by Brianna Crandall — October 11, 2013—Wireless sensor networks (WSN) will be responsible for the majority of the growth in intelligent building systems over the next decade, according to a recently published report by ON World, a San Diego-based provider of global business intelligence on smart technology markets worldwide. For the report, ON World analyzed more than 100 companies including 77 device manufacturers and/or software platform providers that currently offer smart building WSN products and 23 chipset, module and network stack licensors.
“A transformation is underway in the building automation market due to low-cost Internet based services enabled by wireless sensor networks,” says Mareca Hatler, ON World’s research director. “From building-wide wireless mesh networks to room-level controls, there are dozens of new entrants that are challenging the building automation incumbents especially for small and medium-sized buildings.”
Wireless heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) solutions have increased dramatically over the past few years, with the majority of the growth from Internet-enabled smart thermostats in smaller buildings. Some of the fastest-growing distribution channels include retail as well as Internet protocol (IP) security/home automation service providers that are increasingly targeting small businesses. Established building automation vendors are responding to this threat with acquisitions such as Siemens (Advanced Telemetry and Control Sites) and Schneider (SCL Elements and Viconics).
In 2017, there will be 32 million WSN chipsets shipped worldwide for smart building applications, with WiFi, ZigBee and EnOcean increasing the fastest, according to ON World. However, technology market shares and growth rates will vary significantly by market and solution. ZigBee/802.15.4 and EnOcean will reportedly make up 61% of the combined market for HVAC and lighting in 2017.
ON World’s recent survey of 85 professional installers found that 80% are targeting commercial markets. For the installers targeting commercial markets, 27% of their combined business comes from commercial versus residential deployments. Twenty-four percent have deployed wireless sensor networks with over 100 nodes. Sixty-four percent are using or planning WSN systems such as those offered by Control4, Crestron, Ecobee, HAI/Leviton, Honeywell, Lutron, Nest Labs, and Vantage.
According to ON World, professional installers rank data reliability and security as the most important WSN adoption considerations, followed by equipment costs, installation flexibility and scalability. IP addressable sensors also rank high, with nearly 8 in 10 saying this is “important” or “most important.”
Although they only made up about 15% of the WSN unit shipments in 2012, small and medium-sized buildings (SMBs) are reportedly the fastest-growing segment in building automation. In 2017, global WSN revenues from buildings under 50,000 square feet will increase 929% from 2012 and reach $1.3 billion at this time, says the company.
ON World’s report, Smart Building Wireless Sensor Networks, is based on phone interviews and online surveys with over 250 individuals including facilities/property managers, professional installers, equipment manufacturers, software developers and component suppliers. It covers the global WSN market for non-residential buildings including six unique solutions (lighting, HVAC, security/safety, metering, environmental monitoring and guest controls) in ten market segments. Forecasts are for WSN equipment and services in each market as well as by geography and technology. WSN technologies included are ZigBee, 802.15.4, WiFi, EnOcean, Z-Wave, 6LoWPAN and several proprietary variants.
A synopsis of the Smart Building Wireless Sensor Networks report and a free executive summary are available from the ON World Web site.
