Every year the editors of CE Pro put our collective heads together and identify five leading home technology opportunities for residential integrators, as part of our January kickoff State of the Industry coverage.

Sometimes inspiration draws from tradeshows we’ve attended such as CEDIA Expo, ISE and InfoComm; our visits to spring and fall conferences hosted by the industry buying groups; and chatting with top dealers at the Total Tech Summit/CE Pro Summit.

It’s always fascinating to look back and see where we hit and missed. Then, of course, there are always wrinkles thrown in, like the Great Recession and Covid pandemic – but if you scroll past the 2023 trends, you’ll find others going back to 2012.

Look for full coverage of our “5 Top Technology Trends for Integrators” in the January 2023 issue as well as online. For the bite-sized appetizer version, here are our choices for new year:

MicroLED Technologies

Migrating from the commercial market, the performance attributes of these technologies support high-end, high-performance home theater. At CEDIA Expo, it was more like an InfoComm show with the amount of large-format LED offerings on the show floor.

The Future of Digital Lighting & Control

As a custom integrator, lighting is in demand. Effective communication, education and showcasing the value proposition of LED light fixtures in conjunction with integrative control systems are the keys to overcoming challenges and closing sales in this specialized market. Join us as we discuss the future of digital lighting and control with David Warfel from Light Can Help You and Patrick Laidlaw and Mark Moody from AiSPIRE. Register Now! 

ATSC 3.0 (Pearl TV, NextGen TV)

This latest ATSC iteration is gaining momentum and more manufacturers are including ATSC 3.0 technologies into their new products. NextGen TV is growing in implementation and availability across the country, promising to redefine how we watch – and interact with – over-the-air (OTA) programming.

EV Charging Stations

As electric cars continue to surge in popularity, integrators will have opportunities to offer their clients these EV charging solutions as more manufacturers get on board, integrated into whole-home energy systems. The electric ecosystem for energy storage and management continues to expand.

Indoor Air Quality/Whole-Home Air Purification

Ever-growing in options that now include portable and whole-home filtration, these are among the most ubiquitous technologies that homeowners are looking at in the wellness category in addition to circadian lighting. Often overlooked is the central vacuum category, which has an even more compelling story for dealers to tell today.

Design Centric Technologies

Interior design friendly solutions, including small aperture lighting, TVs that display artwork, invisible speakers, soundbars, light switches, LED accent lighting, security products and more are in more demand from homeowners that want electronics that unobtrusively blend into their homes.

Here’s a look at previous years’ Top 5 Technology Trends predictions:

2022

• Ultra-short-throw projection
• Cybersecurity
• Invisible sound solutions
• Virtual reality
• Energy management

2021

• Wi-Fi 6 network devices
• Home theater/entertainment
• Indoor air quality
• Gaming systems
• Resimercial conferencing & home recording

2020

• Biophilia/wellness
• Landscape lighting
• 8K video
• 5G, other cellular events
• Water, water

2019

• Wellness
• Low-voltage lighting
• Architectural design
• Accelerated cord cutting
• Labor crisis and new workforce paradigms

2018 

• Mass-market smart-home services
• Chief security officer for the home
• Tunable white lighting
• Multi-dwelling (MDU) market
• Video projection systems

2017

• Voice control integration
• Virtual reality and augmented reality
• Device discovery and data collection
• New models in tech deployment
• Fiber in the home

2016 

• Audio and Video Analytics
• DC Power Distribution
• 4K Ecosystem 
• The Front Door 
• User Empowerment in Home Automation

2015 

• Production home building
• Immersive home entertainment
• Engaging home automation
• The aware home
• Cloud-based networking 

2014 

• High-Resolution Audio
• Mass-Market Home Automation
• Cloud Video Surveillance
• More Sensor Opportunities
• Automated Door Locks

2013 

• Enterprise-Grade Home Networks
• Headphones
• Wireless Audio
• Motorized Shades
• 4K Ultra HD TV

2012 

• Self-contained security/automation
• LED lighting
• Computer audio
• Voice, gesture, alternative controls
• The cloud

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