Home automation spans connected appliances, sensors, thermostats, speakers, lighting and energy controls. The figures below separate global estimates and forecasts from U.S. household surveys, while preserving each source’s population, period and definition.
Key Home Automation Statistics
These figures summarize the most useful measures across connected-device scale, household adoption and control behavior:
- In approximately 2016–2021, the global stock of connected appliances, devices and sensors grew by about 33% per year on average.
- In 2021, the estimated global stock of connected appliances, devices and sensors was expected to reach 9 billion.
- In 2023, the estimated global stock of connected devices with automated controls and sensors was expected to reach 13 billion.
- By 2030, the forecast global stock of connected devices with automated controls and sensors was expected to exceed 25 billion.
- In 2022, global smart power-meter deployments exceeded 1 billion meters.
- In 2020, smart or internet-connected thermostats were present in 10% of U.S. households.
- In 2020, programmable or smart thermostats were used in 53% of U.S. households.
- In 2020, only about one-third of U.S. households with programmable or smart thermostats used those capabilities to control temperature.
- In 2024, 22.66 million U.S. homes had one smart speaker.
- In 2024, 85.40 million U.S. homes had no smart speaker.
- In 2024, smart speakers controlled lighting in 13.72 million U.S. homes.
- In 2024, smart speakers controlled temperature in 8.23 million U.S. homes.
- In 2024, 23.70 million U.S. homes had a smart speaker but did not use it to control devices.
- In 2015, 44.8% of U.S. homes set one heating temperature and left it there most of the time.
- In 2015, 19.0% of U.S. homes programmed the thermostat to adjust temperature automatically at set times.
- In 2015, 22.2% of U.S. homes set winter daytime temperature to 63°F or less when nobody was home.
- Building energy-management systems were shown in the IEA’s 2021 synthesis to deliver 20%–30% energy savings, although the range is not a universal household result.
- The IEA Net Zero by 2050 Scenario brings more than 500 GW of demand response to market by 2030.
Contents
- Connected-device scale and growth
- Smart thermostat adoption
- Smart speakers and voice control
- Heating automation and control behavior
- Energy management and measured savings
- U.S. home size and automation context
Home Automation Statistics: Connected-Device Scale and Growth
The broadest global measures include connected appliances, devices, sensors and smart meters. They provide context for automation’s infrastructure, but they are not a direct count of smart homes.
| Measure | Period | Figure | Scope |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average annual growth in connected appliances, devices and sensors | Approximately 2016–2021 | About 33% | Global estimate |
| Connected appliances, devices and sensors | 2021 | 9 billion | Global estimate |
| Automated-control and sensor devices | 2023 | 13 billion | Global estimate |
| Automated-control and sensor devices | 2030 | More than 25 billion | Global forecast |
The International Energy Agency (IEA) describes the 2020–2021 connected-device series as an estimate, and the totals include sensors and smart meters rather than residential devices alone. See Energy Efficiency 2021: Executive summary and Unleashing the benefits of data for energy systems.
Other related infrastructure measures show the same expansion, with important scope limits:
- Global smart power-meter deployments exceeded 1 billion meters in 2022, about ten times the 2010 level, according to the IEA. This is a related connected-home and grid technology, not a complete residential-automation count.
- Around 320 million distribution sensors had been deployed globally by 2022. These were grid distribution sensors rather than household devices.
Smart Thermostat Adoption Statistics in U.S. Homes
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey measured thermostat presence across U.S. households. Equipment presence and active use are different measures.
| Thermostat category | U.S. households, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Smart or internet-connected | 10% |
| Programmable | 42% |
| Manual or non-programmable | 36% |
| No thermostat | 10% |
| No heating or cooling | 1% |
The 2020 survey also reported that 53% of U.S. households used programmable or smart thermostats as a combined equipment-presence measure. Only about one-third of households with either type reported using the programmable or smart capabilities to control temperature, so ownership should not be treated as active automation.
These figures come from the 2020 Residential Energy Consumption Survey Webinar.
For an earlier reference point, the 2015 EIA table used a different wording and measure for main-heating equipment:
- Smart or internet-connected thermostats were reported by 4.0% of U.S. homes in 2015.
- Programmable thermostats were reported by 58.9% of U.S. homes in 2015.
- Non-programmable thermostats were reported by 41.4% of U.S. homes in 2015.
