Podcast #802: 2017 Products of the Year - Electronic House

2017 Products of the Year - Electronic House The Electronic House annual Products of the Year contest surveys many of the best and most innovative smart home devices on the market today. Everything from simple light switches to full-blown automation systems. The entries are submitted by manufacturers and are organized into categories so you can easily find the types of products that interest you. We will discuss a few of the winners but you should follow the link to check out all the devices that were considered. Some statistics: By 2020, more than 12 million U.S. household will have a smart water leak detector, more than 40 million will have a smart thermostat, nearly 50 million will have a smart light bulb, and nearly 14 million will have a smart home controller. Source: Parks Associates NUMBERS Service More than 35 million Americans will use a voice-enabled speaker at least once a month this year—an increase of almost 130 percent. Source: eMarketer Research firm Gartner forecasts that 20.8 billion connected things will be in use worldwide by 2020—and it's a movement that has industries, even those outside of the tech world, taking serious note. Insurance companies, in particular, are in a unique position to offer customers who add certain IoT devices to their homes special discounted rates on homeowner's insurance. In 2015 67 percent knew what smart devices were; in 2016, 97 percent said they knew the term.