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Are you ready to crack the code of real estate investing, here’s the ultimate guide for Smart Home Buyers In Nigeria.
The “smart home” is a home equipped with a technologically advanced network that connects sensors, devices, and household appliances that can be accessed and controlled remotely.
The set of these devices allows for the provision of services that meet the needs of people living inside the home: energy optimization, home security, and assistance with household activities.
What are the barriers to acceptance and diffusion of “smart home technologies” in Nigeria and what are the possible drivers? The results of a study focused on the consumer.
The set of these devices allows for the provision of services that meet the needs of people living inside the home.
The rapid evolution of electronic, telematic, and IT systems also in the domestic sphere offers interesting prospects for the diffusion of “smart home technologies” (Smart Home Technologies, SHT) throughout the country.
The services provided by these technologies essentially fall into three interconnected macro-categories: optimization of energy use and consumption (with potential advantages for both consumers and energy service operators); home security; and assistance with household activities (particularly relevant for disabled and elderly people).
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Smart Home Buyers In Nigeria
Recent experimental investigations on SHT have focused on the analysis of the behavior and lifestyles of individuals and family groups.
The degree of use and acceptance of technological solutions can vary based on the presence of different parameters including socio-demographic characteristics of users; previous experiences with technologically advanced systems; and methods of providing services (linked to market rules and mechanisms).
In today’s debate on energy policy choices, the concepts of “efficiency” and “savings” have assumed increasing relevance, proportionately to the greater awareness of the consequences of the current climate crisis, to the greater uncertainties linked to the energy supply necessary to support the current development model of advanced and emerging economies and not least to the increased cost of the service which in times of recession requires savings from families.
The combination of these needs has produced actions at the African level towards the rational and efficient use of energy, such as the Climate Energy package “20-20-20”, with the aim of promoting a process of reconversion of the economy towards a system of energy production and consumption with lower carbon emissions.
Even in Nigeria, the path that led to the definition of the National Energy Strategy confirmed the priority role of energy efficiency in reducing costs, emissions, and environmental impact of the energy system.
To better understand the potential offered by the penetration of new technologies, however, it is necessary to address the issue of social acceptance, without which the acceptance of any new model of behavior seems difficult.
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It is a matter of identifying and setting in motion the mechanisms necessary to promote a more active participation of citizens, called more directly to support, with their choices, the transition to a more responsible and sustainable model of consumption.
The success factor of a technological innovation therefore also lies in the degree of acceptance by the consumer.
This degree of acceptance can be promoted through the active participation of the end user in the initial stages of the technological device’s creation, as demonstrated by studies based on user-oriented and participatory design, which confirm the importance of involving the consumer right from the design and planning stage of the devices, to make them easier to use.
Based on these considerations, it is clear that understanding individual and group behaviors within living environments, and the home is the main one of these environments, is fundamental since failure to consider these factors could lead the consumer to perceive the introduction of innovation in daily life as a “threat”, which affects daily life to the point of touching the dimension of individual freedoms.
In general, Nigerians appear to be very concerned about the high costs of energy bills. Reducing energy consumption, both through more efficient devices and by changing behaviors and lifestyles, is one of the main motivational factors that can reorient consumption choices.
In this sense, a decisive element is represented by being able to have maximum transparency of information on energy costs as well as on the costs of the devices themselves.
Discussions in focus groups have highlighted that easy and transparent access to information on energy costs and consumption, even for individual appliances, can provide useful elements to adapt the energy consumption habits of the inhabitants of the house.
These elements suggest that there is sufficient space and interest for technologies and services that provide detailed information, in real-time and in a simplified form on tariffs and consumption.
The defense and improvement of the quality of life is another element that has been mentioned several times and that should be taken into account to promote the development of the smart home market in Nigeria.
The discussions in the focus groups highlighted the recurring link between quality of life and environmental issues.
This sensitivity emerged especially among the participants in the meeting in Abuja, almost as if to suggest that in small towns the value of better management of energy use and domestic consumption is more strongly associated with a review of lifestyles in terms of reducing environmental impact.
