According to the Consumer Electronic Association’s (CEA) sixth annual State of the Builder Technology Market Study, structured wiring and monitored security systems remained the most common installed home technologies in 2007, but energy management systems and automated lighting controls are the fastest-growing technologies.
In the past five years, installation of automated lighting control in new homes has increased drastically among surveyed builders, the study indicates. In 2007, 58 percent of those surveyed offered automated lighting controls, compared with 31 percent in 2002. However, actual installations of automated lighting controls by surveyed builders declined from 8 percent to 5 percent in 2007.
The study also shows an increase in offerings of energy management systems. Fifty-three percent of surveyed builders reported offering the systems in 2007, compared with 31 percent in 2002. Energy management also was the only category that did not decline in installations from the previous year, an indication of homeowners’ increasing concerns over energy consumption, according to the CEA. Surveyed builders reported energy management installations in 14 percent of their new homes in 2007, compared with 11 percent in the previous two years.
CEA’s study found that offerings and installations of structured wiring and monitored security fell slightly in 2007, while multi-room audio installations declined by seven points. The declines in structured wiring and multi-room audio, suggests CEA, were driven by the availability of more consumer options for distributing content throughout houses.
Overall, most home technology categories showed declining installations in 2007, reflecting the decline in new home starts. Despite the weak housing market, though, the consumer electronics market remains strong and expects growth in 2008, which the CEA attributes to home builders’ commitment to technology even in tough times.
