71% Of Brits Would Make Sacrifices For A Smart Home


27th July 2016 in Know How

Did you know that the average size of a new UK home is 4m² smaller than in 2003? Homes are becoming smaller and yet more expensive, so what we want and even need to get out of the space we live in is changing too.

Effectively, losing 4m² is like losing a bathroom. So is that something that we are okay with? Seemingly so. Nowadays we are paying more for less, but what if there was something that you could get in return for foregoing an extra bathroom? More on that in a minute.

What would you want on a deserted island?

Now, at one point or another you’ve probably been asked ‘If you were stranded on a deserted island, what would you bring?’. Well, what would you bring? Your mobile phone, food, tent, hammock, guitar, a good book, sunscreen, or just a knife? There are so many options and it’s always interesting to hear why people choose what they choose… But let’s turn the question around a bit.

If you could sacrifice a feature of your home in order to live in a smart home, then what would you choose? Would it be that extra bathroom? How could you give up something yet get more out of your home as a result?

SURVEY SAYS

Well, a recent survey we did found that 17% of people would choose to forego an extra bathroom if it meant they could live in a smart home. In fact, what was also interesting is that 20% of people would choose to have a smart home instead of a conservatory and a third would rather have smart home technology installed in their home over having a summer house. It is evident by this that more and more, people recognise that if we are going to live in smaller homes then how can we live better lives in that space?

20% of people would choose to have a smart home instead of a conservatory

That is where smart homes can really make up the difference. Now when I say ‘smart home’, I don’t mean a home that has a smart TV or a fridge that orders milk for you or even being able to turn off your heating from your phone when you’re not at home – I’m talking about entire home automation. A system that centrally and intelligently automates your heating, lighting, music, security and more. Giving up a conservatory for all of that now doesn’t seem like a difficult decision to make; goodbye conservatory, hello smart home!

WHAT WOULD YOU GIVE UP?

So on average new homes in the UK are getting smaller, and more and more of us want them to be smarter. It sounds like a fair trade to me and those we surveyed agree! If I knew that my home could be intelligently controlled, with daily tasks around the home taken care of for me, then to be fair I would probably get more overall joy of living in the space than I would get by having an extra bathroom, a conservatory or even a summer house. Plus, less to clean!

However, maybe you wouldn’t choose to ditch a conservatory to live in a smart home. You might prefer to have that extra bathroom instead? We all have different requirements when it comes to what we physically need from the space we live in. What we found from our survey though, is that a whopping 71% of us would sacrifice another feature in our home to live in a smart home. If you consider that 70% of the global population is expected to own a smartphone by 2020, then, even more people are keen to give up something in their home for it to also be smart. Now that sounds like a smart idea to me. Would you give up something and if so, what would it be?