The relationship between smart home technologies and health is a further element of interest for many participants.
For a country like Nigeria, struggling with one of the highest rates of demographic aging in the world, the experimentation of services and systems for monitoring and controlling health can exert a driving force and encourage the acceptance of technologies in the domestic environment.
The attention to the protection of the domestic environment seems to be confirmed by similar attention paid by participants to services for controlling home security, through, for example, receiving updates on their phones, as well as to fire detection systems and services for controlling air quality.
Looking at the most requested technical specifications for smart home technologies, ease of use and accessibility were mentioned, all aimed at obtaining complete control of the device by the end user.
The focus group participants also emphasized that technologies must generate tangible benefits and be fully understood and easily used by end users.
In terms of barriers, one of the main concerns of the user is the lack of specific technological skills needed to use and control the devices.
The Nigerian context, in fact, presents factors of particular weakness linked to a generally limited diffusion of technologies at home.
In this sense, the request to be able to test the proposed technological solutions in advance should be read, in order to verify their actual usefulness.
Some participants in the focus groups suggested implementing a commercial strategy based on “trying is believing” to overcome this barrier of disaccustoming to the use of technology in everyday life.
The preference regarding the method of use of smart home services also goes in the same direction: in many cases, temporary rental is preferred to the direct purchase of services and technologies.
Similarly, the awareness of one’s limits, especially among the elderly, induces fears of possible failures or the possible inefficiencies that an incorrect gesture by the individual could create in a complex technological system.
Among the main challenges, transversal to family groups and the territorial context, for the diffusion of SHT in Nigeria, there are therefore economic considerations, such as the costs for the acquisition of devices and for their management and maintenance, technological considerations such as the fear of malfunctions, the lack of skills necessary for correct use, and considerations related to privacy, in relation to the issue of technological intrusion that can limit personal freedoms or that can create a progressive dependence in those who make constant use of them.
Differences also emerged that can be traced back, in particular, to geographic location and the characteristics of one’s living context.
Families in large cities, who more frequently live in condominiums, prefer shared technological solutions agreed upon with their neighbors, while families in small cities, who more frequently live in terraced or detached houses, attribute relatively more importance to individual behavioral changes.
Finally, the focus groups highlighted a widespread awareness of the richness and fragility of our territory.
The presence of historic buildings in urban centers makes our cities, many of which have medieval origins, prestigious and fragile at the same time, also due to the medium-high seismic risk that characterizes most of our territory.
Conclusions
The results obtained through the active participation of potential end users of smart home technologies have shown similarities and divergences in consumer preferences and highlighted possible critical issues to address in order to promote the diffusion of these technologies in the Nigerian context.
The intervention can be both public (think of the role of Green Public Procurement to stimulate market development or the role of the regulator or a guarantor authority to protect the right to privacy and the security of individuals) and private, involving companies in the energy sector in responding to the needs of end users.
This can occur both through the products and services offered and through the definition of communication strategies aimed at informing the potential buyer about the benefits offered by the technology.
It is interesting to note how three main figures of typical consumers have emerged in Nigeria.
The “techno-aware”: belongs to the younger group (especially those living in large urban centers), particularly attentive to environmental issues.
He knows technology but does not attribute a value to it: also for this reason he prefers the exercise of direct control over devices rather than automatic operation.
He wants to be more informed about costs and consumption. Regarding SH, he appreciates the potential that can open up in terms of security systems for the home and people’s health.
The “thrifty”: belonging to the older group, he/she gives particular importance to the energy issue as a whole. Regarding technology, he/she is not an expert, he/she is afraid of potential malfunctions and of the high costs related to technological innovations, but he/she is not techno-resistant.
The economic dimension guides the vision of SH as an opportunity to reduce the costs of energy bills.
The “ready for change and altruistic”: on average young and with children, is particularly sensitive to energy and environmental issues and is willing to change his or her behavior and lifestyle to reduce his or her energy consumption and the resulting impact on the environment.
Technology is seen as a tool to improve energy performance and home safety, but must not become something invasive.
