Page 25 - Lighting Magazine November 2019

In addition, McGowan shared some of the most relevant conclusions from the most recent CABATM (Continental Automated Buildings Association) Smart Home as a Service survey. The purpose of the research project was to “provide a clearer understanding of the connected home landscape and the opportunities to drive revenues.”
The most revealing finding, according to Mc- Gowan, is that smart devices go beyond security and convenience and are now considered to have an economic benefit. “The CABA survey indicates that cost savings is an important value for the con- nected home,” he noted. “There are a lot of things [in other industries] that mesh with what we offer in the connected home. We’ve learned some les- sons, too, such as lighting is an essential element and is the anchor for connected systems.”
When it comes to which smart control method is preferred by consumers, voice control wins. “Cer- tainly Alexa has wormed its way into our homes,” he chuckled. “I’ve done work with the elderly and those who are bedridden, and it is the only way they feel they can have any control,” he shared. Since every smart home installation is custom to the user, the installation expertise and question of who will service the system if problems arise is critical for those who want to sell smart home technology.
new Term To Learn: SHemS
McGowan introduced the audience to a term they might not have heard before: SHEMS, which stands for Smart Home Energy Management Sys- tems. ENERGY STAR released the new SHEMS standard on September 3. “You can’t have a SHEMS system without lighting or without a ther- mostat,” he clarified, stressing the importance of the standard to the lighting industry. Smart lighting control of lamps and fixtures is an essential re- quirement of SHEMS, and all products must meet ENERGY STAR requirements in order to be a part of the “package.”
“ENERGY STAR will take the approach of en- ergy savings and it will be up to us in the lighting industry to interpret that and make it applicable to our industry,” he remarked. “There’s another new term out there that we’ve never heard before and that the ‘smart home service provider.’ This will be a subscription service, much like security system monitoring. The service providers could have a more important role with consumers,” he
MOST IMPORTANT LIGHTING ATTRIBUTES
Design Quality Amount of Light Color Size Energy Efficiency Price Adjustability Warranty Brand
19% 18%
50% 48%
44% 39%
36% 31%
28%
All respondents rating as “extremely important”
10%
ENERGY STAR - SHEMS
Consumer remote access
Monitor/control plug loads
Maintain comfort
Switch lights
Cloud
Home
Security monitoring
User interface; energy feedback, settings
Hub (optional)
Low power, nighttime, vacation safety mode
Grid services; manage to time varying price
Detect & act on occupancy; notice and resolve issues
Collect
field performance data
SHEMS package boundary (required elements)
november 2019 | enLIGHTenment magazine 23