Although the smart home industry in China for more than ten years of growth, but the market is still some distance away from the molding. On the market can be described as “chaos” profusion of these stumbling seriously hindered the healthy development of the industry. Market chaos multiplication, smart home concept of speculation from forcing up the price, the relevant forecast, the electricity supplier as if really playing the price war, the smart home will throw in the towel.
“Smart home” (SmartHome) and applications are the first to be presented in the 1980s, Europe and Japan in 2000 was only introduced in China. Turn of the century the new millennium, the majority of our residents also just learned that the scene of intelligent life in television, advertising and magazines, and other media, and twelve years later, smart home products have gradually into one thousand Wan households, residents have a real experience. The information revolution so that people’s traditional way of life changes! Rise and development of smart home industry to meet the people in the context of rapid economic development for the innovative home technology needs.
       One of the smart home concept of speculation chaos
The concept of speculation Stopped?
In an interview last year CPSE intelligent home exhibition, the member of the audience told reporters, these exhibitors smart home with a lot of real estate to launch high-end smart home there are many differences. The real smart home contains a lot of systems, is a collection of multi-system. Many smart real estate home is the concept of speculation, involves only the smart home fur.
Around five smart home concept chaos function gimmicks speculation Stopped?
Driven by interests, the smart home concept of speculation has never stopped. For example, some domestic media and manufacturers will wittingly or unwittingly, intelligent home appliances and information (or network appliances) confuse these two concepts, some manufacturers will altogether twelve zoom in information appliances, they claimed, said the installation of these information appliances family also implements intelligent home; some real estate will take the smart home concept as a selling point for speculation, not taking into account the experience of the owners feel in design, coupled with the effort to control costs, often purchasing and selection of quality does not guaranteed low prices of products; many owners because of the smart home concept to understand thorough enough, a real estate agent by agitation, to think that they enjoy intelligent life, but they soon found that these intelligent devices malfunction slowly become a fool. These ulterior motives businesses confuse one concept, and ultimately hurt the interests of consumers.
Although in recent years the real estate market for smart home expressed strong interest, but strictly speaking, as of now intelligent residential real sense in our country are rare. This is mainly due to the confusion of the smart home concept in China market. Conceptual confusion in the market not only caused by the products, can not be better between compatible systems, products of varying quality and other conditions in the markets, but also makes the end user market for smart home is muddle, most families have not even filed interest in smart home, even the smart home system installed many families are unaware of the true role of the intelligent home, just as “ostentatious” and “vanity project.”
We know that light and smart home approximate meaning of words such as there are: electronic home (ElectronicHome), digital home (Digitalfamily), home automation (HomeAutomation), a home network (Homenet / NetworksforHome) / home network (NetworkHome), smart home / building (Intelligenthome / building) and the like. That cross appeared between them, overlapping application also differ.
In the old definition, smart home is seen as a process or a system. But with advances in smart home technology products continue to improve, the progressive development of the market, etc., in the past the definition of smart home is no longer able to make accurate and detailed explanation for the industry to adapt to new developments in smart home industry, some experts presented to the smart home new ideas. New perspectives for the smart home concept to explain more objective, focused, and did not like the earlier definition of electronic home, digital home, digital home and other confused; manufacturers of smart home (smart home system products) must be an essential part of the system (intelligent home (central) control and management systems, home lighting control systems, home security systems), to achieve intelligent features, it qualifies as a smart home (smart home system products); emphasize integrated, intelligent home intelligent control system must be set up in major unified control, all linked to each other smart products, compatible, rather than security, lighting, appliances and other seed each system to be controlled separately. This opinion was released, in the past neglected the role of smart home builders has been put on the agenda. Other views stop here, see “Understanding the new definition of smart home” in an article.
“In the first decade of the development of China’s smart home industry, everyone on the vague concept of cohabitation within the industry, market users wait and see, skepticism, making China the smart home market has been tepid.” The exhibition who said.
   Two channels of a single smart home chaos
Real estate channel can hold up one day?
At present, smart home products, has not yet fully reached fool mode of operation, not as buy back like a traditional household appliances can be used directly, which involves testing, installation and other aspects of the operation, with a certain professionalism and complexity by more professional companies, such as the strength of electrical, systems integrators, according to the actual needs of households design, commissioning and installation. So manufacturers rarely directly set up shops or sales to end users through supermarkets, department stores and other stores. Usually in the smart home project applications, is normally provided by the real estate business, system integrators to provide comprehensive automation control platform for tenants.
The prevailing view is that the real estate business to act as the most important role in the overall sales channels. Little early to statistics, real estate enterprises to take the proceeds channels can account for eighty percent of the market share. Today, the real estate developer demand for smart home growing. Real estate is often cited as a smart home concept differentiation competitive weapon. During the interview, a well-known brand developers said: “In the application of smart home system, usually for luxury housing, luxury housing, the different needs of ordinary residence of the main owners, propose appropriate solutions to control the entire smart home system procurement costs. ”
However, this channel has a congenital defect. . “Buyers are not user” contradictions never seem to exist in this industry, which is nowadays the user experience-based view of consumption is difficult to reconcile. If the real estate business will be added to the smart home decoration room facilities, unified procurement, installation, commissioning, the benefits that the average cost has decreased, then the tenants will not be able to select products style, function and other species according to their needs. In addition, because manufacturers are not directly involved in the design, installation, and other operational aspects of the project, if it is relying on systems integrators to install, its technical level may not be able to complete the entire project, the user may not reach the desired effect.
