The technology to link a home systems into one central control is available, but how many home owners do you know who are really plugged in?

That's because manufacturers haven't properly addressed what consumers really want in a connected home, they often don't focus marketing on the demographic "sweet spot" of consumers who most want to be connected and setting up a connected home is just too daunting for most, according to "The U.S. Connected Home Market".

The study is the combined effort of research firm Portland-based Zanthusand the Monterey, CA-based Internet Home Alliance (IHA) -- a nonprofit consortium dedicated to advancing the Internet-enabled home technology market.

For the purposes of the study, a connected home is a home where computers, televisions, lighting and heating-ventilation-air conditioning (HVAC) and home security systems, among other things, are linked to a centrally controlled network.

To obtain insight on consumers attitudes' about digitally-enabled homes, the study included telephone interviews with 1,000 U.S. single-family households as well as focus groups, e-mail surveys and field studies.

The report found that households most likely to want digital connections were those with two college-educated parents, 35 to 44 years old, who have a combined annual income of $75,000 or more and have teenage children. Such families are more prone to adopt technology sooner than other groups and they are looking for tools to cut time spent on the drudgery of household chores. Older consumers are more apt to be Luddites about the issue.

That makes the core connected home market only 17 percent of U.S. home owners or 10.1 million households, the study says.

The study also found that those interested in the connected home were pragmatic about connected home technology. Rather than entertainment or productivity-related technology, households just want to keep up with the Jetsons. Fifty-two percent said a series of remotely activated (say from the office) and interconnected kitchen appliances that could cook a full meal was "very appealing". They also favor controls for lights, air conditioning and heating.

Most consumers, however, continue to resist the connected home. Fifty-eight percent expressed neutral or negative reactions to the concept and many view the connected home as connecting them to work they'd like to leave at the office. They prefer their home remain a refuge, rather than testing grounds for technology that hasn't been time tested.

To overcome resistance to the connected home, the study recommended, among other approaches:

Published: September 5, 2002

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

A journalist for 35-years, Broderick Perkins parlayed an old-school daily newspaper career into a digital news service offering editorial content and consulting services. Perkins' San Jose, CA-based DeadlineNews Group includes the flagship news site, DeadlineNews.Com, offering real estate, personal finance and consumer journalism, and a backshop, the Deadline Newsroom.