US Homes With Security Systems Open To Adding Smart Home Features, Parks Says

Some 65 percent of U.S. broadband homes with a security system plan to buy a smart home device in the next 12 months, a Parks Associates report said Friday. Nearly 20 percent of U.S. broadband households own at least one smart home device, and over half of those also have a security system, Parks said. "Security households, rather than being content with their current system, have a proclivity to add more smart features to their home,” said Parks Associates President Stuart Sikes. Roughly 70 percent of U.S. security dealers install some type of interactive smart home device or system within their residential offerings or plan to do so within the next 12 months, Parks said. Nearly three-quarters of security dealers offer interactivity with smart home devices that can be controlled through smartphones, tablets and computers, it said. Forty percent of security system installations last year included system interactivity and enhanced smart home features, up from 31 percent in 2014, it said. Dealer revenue for smart home services averages $14 per month, Parks said.