Despite “tightening economic circumstances” in many markets, consumer spending on smart home devices will grow 15% in 2022 to over $30 billion, said ABI Research Tuesday. Analyst Jonathan Collins said a focus on home improvement spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic pushed smart home awareness into the mainstream market, and now many consumers are looking to replace or upgrade their devices. Tech companies and home goods companies, including Ikea and Somfy, are expanding product lines to connect to existing smart home platforms, and broad support for Matter 1.0 will maximize smart home product potential, he said.

Best Buy launched a connected home pilot with home builders, CEO Corie Barry said on the company’s Tuesday Q3 earnings call. The retailer is collaborating with Whirlpool and one of the top U.S. home builders to provide smart home devices including connected doorbells and thermostats, plus large appliances, Barry said. The builder program is in an early phase; Best Buy is working in five of the roughly 45 markets included in the pilot. Early markets are providing “great insight” for how the companies might expand the pilot, she said. “Based on what we have learned, we see this model as an opportunity to partner with numerous other home builders to provide them similar or expanded solutions,” she said. Best Buy’s builder solutions website says the company provides dedicated account and project managers and “highly skilled installers,” who can support builder projects “from coast to coast.” Best Buy is partnering with real estate software platform companies RealPage, Hyphen, Entrata and Yardi, it said.

Vivint announced a water monitoring service Thursday that's said to alert users to leaks and enable connections to an emergency cleanup service. Consumers with a Vivint Water Sensor installed in their home have access to the no-cost service in four states: Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Florida. The company plans to expand the service in 2023.

Signify’s Philips Hue Bridge smart lighting hub is Matter certified, the smart lighting company emailed Thursday. A software update to the Philips Hue Bridge will make all existing and new Philips Hue lights and accessories Matter-compatible, except for the Philips Hue Play HDMI sync box and the dial of the Philips Hue Tap Dial Switch, Signify said. Those devices aren’t yet supported by the Matter standard's Connectivity Standards Alliance’s 1.0 version, the company said. The Matter software update will be part of regular updates to the Bridge and is expected to be released to all users in Q1. Benefits to consumers after the release will be a “simplified connected experience” when connecting Philips products with other Matter-compatible smart home devices and apps, it said. All previous settings and personalization in the Philips Hue App will remain after the update, Signify said, and Google and Amazon integrations will continue to work “as-is” and be updated with Matter. Apple HomeKit users will have to reset to connect again to other products via Matter, it said. The Philips Hue integration with Matter-compatible devices and apps is open for developers as of Thursday, Signify said. Developers can test interoperability with the Philips Hue system via Matter by signing up with the Philips Hue Developer Community, it said.

Consumers want a self-help approach to solving smart home technical issues, but they need “more effective tools to solve the problems on their own,” said Parks Associates analyst Jennifer Kent Monday. Over a third of smart home device owners experienced technical difficulties in 2022, with the rise in issues experienced correlating with high usage rates, said Kent. Of those experiencing a technical issue, 21% used a self-help app to resolve the problem, nearly double the rate of 2018. Nine in 10 smart home device owners who experience technical problems will try at least one self-help approach, she said. “The reality is, smart home brands today need to become experts in Wi-Fi diagnostics,” said Jason Moore, CEO, RouteThis. “Given that Wi-Fi troubleshooting can be a complex and time-consuming process, you can end up with this broken cycle where neither the consumer nor the smart home brand finds the resolution they’re looking for.” That leads to repeat calls from frustrated customers, negative reviews and product returns, he said. Users need tools to discern which issues are impacting their networks and devices, “with special attention to testing for and diagnosing Wi-Fi issues, followed by clear guidance about how to fix the specific problem,” Moore said. Self-help apps and technology with advanced diagnostic features have experienced strong growth in the past four years, he said.

Some 13% of internet households have a smart thermostat, and about a quarter, 15 million, own a Google Nest model, said Parks Associates Wednesday. Honeywell and ecobee round out the top three brands, it said, with Honeywell having strength in the professional installation channel and ecobee having bundling agreements with security and Generac products. About 12% of survey respondents got their thermostat through their electricity provider. Remote control from an app is the feature 45% of smart thermostat owners use most, and most adjust the devices at least once a day, Parks said. Almost half of owners said they saved more money using the thermostat than they initially expected.

Ikea announced October availability for its Matter-ready Dirigera ($69) smart home hub it teased in May (see 2205250038). The hub will “eventually be compatible with Matter,” Ikea said Monday. “As contributors to the development of Matter, we at IKEA are proud to be a part of enabling various smart products to interact with each other and provide more smart home opportunities for the many people worldwide,” said Rebecca Toreman, business leader-Ikea Home smart. The company developed a new app, available for download, that’s based on “decades of life at home expertise,” Toreman said, saying “hundreds of annual home visits have been complemented by multiple user research studies.” Most users observed in their homes perceived smart products as complicated, and many think a smart home is something available only for the elite. Ikea “aims to lower the threshold for people to set up and use a smart home,” Toreman said: Ikea believes “the smart home should be for everyone." The company has learned “how people use their smart homes and what works and doesn’t,” she said. “Based on that, we have created a simple and intuitive digital experience that enables an even smarter home for as many people as possible.” The company described creating a scene in the new Ikea Home app combining “clean air” via an air purification device with automated blinds going up, lamps ramping to a desired level, music playing and a coffee pot starting to brew. The Dirigera is designed to handle more smart product types and connected devices than Ikea’s existing Tradfri gateway, launched in 2014, said the furnishings company. Users with the Tradfri gateway, current app and existing smart home products will be able to connect with the Dirigera, Ikea said, saying the hub “enables a more user-friendly experience” for consumers to create a smart home. IKEA Home app will be updated “regularly with new functionality,” the company said.

Some 38% of U.S. internet households own at least one smart home device, up 2 percentage points from 2021, reported Parks Associates Monday. About 27% bought a smart home device in the past 12 months, and 44% plan to buy one in the next 12 months, said the research firm. “All channels that develop and deliver smart home products have seen new demand, with rising consumer expectations and new opportunities to deliver an integrated connected experience in the home,” said analyst Chris White. Parks is accepting speaker submissions for its Jan. 5 Connections smart home summit at CES.

Brilliant’s smart home integration with automated Hunter Douglas window shades will go live Oct. 6, said Brilliant at CEDIA Expo Thursday. The Hunter Douglas integration, Brilliant’s 25th with an outside partner, will enable Brilliant users to control shades from in-wall Brilliant touch-screen controls or the Brilliant mobile app, it said. The arrangement “gives builders and professional installers the ability to offer complete home automation systems at a mass market price point with no custom programming required,” it said.

Netgear is using this week’s CEDIA Expo in Dallas to introduce two new WiFi 6 and 6E access points and services targeted specifically toward residential installers, said the company Tuesday. The access points, sold exclusively through authorized integrators and custom installers, are bundled with four years of both Netgear Insight and ProSupport services, it said.