- 6.1% of U.S. homes did not know whether the main-heating thermostat was smart or internet-connected.
The 2015 and 2020 measures should not be read as a clean time series because their wording, denominators and survey presentation differ. The earlier figures are from RECS 2015 Table HC1.1.
Smart Speakers and Voice-Controlled Home Automation Data
Preliminary 2024 EIA data count U.S. housing units by the number of smart speakers, not individual speakers. The categories describe homes, and the three-or-more category has an open-ended upper limit.
| Smart-speaker status | U.S. homes, 2024 |
|---|---|
| One smart speaker | 22.66 million |
| Two smart speakers | 11.17 million |
| Three or more smart speakers | 13.31 million |
| No smart speaker | 85.40 million |
Smart-speaker ownership does not necessarily mean device control. In 2024, 23.70 million U.S. homes had a smart speaker but did not use it to control devices, according to the preliminary Table HC4.9 Electronics in U.S. homes, by home size, 2024.
Reported control categories were as follows:
- Smart speakers controlled lighting in 13.72 million U.S. homes.
- Smart speakers controlled temperature in 8.23 million U.S. homes.
- Smart speakers controlled security systems, cameras or locks in 11.95 million U.S. homes.
- Smart speakers controlled televisions, set-top boxes or streaming devices in 11.17 million U.S. homes.
These control rows are overlapping use categories rather than mutually exclusive household groups. A home may therefore appear in more than one control category.
Household Heating Automation and Control Behavior
The 2015 RECS measured how U.S. homes controlled main heating equipment. The largest category was holding one temperature rather than changing it automatically.
| Heating-control behavior | U.S. homes, 2015 |
|---|---|
| Set one temperature and leave it most of the time | 44.8% |
| Manually adjust at night or when nobody is home | 29.2% |
| Program automatic day-and-night changes at set times | 19.0% |
| Turn equipment on or off as needed | 16.6% |
| No control over heating equipment | 3.2% |
| Do not use heating equipment | 5.1% |
The EIA’s overview summarizes related values using heated homes as the denominator: holding one temperature was reported by 40%, manual adjustment by 26%, programming by 17%, and turning equipment on or off as needed by 15% of heated U.S. homes in 2015. The different percentages reflect the overview’s rounded values and denominator definition; see 2015 RECS: Overview.
The same 2015 table reported a mean daytime winter temperature of 70.0°F when someone was home. When nobody was home, reported daytime settings were 63°F or less for 22.2% of U.S. homes, 64–66°F for 24.9%, 67–69°F for 26.4%, 70°F for 16.8%, 71–73°F for 11.0%, and 74°F or more for 11.8%; these are reported settings, not measured indoor temperatures.
Smart-Home Energy Management and Measured Savings
Energy-management statistics often cover buildings or energy systems rather than individual homes. That distinction matters when interpreting savings claims.
The IEA’s 2021 synthesis reported that building energy-management systems combining more efficient appliances with enhanced monitoring and control had been shown to deliver 20%–30% energy savings. The range combines efficiency, monitoring and control across cited studies, so it is not a universal result for every household or smart-home installation; see Energy Efficiency 2021: Executive summary.
The same source places home-related automation within a larger electricity-system transition. In the IEA Net Zero by 2050 Scenario, more than 500 GW of demand response reaches the market by 2030, which is a scenario projection rather than a measured home-automation deployment.
The IEA also estimated that the number of smart lighting devices was approaching 1 billion in 2021. That approximation includes commercial and other applications, so it should not be interpreted as the number of smart lights installed in homes.
U.S. Home Size and Home Automation Trends
Home size provides useful context for interpreting the 2024 EIA electronics table, but the housing-unit counts below are not automation adoption rates. The 2024 universe contained 132.54 million U.S. homes.
| Home size | U.S. homes, 2024 |
|---|---|
| Under 1,000 sq. ft. | 32.11 million |
| 1,000–1,499 sq. ft. | 29.73 million |
| 1,500–1,999 sq. ft. | 22.77 million |
| 2,000–2,499 sq. ft. | 17.51 million |
| 3,000 sq. ft. or more | 19.77 million |
These size categories come from preliminary EIA data in Table HC4.9 Electronics in U.S. homes, by home size, 2024. Because the table reports housing-unit counts and the smart-speaker control rows overlap, it can describe the population and reported use categories without proving that larger or smaller homes automate at higher rates.