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VDE Expects Smart Home Market to be €19 Billion in Germany by 2025, Launches Smart Home + Building Certification Program (15/3/2013)

Rising energy costs and changing demographics will significantly stimulate the market for smart homes in Germany within the next 10 years, according to a new study from the German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies (VDE).

By 2025 smart home features will be standard in upscale dwellings, in particular in new homes, says VDE, predicting that the country’s smart home market will grow to €19 billion by that year.

According to VDE, currently smart home technology is constrained by a lack of standards, high costs, and an added value that is not always transparent to consumers. However, rising energy costs will push the demand for home energy management, energy efficient appliances and intelligently controlled home technologies. The growing number of elderly will demand intelligent assistance systems to enable them to maintain their independence in their homes.

By 2025, retrofits will be affordable, with easy to install solutions that will facilitate entry into the smart home.

The remote control of equipment will be standard, with human-machine communication via new interfaces such as speech and gestures.

And the convergence of the various media – consumer electronics, home appliances and home automation – will significantly increase the number of services that can be offered.

To accelerate market development, VDE has launched the Smart Home + Building certification program, in partnership with the industry and with support from the Ministry of Economics and Technology. The aim is to develop standards, including a quality standard for plug-and-play applications. The program should also spur Germany towards market leadership against strong competition from East Asia.

www.vde.com