Horizons Newsletter – week 46 // 2021

We dedicate this Horizons to the listing of Europe’s first Smart Home ETF by VanEck and Dasym. We provide insights on the smart home evolution and describe how smart home applications could help shift the paradigm of how we will consume energy in the future.

The smart home evolution is in full swing

This month, VanEck and Dasym listed Europe’s first Smart Home ETF. The fund anticipates the next step in the 200-year long evolution of our homes. Prior to the 1800s, our homes were multifunctional spaces where we lived and worked. Since the Industrial Revolution, however, incomes and living standards have improved: people had time and money to spend on other things than bare necessities such as food and shelter. As new technologies emerged, the function of the home and the time people spend at home changed. New markets and industries emerged to cater to new needs originating from the additional free time and ‘extra’ money people had. Innovations such as electricity and household appliances made our homes more comfortable, while Radio and TV enabled us to stay indoors for our entertainment. Today, we are seeing the contours of the next home iteration: a home that is smart and anticipates our needs, whether we work, sport, learn, care or shop from home. Already, a new business ecosystem is starting to emerge around that smart home that houses ample investment opportunities.

Broaden your horizon?

In this section we share content that may be of interest to you:

• IPG Media Lab describes the future of the At-Home Economy and states the home remains a valuable space for brands to explore.
• This article by Parks Associates shows that smart home solutions are also welcomed by seniors.
• This month, Amazon confirmed its support for the smart home connectivity protocol Matter. According to the Connectivity Standards Alliance, we could expect Matter-enabled smart home products later in 2022.

Curbing the energy crunch

While oil and gas prices have come down somewhat from last month’s high, experts are still concerned as the causes for the increased demand have not gone away. Experts point to several causes for these price increases: a decrease in demand for energy due to the pandemic, the use of gas instead of coal for generating electricity and the decline in fossil fuel investments due to growing concerns about climate change. In a reaction to the energy crisis, The World Economic Forum stresses the importance of handling the ongoing energy transition well and argues that behavioral change could curb some of the challenges. Smart homes could be part of the solution. A recent Nest update by Google is allowing homes to automatically adjust their heating and cooling to favor cleaner energy. By favoring cleaner energy and providing insights into energy usage, smart energy solutions could help to reduce energy bills and emissions. Of course, this is a relatively small response compared to the big challenge of the current energy crunch. Future applications of the still evolving smart home industry, however, could help to shift the paradigm of how we will consume energy.

Horizons is a bi-monthly Dasym Research initiative to show you how the Dasym themes have been in the news. We publish the Horizons on our website and as an email newsletter. If you wish to receive the email, sign up here.

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