More Than 60% of U.S. Broadband Households Concerned About Privacy Violations and Data Security in Smart Home Systems

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - Sep 10, 2014) - New energy research from Parks Associates finds consumers are enthusiastic about smart home offerings, especially safety and security applications, but they are very apprehensive about privacy issues. 360 View: Residential Security and Smart Home, which includes a 2Q 2014 survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households, reports nearly two-thirds of all households are concerned that smart home systems will lead to privacy violations and unauthorized access to their data and devices.

Parks Associates will address the impact of privacy issues as well as growth strategies and emerging business models to increase consumer engagement in energy management at the sixth-annual Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, February 16-18, 2015, at the Four Seasons Resort in Austin, Texas.

"Currently 13% of U.S. broadband households own at least one smart home device, and privacy concerns are more common among owners than non-owners," said Tom Kerber, Director, Research, Home Controls & Energy, Parks Associates. "Safety and security are the most popular use cases for smart home solutions, so it is not surprising that these security concerns extend to household privacy. All players in the smart home ecosystem will need to work together to overcome this challenge to market growth."

Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer, with early sponsorship support from Lowe's, Alarm.com, and EcoFactor, is accepting speaking submissions at http://www.parksassociates.com/ses-speaker. The event will feature industry perspectives on key topics impacting smart products and systems, energy services and partnerships, and the Internet of Things for the connected consumer. The 2014 summit featured keynotes from Nest, Comcast, Lowe's, ecobee, and Austin Energy.

Topics for the 2015 summit include:

• Successful business model transitions for the utility market
• Role of energy management in smart home systems and home control platforms
• Modeling energy solutions and integration into smart devices
• Big data and analytics: extracting extra value from smart meters and energy services
• Partnerships and new business model opportunities
• Leveraging smart products to enhance Demand Response (DR) programs
• Impact of smart devices in retail energy markets
• Energy audits: expanding energy efficiency programs to whole-home solutions
• Strategies to speed up the pilot process and keep pace with market innovation
• Standards and interoperability: solutions that bring together the home's products and services
• Balancing privacy concerns and market regulations with opportunities created by big data
• The role of telecom and cable service providers as energy providers/managers

"Privacy and security standards, such as the guaranteed right to be 'invisible,' would ease privacy worries for the majority of concerned consumers," Kerber said. "The smart home market will need to develop standards to guarantee consumer protection in order to ensure its continued growth and development."

Parks Associates research finds the most popular use case for smart home systems is receiving alerts if a smart device detects smoke or fire, with 51% of U.S. broadband households very interested in this scenario. Among the energy-related use cases presented to U.S. broadband households:

• 30% are very interested in identifying ways to improve their home's energy efficiency
• 26% are very interested in receiving a daily summary of hourly energy usage
• 29% find a tool to notify them that their energy use is within budget very appealing
• 30% are very interested in the ability to monitor energy use in real time
• 34% very interested in receiving alerts when energy consumption is abnormally high

To speak with Tom Kerber or request specifics research data, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com or 720-987-6614.

About Smart Energy Summit
Smart Energy Summit: Engaging the Consumer examines the expanding market for the smart home and the role of energy solutions within the Internet of Things, including connected devices, energy management, utility services, and home control platforms and services.

Smart Energy Summit addresses strategies for utilities, service providers, retailers, and manufacturers to expand and monetize their energy offerings by engaging consumers, developing new business models, and creating unique partnerships.

The summit agenda features thought leaders representing utilities, state and national regulators, telecom and security companies, retailers, and OEMs presenting on the state of the market and the emerging consumer and business opportunities.

The sixth-annual Smart Energy Summit will take place February 16-18, 2015, at the Four Seasons Resort in Austin, Texas. Follow the event on Twitter at @SmartEnergySmt and on the Smart Energy Insights Blog. For information on speaking, sponsoring, or attending Smart Energy Summit, visit www.ses2015.com.

About Parks Associates
Parks Associates is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates creates research capital for companies ranging from Fortune 500 to small start-ups through market reports, primary studies, consumer research, custom research, workshops, executive conferences, and annual service subscriptions.

The company's expertise includes new media, digital entertainment and gaming, home networks, Internet and television services, digital health, mobile applications and services, consumer electronics, energy management, and home control systems and security. http://www.parksassociates.com