Metering and Smart Technology Amy Ryan September 28, 2015
In Europe, a US based IoT market research and consulting firm Parks Associates has forecast that 2.5 million western European households will have a smart home controller by 2019.
Stuart Stikes, president at Parks Associates attributes the forecast to the growth in smart homes.
He says:
“Smart home systems will need the flexibility to deliver multiple value propositions within the household.
“Interoperability is necessary to achieve recurring revenue models as it enables devices to deliver a broad array of value-added services and features.”
He notes however that the key challenges faced in the smart home market include low consumer awareness and lack of value proposition. Sikes adds the industry will overcome the slow consumer awareness, due to the entry of “high-profile players in the consumer IoT ecosystem.”
He adds that “to create value on a mass-market scale, smart home solutions must be able to integrate multiple features.”
Further west n the UK, reports have suggested the Scotland could become the next leader in ‘smart energy,’ according to a report by the Carbon Trust.
Scotland smart energy “leader”
According to Tidal Energy Today, the Carbon Trust report outlines a vision for “Scotland to harness its abundant natural resources and world class technology innovation capabilities to develop a dynamic, smart, energy efficient energy system.”
The Carbon Trust puts forth the following recommendations for Scotland to develop its smart energy sector: targeted innovation to make the country renewable potential more cost effective- namely: offshore wind, wave, tidal and bio-energy.
It also makes recommendations to invest in energy storage solutions, facilitate the uptake of district heating, focusing on integrating renewable energy and thermal storage.
The report further suggests innovation in energy management software solutions for the commercial and residential building sector and solutions to encourage energy savings amongst consumers.
Andrew Lever, Director of Innovation at the Carbon Trust, said: “To realise this vision Scotland needs a new integrated smart energy system. This is good news for Scotland.
“We believe it has the skills and capacity required to address many of the innovation challenges that exist and the political will to unleash the nation’s potential to deliver Scotland’s future integrated low carbon energy system.”