CE Pro talked with Jay Kenny, vice president of marketing for Alarm.com, who says security dealers are in a good position to offer homeowners a fully integrated package of smart home services.
Q. Why are smart thermostats gaining momentum, and what is the best way for dealers to present these products to consumers?
A. Smart Thermostats have become one of the most talked about devices in the Internet of Things conversation and Parks Associates forecasts smart thermostat sales to double over the next two years alone. In addition to this growing consumer awareness, new technology and real practical value delivered by the service are driving interest in a smart thermostat solution.
New smart home technology has made the use and control of the thermostat much easier than before. With the mobile app—it is simple to use—adjust and program your thermostat from wherever you are. Unlike the old programmable thermostat that you had to check the manual to learn how to operate, the mobile app is intuitive and requires little to no training. This is making it easy for consumers to switch to new smart thermostats because they are so simple to use.
The smart thermostat becomes even more valuable when it's integrated into an interactive security system and the rest of the home. The home sends temperature alerts, saves energy automatically based on security system arming and shuts down the HVAC in case of a fire. It's these kinds of direct, easy to understand benefits that are driving momentum for the Smart Home.
Related: Alarm.com Offers Security on the Go with Apple Watch App
With all the new consumer interest, installation and support remain one of the biggest barriers to consumer adoption and the security dealer is best positioned to solve that problem for the consumer. Security dealers who integrate the smart thermostat into their standard offering will have a great advantage in meeting the growing consumer demand for these services.
Q. Alarm.com has announced a new smart thermostat; what is different about this product?
A. The Alarm.com Smart Thermostat is the first thermostat design for the multi-device smart home. Unlike any other thermostat on the market, it offers a multi-sensor learning, room-by-room temperature control, location-based automation, instant alerts and responsive saving based on external weather in one solution. Designed specifically for the smart home it combines sleek hardware, sophisticated cloud services and an ecosystem of connected devices for an uncompromising energy management solution.
One of the things that really sets the new thermostat apart is that is has been created with the professional channel in mind. Dealers have a strategic market advantage around installation and support services, so we built the device to provide exceptional service to the dealer. We created a ‘soft installation' process through our installer mobile app. Once the thermostat is wired, the app configures the device to the home's HVAC system. We also made all the device settings adjustable through our AirFX tools so troubleshooting and support can be done quickly and remotely. It greatly reduces the need to roll a truck back to a house when issues can be diagnosed and often fixed remotely.
As I mentioned earlier, reducing energy waste and saving money are the core value proposition for any smart thermostat. But it has to be really easy for the consumer, so we've developed a set of features that we call ‘responsive savings.' The thermostat automatically saves energy around the home's activity patterns and it responds in real-time when those patterns change. The user goes about their day and Alarm.com takes care of the savings and comfort for them.
Q. In addition to the company's thermostat products, the company offers a complete line of security solutions, including monitoring. What makes these products unique?
A. We offer the full suite of smart home services including security, energy management, video, access control and wellness. These are enabled through a large ecosystem of connected devices so our dealers can choose from hardware options and deliver a wide range of home automation solutions - and it's all built around home security services.
In addition to our award winning consumer solutions, our dealer partners can take advantage of a range of our business services. We extend our platform to include a full suite of cloud services for our dealer partners that provide value at every point of the lifecycle from customer creation and installation to support and ongoing customer relationship management. This includes sales and marketing resources, installation and support technology like our Mobile Tech app, sophisticated customer engagement tools, and the Alarm.com Academy keeps them up to speed on the latest the Smart Home has to offer.
Q. How is Alarm.com supporting its dealer training efforts?
A. Training programs have been a big area of focus for Alarm.com over the last few years. We have developed the Alarm.com Academy to provide a comprehensive training program that offers sales and marketing, as well as technical training courses, and many of the courses qualify for CEU credits. Based on great feedback from our dealers, we have extended our training to include classes in our training facility, regional training events and our learning management system that can be accessed from your computer or mobile device anytime.
We have worked to make our training accessible to all of our dealers. With this goal, we offer free training for Alarm.com dealers at major trade events, including CEDIA, ESX and ISC West.
Q. Alarm.com also offers a line of wellness solutions. What is the case for installers to add these solutions to their product portfolios?
A. Our wellness solution offers the next generation of PERS allowing people to safely and confidently stay in their home longer. A large number of dealers historically offered a PERS solution so they are well versed in these kinds of solutions. We recognized an opportunity to apply a lot of our innovative interactive security technology to improve independent living in the home. Leveraging devices already in the home, you can use motion sensors, locks and alerts to help identify if there is something that is out of the ordinary or may need attention and automatically notify a family member, caretaker or emergency response.
But independent living is more than that, it's about peace of mind, so wellness also sends routine updates to let others know about expected activities. It's a reassuring way to know that a loved one is safe and secure without impacting their independence. Together with home automation features and monitored security, Wellness is a complete independent living solution.
Q. Most experts are predicting 2015 to be a big year for home automation. Does Alarm.com agree, and are there any particular market segments that it estimates could drive automation's increased adoption?
A. There's certainly a lot of attention and consumer interest around the smart home, and we're excited about the opportunity. With Alarm.com our dealers can offer exactly what consumers are looking for—outstanding, easy to use technology with home security as a core feature and a professional they can trust to install and service their smart home solution.