Selling home automation products is not something that can be added to a business model without time, effort, or planning. Contractors must understand how to introduce home automation, who the target audience is for the wide array of products and services that fall under its umbrella (hint: it’s just about everyone), and perhaps most importantly, have a firm grasp of home automation themselves.

Connected thermostats entered the market around 10 years ago, coinciding with the rise of in-home Wi-Fi, smartphones with apps to control Wi-Fi enabled technology, and — within the past two years — voice-controlled AI like Google Home, Apple HomePod, and Amazon Alexa and Echo. Per a 2017 report by Juniper Research, an estimated 55 percent of U.S. households will have at least one smart speaker by 2022, for a total of 175 million.