It is understood that in recent years, due to the large potential in the smart home market, the domestic emergence of a lot of smart home products business, but business conditions generally bad. Sales of more than 10 million dollars is not much, but more in the state of the market there is no product. All in all, though ferocious wave of smart home, but many domestic enterprises marketing channels or more single conservative and rely on real estate developers and integrators force, failed to integrate various channels of resources, so the market development appears tired and weak .
       Three functions gimmick chaos of intelligent home
Function utility is not practical people have the final say
Now a lot of a lot of smart home features, but these features are not easy to operate. Many manufacturers claim their products are simple design, fool of operation, but the actual operation is very complicated, many families of the elderly, children will not use these products as a key factor in the smart home market freeze.
Intelligent home product features manifold, to building products, for example, in foreign countries, the main function of the building intercom product is intercom and unlock, but later in China, has been completely beyond the characteristics of the product itself, with smoke detectors Sensor , gas detectors, burglar alarm, infrared, door probes redundancy. The media survey had a second-tier real estate market of smart home product usage, the result is that most of the so-called practical utility of powerful intelligent products can play a very limited number of extra features just like furnishings, and can not really be used.
Cause of China’s market of smart home products, “complex” and “fancy”, not where the user’s own needs. But some manufacturers in order to stimulate consumption, the product features and gimmicks designed to increase and selling. This is actually a neglected product quality and expand market share blindly act, to a large extent hindered the healthy development of smart home, not only reduces the credibility of the manufacturers of smart home, smart home also reach the expected results difficult to obtain consumer recognition.
Smart home today welcomed by the real estate market, but in addition to high-end market, the enterprise in sales there is no breakthrough is an indisputable fact. In view of this dismal market situation, industry analysts believe that, in the past smart home manufacturers for product promotion and development, construction, largely for the needs of real estate developers, to help them improve the quality of real estate, while ignoring the real smart home user – the specific needs of the public what it is.
Preliminary understanding, market demand heat as a reference, the current ranking of smart home products: video intercom systems, intelligent home alarm system, information dissemination and community service systems, intelligent lighting control systems, network remote monitoring systems, intelligent shade systems, remote control of home appliances and air conditioning control systems. From here you can see, the end-user requirements for environmental safety and comfort of the home is the primary account.
There are currently a lot of smart home business even domestic demand for smart home residents did not understand the place to start making products that do the system. Examples of this are not uncommon in the industry. In fact, doing product at the same time we need to know is how China’s smart home is the future direction, and this direction of development must be built on the basis of the above ***, on the consumer demand. Only to study what consumers are most concerned about, why the concern, as well as analysis of consumer products, points of interest, potential demand, etc., we can predict the future development of intelligent home seize.
       Smart home four price market chaos of the melee
Big civilian market price can not afford injuries
Smart home concept for most people, is still an unattainable for “castles in the air”, and the high price is not close to people. Insiders said that if a home improvement spend 50 million, that do a whole home system may be 20 million. According to area calculation, a set of over 140 square meters of the house, you may want to 5 million, this is just basic security, lighting systems. Smart home system for many consumers, is icing on the cake thing, but not required. Currently, the use of very small middle class, part of a large area of ​​the mansion will be equipped with the appropriate local or smart home system.
An intelligent system brand leader to reporters calculated that an account: a function relatively complete intelligent home systems, including conventional lighting remote control, electrical remote control, electric curtains remote control, multi-room home background music and video sharing, security alarm and video monitoring network, the use of domestic brands need about $ 50,000, while the international brands in more than 10 million.
According to sources, the manufacturer of smart home, smart home is not the main reason for the high price of smart home market size, product procurement costs are relatively high, investment and product development costs relatively large. Sometimes the cost of a smart home system is roughly equivalent to a house renovation cost, cost is relatively high, but not enough. A set of ordinary commercial housing renovation cost is generally 50 010 million, an expensive smart home renovation costs “scare” a large number of ordinary consumers. If it is possible to reduce the price in the ordinary people (603,883) of the acceptable range, it may not be far from universal.
In addition to your product, intelligent home construction cost is not cheap. Smart home in the construction process, the need for a series of integrated wiring, complex system setup and installation, will spend more labor costs, and must be fully intelligent design by a professional smart home design firms and engineers installation and commissioning.
