Aju Kuriakose ( Linkedin Profile)
I absolutely love my job and what we do at SequoiaAT. I am fortunate to learn about many new industries and technologies as we work on helping Startups and Fortune 500 companies with new product ideas. As part of engaging with a recent customer, I got a learn a lot about the home construction business in the USA.
I was surprised to see how one of the oldest industries know to mankind- the home building was slow in adopting the latest technology trends. Although the commercial construction side has been fast to adapt to the new technologies to provide energy efficient building, the home construction side has been way behind on this
I think the reason for slow adoption is Homes are basic necessities of humans and probably the biggest investment an average person makes in his/her life. So given everything equal, people, in general, will spend more money on buying a bigger house for same dollar value than buying a high-tech house. Also, another reason could be that the necessity always exists. There is no urgency to reinvent or adopt technology at a fast pace.
As Smart buildings become popular and the norm, the home construction industry will have to change itself and adapt itself to the new norms. Sooner or later there will be a disruptive force in the industry. The scope of bringing IoT-enabled technologies are unlimited in every part of the supply chain right from selling to occupancy. As an example – Having an IoT beacon beam out to potential buyer passing by information about the house or lot.
Incorporating some of the smart sensors for occupancy, temperature etc. during constructions itself rather than retrofitting. It will save 100’s and 1000’s of dollars for the homeowners in long run for a fraction of the additional cost while setting it up. Devices like Powerwalls from Tesla or leak Detection systems from Flowlabs will get embedded into the home construction process. Smart asset tracking and people tracking will ensure that right tools are present at the right place at right time.
The backend construction cycle itself will get faster with the use of technology as the tools & equipment be used can be tracked better and maintained better leading to less downtime and loss of working hours. IoT enables devices will also ensure better safety at the worksite and can lead to better co-ordination.
Even for a consumer point of view, warranties can be tracked better as every single component used in the house being build can be tracked and managed to their warranty. I think like commercial building owners advertise how energy efficient the building are, builders need to start paying more attention to HERS index (Home Energy Efficiency Rating System)
As of now, I think many of these technology implementations are at a hobbyist level and need mass adoption. I think buyers need to start pushing on the HERS index rating to put pressure on homebuilders to use better technology to produce more energy efficient homes.
Home construction companies which adopt and embrace the new technologies will have better and faster turn around time and edged out the competition. Plumbers, electricians, painters etc. will have to learn new skills to incorporate technology tools into their work to stay competitive.
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