However, there is one kind of intelligent products, which shows no obvious signs of growth within five years, and that is-intelligent temperature control. Why did this happen? For China’s huge smart home market, where is its growth space?
IDC recently released "Top Ten Insights of Smart Home Market in China in 2023". Compared with the shipments of other smart devices from 2022 to 2026, the growth rate of smart temperature control shipments is very small (the top of the figure below is marked with light yellow, and the figures are not given separately due to the small volume). According to IDC’s overall data, the shipment of intelligent temperature control is about 2.2 million units in 2022, 2.3 million units in 2023 and 2.8 million units in 2026, and there is no significant trend.
From the increase of intelligent temperature control shipments (marked in light yellow in the figure below), the shipments increased by 17.0% in 2022, 8.5% in 2023, and will continue to decrease in the next few years. By 2026, the shipments will increase by about 5.2%.
The reason why smart home is intelligent is fundamentally inseparable from the natural and insensitive interactive experience, which actually depends on the realization of various controllers. Intelligent temperature control devices, such as intelligent thermometers, hygrometers and other environmental measuring instruments, can be connected through wireless networks, linked with air conditioners, fans, etc. at home, and intelligently adjust the temperature and humidity at home, so as to enhance the product experience and achieve the purpose of saving energy efficiently. It looks beautiful, doesn’t it?
Searching on JD.COM, the price range of domestic brands is from less than 100 yuan, and then to 100 yuan and 200 yuan until it is close to 1,000 yuan. Among them, most of the following products in 200 yuan are aimed at single equipment (such as floor heating, wall-hung boilers, etc.); 200. 300 yuan products have more functions, and can remotely control multiple devices in multiple rooms through mobile APP, intelligent voice and Wi-Fi.
The price of international brands such as Nest and Honeywell is mainly around 2,000 yuan. Take Nest Thermostat’s 3rd generation intelligent thermostat as an example. According to official instructions, it can be compatible with 95% of the heating and cooling systems in the home, and most people can complete the installation in 30 minutes or less. The most important thing is that it has the self-learning ability. The user can use it for a week, and the device can be programmed automatically and adjusted automatically according to living habits and seasons.
From the price range and functional differentiation, domestic and international brands should theoretically cover different user needs. Why is it difficult to get large-scale application?
Judging from the function of the intelligent thermostat, its purpose is not only to make the operation experience of a single device more intelligent and convenient, but also to link with the whole water, electricity and heating equipment in the home. That is to say, the premise of its real function is that the house has a complete heating and cooling system, which is why the main consumer markets of intelligent thermostats are economically developed areas such as North America, Europe and Japan, especially the younger generation who have a strong ability to accept new things and widely use scientific and technological products will be more inclined to choose such products.
At present, in the China market, the high-priced intelligent temperature controller is still a "luxury" commodity, and the low-end products are not just needed by ordinary people, which should be an important reason why the intelligent temperature controller is always tepid. From a longer-term development point of view, the intelligent thermostat still has a long way to go, and it can not be separated from the maturity of market demand and the overall development of the whole house intelligence.
As early as 2014, the news that Google spent $3.2 billion to acquire Nest once made the whole smart home industry deeply excited. The company relied on smart thermostats to cut into the smart home market and achieved rapid rise. Before Nest and other manufacturers entered the thermostat market on a large scale, the traditional thermostat equipment had not been innovated for many years, and the product experience was mediocre.
After the appearance of intelligent thermostat, both the functional experience and the energy-saving effect have been greatly improved. It can be remotely controlled through mobile App, smart speaker and so on, and the operating experience is greatly improved. It can also be linked with other smart home products to achieve richer scene linkage. Moreover, the intelligent temperature controller can sense the ambient temperature and whether there is anyone in the room, and heat or cool the room accordingly, which greatly saves energy consumption. These advantages make the intelligent thermostat popular with consumers once it is introduced.
This is a typical application scenario of intelligent thermostat: controlling the air conditioning switch through mobile phone APP, intelligent voice, etc., adjusting gear and wind speed, bidding farewell to the era of rummaging around for remote control; Linked with the temperature and humidity sensor, the air conditioner can be automatically turned on and off according to the indoor temperature and the humidifier can be automatically turned on and off according to the humidity; Linked with the intelligent door lock, the air conditioner is automatically turned on when the door lock is opened; Linkage door and window sensors, open the window and automatically turn off the air conditioner to avoid unnecessary waste …
Some people in the industry believe that the intelligent thermostat is expected to become the control center of home energy in the future, with a huge market space, and it is an indispensable device for smart homes, which is also an important reason for the technology giants to lay out this market.
Then, in the track where international brands are everywhere, how do domestic brands lay out?
Cost-effectiveness is still one of the main advantages. Besides, careful design in product appearance and emphasis on creating interactive functions of intelligent temperature control, such as voice assistant dialogue function, intelligent speaker playback function, and even creating energy report and intelligent monitoring function matching with house security system, will help products achieve differentiated selling points.
IDC pointed out that the intelligentization of household equipment will expand to the household energy system represented by water, electricity and heating. In 2023, the shipment of smart home equipment related to water, electricity and heating will increase by 17% year-on-year, enriching the connection nodes and accelerating the realization of whole house intelligence. With the development of intelligent system, industry players will gradually enter the game, realize the intelligent upgrade of household equipment and service platform, and promote the intelligent management of household energy security and use efficiency.
Ambient intelligence is becoming one of the important directions for upgrading the capabilities of smart home platforms. Based on the centralized collection and comprehensive processing of air, lighting, user dynamics and other information, the smart home platform will gradually build the ability to perceive and even predict user needs, thus promoting the development of human-computer interaction and personalized scene service.
With the continuous upgrading and optimization of the home energy system, the linkage scenarios of whole house intelligence and intelligent temperature control are actually very rich. If domestic manufacturers can realize intelligent upgrade on the basis of traditional temperature control equipment, improve product experience and enhance energy-saving effect, they will be expected to seize the market dividend and rise rapidly like international manufacturers such as Nest.
Compared with other products of smart home, intelligent thermostat, as a single product with main control function, is inseparable from the development of the whole smart home market. Only when the smart devices linked with it are developed and the market demand is mature, the value it carries can be truly released, and the progress from single product intelligence to whole house intelligence can be realized.