HYDERABAD: With smart homes getting popular, spends on home automation products in India are rising, presenting growth opportunities for both realtors and home automation firms.
According to real estate sector insiders, the spending on home automation products constitutes about one to five per cent of home cost. This, according to automation industry insiders, presents them an opportunity of a Rs 8,000-10,000 crore market.
“High-end homes and homes catering to upper middle-class segment, which forms a sizeable portion of market, are increasingly adopting home automation features as the concept of ‘smart homes’ is becoming popular. While in some cases builders themselves are incorporating home automation features, in some cases home owners are personally adopting after buying home, according to their preferences,” said P Dasarath Reddy a senior member of Telangana Real Estate Developers Association.
Another aspect of the trend is besides homes in metro cities becoming a market for home automation products, tier two cities are also opening up as home buyers are stressing on convenience and comfort while buying a new home.
“Initially smart homes were marketed primarily as homes with advanced security features. The market is now evolving into newer areas like lighting control systems, gas leakage detectors, and energy efficiency systems, thus creating healthy demand for home automation products. While the cost of basic automation starts from Rs 50,000 for a house, there’s no upper limit depending upon the varied elements one is looking to connect and automate,” Shrinivas Chebbi, Vice President - Partner projects and Eco-Buildings Business, Schneider Electric India.