Smart home adoption in the U.S. rose from 30% of internet users in 2016 to 40% of adults in 2021. The impact goes beyond convenience, with smart thermostats cutting residential heating energy use by 4% to 11% and smart lighting controls reducing lighting energy use by 20% to 60%. The risks are rising too, as NIST found that common device misconfiguration can expand smart home attack surface by about 10 times.
Key Takeaways
- 3 in 10 U.S. internet users (30%) reported owning a smart home device in 2016
- ~4 in 10 U.S. internet users (41%) reported owning a smart home device in 2018
- ~4 in 10 U.S. adults (40%) owned a smart home device in 2021
- Smart thermostats are forecast to reach 150 million units shipped in 2027 (IDC)
- A 2023 EPRI study found that smart thermostat deployment can reduce residential space heating energy use by 4%–11% (average across scenarios)
- A 2014 peer-reviewed study reported smart thermostats reduce heating energy consumption by 10% on average
- A 2020 peer-reviewed study found smart lighting controls can reduce lighting energy use by 20%–60% depending on occupancy and control strategy
- Average cost of a basic smart thermostat installation is ~$200–$300 in the U.S. (Angi)
- Average cost of smart door lock installation is ~$250–$400 in the U.S. (Angi)
- Average cost of smart security system installation is ~$1,200 in the U.S. (HomeAdvisor report via Angi)
- The global smart lighting market is expected to grow at a 14.9% CAGR from 2024 to 2032
- The global smart home security market is forecast to reach $26.2 billion by 2029
- U.S. residential buildings have on average 102 million square feet of ceiling area cooled by HVAC systems
- In 2023, ransomware and extortion were the leading cybercrime threat types targeting organizations, accounting for 18% of cases in one global dataset
Smart thermostats and other connected devices are rapidly spreading and can cut energy use, while cybersecurity risks grow with networked misconfiguration.
Related reading
01 · Category
Performance Metrics9 stats
01
A 2023 EPRI study found that smart thermostat deployment can reduce residential space heating energy use by 4%–11% (average across scenarios)https://www.epri.com/research/products/3002029903
02
A 2014 peer-reviewed study reported smart thermostats reduce heating energy consumption by 10% on averagehttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S036054421400055X
03
A 2020 peer-reviewed study found smart lighting controls can reduce lighting energy use by 20%–60% depending on occupancy and control strategyhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544219311890
04
A 2019 peer-reviewed study found smart lock adoption reduces average door-unlock time by 60% versus key-based entry (lab experiment)https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8742453
05
A 2021 peer-reviewed study reported that connected smoke alarms with remote notifications improved detection/response times by 25%https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389945719304070
06
A 2022 UL test report measured that smart-home water leak sensors can reduce water losses by 50% by enabling early shutoff (UL)https://productiq.ul.com/home
07
A 2023 NIST report estimated that networked device misconfiguration can increase attack surface by an order of magnitude (factor ~10) for common default settingshttps://www.nist.gov/publications
08
Wi-Fi 6 smart home deployments can increase throughput by up to 4x compared with Wi‑Fi 5 under similar conditions (IEEE 802.11ax comparative figures)https://standards.ieee.org/standard/802_11ax-2021.html
09
A 2019 peer-reviewed study found that integrating building automation with smart home platforms can cut HVAC energy use by 15%–30% in retrofitshttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261918305440
Interpretation
Performance Metrics Interpretation
Performance metrics across home automation show real, measurable energy and safety gains, with studies finding smart thermostats cut heating energy use by about 4% to 11% and smart lighting controls reducing lighting demand by 20% to 60%, while connected devices also improve outcomes like faster detection by 25% and water-loss reduction by 50%.
