperability very important.