It is time the price war yet? Seriously you lose
Every season. Appliances price war is waged, price discounts slogan is everywhere. The current smart home products to the home appliance industry has gradually line signs. Many smart home manufacturers have invested underwent price reduction strategy. We all know that to follow the laws of the market, a price war is the industry’s products in the market when the product has matured in only started. This is because during this period, the market for homogeneous products have been far greater than the demand, this time, cost-effective products is the first choice of consumers. Like electronics and appliances is one such product. The major manufacturers and distributors in over-saturated market in order to win the pro-consumer gaze, have shouted slogans low prices to attract consumers. All attempts by the price war to seize or consolidate market share.
The reality is that the smart home industry, the smart home market is still largely in the state is not fully mature, although the development of upstream and downstream industry chain, but it can not completely saturated. Despite the time it has developed more than 10 years in China, but its popularity is even smaller than a mobile phone has just entered the Chinese market, at least when people what is on the phone, the phone function is to understand more or less everything, the smart home for most people is unknown.
When the smart home industry, consumer groups have a very large when fully in a buyer’s market, the competition will be very intense, when the major manufacturers and distributors in order to seize market share, the price war will really started.
Now the real users in the use of smart home, relatively speaking is conditional pursuit of quality of life high-end users, they are more in order to reflect the quality of life and personal taste, so the smart home products is taking the opposite end of the line, the price war it is non-existent.
Prematurely into a price war quagmire. The negative effects of price competition question formed only seriously affect the development of the whole industry. Now, word of mouth still do it.
       Five of the smart home market chaos fragmented
Brightest manufacturers fight the world, not of the standard uniform
Smart home can be a fusion of new industries by the security industry, in the control industry, IT industry, electrical industry, AV industry and the appliance industry made. Faced with smart home attractive market prospects, more and more products suppliers have joined the ranks of the smart home industry.
Security companies involved in smart home field of prominent persons than building intercom enterprises, in recent years, with video intercom products from analog to digital technology, from the bus to TCP / IP, integrated family based on the traditional intercom system on security, lighting, appliance control and other functions has become possible, building intercom enterprise product line into the pace of the smart home growing calm.
With the building intercom manufacturers involved, since when the household electrical appliance enterprises to be outdone, and constantly adjust the product line. Among them, Haier with “U-home” Smart house first to enter the smart home market enterprises, followed by TCL, Changhong, Midea and other household electrical appliance enterprises have also set foot in the domestic smart home market, and launched the “smart home” and so on. For a time, the smart appliance industry start another boom, based on the appliance control, continuous improvement of smart home product lines.
With security, home appliances enterprises settled, operators have begun to seize the smart home market cake, with its share of a share. The three major telecom operators as well as the national grid, local radio and television as the smart home will invariably focus on advocacy, the National Grid, Jiangsu Cable (600,959) are in the most prominent position shows the smart home program, and the program is not only the national grid smart grid, Jiangsu Cable programs not just IPTV, for security, metering, monitoring, and other intelligent call typical home business, their programs also are involved.
The current pattern of China’s smart home market has a third of the world trend: The first camp is a traditional building intercom manufacturers, mainly the crown forest, housing Po (300 155), Shidean, Zhenwei, etc., these manufacturers are mainly provide a comprehensive intelligent control platform, this platform integrates numerous security alarm subsystem, appliance control, etc; second camp is the main appliance manufacturers, such as Haier, TCL, the United States and so on, these major manufacturers to provide information network-based appliance-based; there is a camp lighting control, curtain control, and interface module manufacturers, manufacturers representative Szabolcs, a wave, CHF, Clipsal, are primarily manufacturers with the first two categories, It offers a variety of intelligent switches and interface modules.
From the market situation, the first camp building intercom enterprises, their advantage lies in two aspects of the advantages of technology and channels, but also contribute to the popularity of smart home; second camp to enter the field of intelligent home, a collection of brands, channels, and financial advantages, with consumer habits and demands understanding, continue to expand market share; and operators also have their own advantages in network services, information push and so on have a unique advantage; and the third camp more concerned about the home life comfort, deep drilling on the intelligent control system development and application itself. Product and market positioning of various types of vendors offered are different, causing a rivalry among the smart home market, the fragmented nature of the situation.
Since the smart home in China started relatively late, at the beginning of the period, many manufacturers are feeling the stones. Since there is no uniform standard, mixed image industry growing. As the saying goes, “No rules no standards.” Industry lack of uniform standards and the harmonization between the various systems of communication protocol of the situation, leading manufacturers each array, complex operating systems, lack of stability, coordination and poor sexual performance, restricting the development of the smart home market. According to ABB China Low Voltage Products division switch socket Business Unit marketing manager Qiu Yupeng said: “The smart home market, more manufacturers, but few manufacturers make a brand can cover all the contents of the smart home, and more and more users requiring manufacturers can to provide total solutions for intelligent home systems, a universal, open, stable, standard bus system for solving the integrity of the program, the extension of the product stability and function is very important. “smart home system the key problem with other systems that integrate unified communication protocol products due to manufacturers for production in accordance with different interface standards and protocols, and it is more difficult interoperability between products, making the user experience greatly reduced, greatly affected the smart home product marketing speed.