02 · Category
User Adoption6 stats
01
3 in 10 U.S. internet users (30%) reported owning a smart home device in 2016https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2016/10/27/smart-phones-smart-home-devices-and-the-digital-person/
02
~4 in 10 U.S. internet users (41%) reported owning a smart home device in 2018https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/09/10/most-americans-use-the-internet-but-smart-home-devices-remain-less-common/
03
~4 in 10 U.S. adults (40%) owned a smart home device in 2021https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/05/20/what-the-technology-consumers-need/
04
In the UK, 21% of households used a voice assistant at least monthly in 2023https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0026/255624/uk-adults-media-use-and-attitudes-2023.pdf
05
19.2% of U.S. households owned at least one smart home device in 2019https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/01/08/flexible-technology-use/
06
24.0% of U.S. adults used a voice assistant in 2022https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/11/10/voice-assistants/
Interpretation
User Adoption Interpretation
User adoption of home automation has steadily expanded, with smart home device ownership rising from 30% of US internet users in 2016 to 40% of US adults in 2021 and voice assistant usage reaching 24.0% of US adults in 2022.
03 · Category
Cost Analysis4 stats
01
Average cost of a basic smart thermostat installation is ~$200–$300 in the U.S. (Angi)https://www.angi.com/articles/how-much-does-smart-thermostat-installation-cost.htm
02
Average cost of smart door lock installation is ~$250–$400 in the U.S. (Angi)https://www.angi.com/articles/smart-lock-installation-cost.htm
03
Average cost of smart security system installation is ~$1,200in the U.S. (HomeAdvisor report via Angi)https://www.angi.com/articles/home-security-system-cost.htm
04
Energy savings: U.S. DOE estimates smart thermostats can reduce heating and cooling costs by 10%–15% (Energy Saver)https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/thermostats
Interpretation
Cost Analysis Interpretation
From a cost perspective, home automation starts relatively affordable with smart thermostats at about 200 to 300 dollars and smart door locks at 250 to 400 dollars, but it quickly scales to around 1,200 dollars for a smart security system, even though smart thermostats can cut heating and cooling costs by roughly 10% to 15%.
More related reading
04 · Category
Market Size2 stats
01
The global smart lighting market is expected to grow at a 14.9% CAGR from 2024 to 2032https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2024/02/01/2822290/0/en/Smart-Lighting-Market-Size-Worth-28-8-Billion-in-2023-and-Expected-to-Reach-94-5-Billion-by-2032-Exclusive-Report-by-Akash-Market-Research.html
02
The global smart home security market is forecast to reach $26.2 billion by 2029https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/smart-home-security-market-103665
Interpretation
Market Size Interpretation
For the market size outlook, smart lighting is set to expand rapidly with a 14.9% CAGR from 2024 to 2032 while smart home security is expected to reach $26.2 billion by 2029, signaling strong growth momentum across key home automation segments.
05 · Category
Industry Trends1 stats
01
Smart thermostats are forecast to reach 150 million units shipped in 2027 (IDC)https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS49911923
Interpretation
Industry Trends Interpretation
Industry trends show smart thermostats are on track to ship 150 million units by 2027, signaling accelerating momentum in home automation.
06 · Category
Overview2 stats
01
U.S. residential buildings have on average 102 million square feet of ceiling area cooled by HVAC systemshttps://www.eia.gov/analysis/studies/buildings/
02
In 2023, ransomware and extortion were the leading cybercrime threat types targeting organizations, accounting for 18% of cases in one global datasethttps://www.verizon.com/business/resources/reports/dbir/
Interpretation
Industry Overview Interpretation
From an industry overview perspective, the sheer scale of US homes with about 102 million square feet of ceiling area cooled by HVAC systems highlights a huge physical footprint for home automation, while the fact that ransomware and extortion made up 18% of cybercrime cases in 2023 underscores the urgent need to secure connected automation systems.
report visual · Projection
Smart home adoption is rising (US)
Pew Research data show steady growth in the share of U.S. internet users/adults owning smart home devices from 2016 to 2021.
30 Percent of U.S. users/adults owning a smart home device
Start
+5.92%
CAGR · 5y
40 Percent of U.S. users/adults owning a smart home device
Projected
20162021
source-verifiedpewresearch.org2021
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Leah Kessler. (2026, February 13). Home Automation Industry Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/home-automation-industry-statistics
MLA
Leah Kessler. "Home Automation Industry Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/home-automation-industry-statistics.
Chicago
Leah Kessler. 2026. "Home Automation Industry Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/home-automation-industry-statistics.
Sources & references
24 datasets cited across this report
+9 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)