The use of smart home security solutions such as internet-connected home alarm systems, security cameras, doorbells, etc. has almost doubled since 2022. In the first six months of 2024, three in ten (30%) people used smart solutions for home security, compared with 17% in 2022.
Nearly three in ten (28%) people use smart solutions such as thermostats, smart meters, and light controls for energy management in their homes, up six percentage points from the same period in 2022.
One in seven (15%) use smart home appliances for both inside the house (such as robot vacuums, ovens, coffee machines, etc.) and outside (such as internet-connected lawn mowers or garden irrigation systems) compared with just 6% in 2022.
More than four in ten internet users (41%) use a virtual assistant, such as Google Home, Alexa, Apple HomePod, etc. unchanged from 2022.
Over three-quarters (76%) use internet-connected TV (including connection via Chromecast) up six percentage points from 2022 (70%).
Nearly four in ten (37%) use internet-connected game consoles such as Wii U, PlayStation 4, XBox One, etc. and a further 37% use a home audio system or smart speakers.
More than half (54%) wear smart devices such as a smart watch, fitness band/activity tracker, while one in nine (11%) use smart solutions for monitoring, for example, their blood pressure, sugar levels, body weight, etc.
This release, Smart Technology 2024, is the third in a series of releases presenting the results of the annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Household Survey. The first release, Internet Access and Usage in Ireland 2024 was published on 01 October 2024 and covered household internet access, and individuals’ frequency of internet usage. The second release, Digital Consumer Behaviour 2024 was published on 10 October 2024 and covered individuals’ use of e-commerce including online purchases, internet activities, online learning, and their use of e-Government. The fourth release, Sustainability of Personal ICT Devices, will be published later in October and will look at how we dispose of ICT devices such as smartphones or laptops and what factors influence our decisions when buying new devices, including environmental considerations.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (18 October 2024) released Smart Technology 2024, which is the third of a series of releases presenting the results of the annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Household Survey (See Editor's Note below for more details.)
The 2024 ICT Household Survey was carried out in the first half of 2024. The data in this release relates to the experience of people aged 16 years and over who have used the internet within the three months prior to interview.
In this release, we examine the survey respondents’ use of internet-connected devices and systems, both inside and outside the home. The last time that this set of questions was asked was in 2022, so in this release, data for 2024 will be compared to the most recent comparable year, 2022.
At an overall level, more than nine in ten (93%) people aged 16 years and older had used the internet within the previous three months. Figures on the frequency of internet usage were published in our first release in this series, Internet Coverage and Usage in Ireland 2024, published on 01 October 2024.
Commenting on the results, Maureen Delamere, Statistician in the Social Analysis Division, said: "As our everyday lives become more virtual, we are increasingly using the Internet of Things (IoT) to connect devices and objects to the internet as part of our daily lives, both inside and outside the home. In 2024, we asked internet users about their use of the IoT in their private lives. Whether we’re turning on the smart lighting or heating system, or smart air fryer on the way home, using our smartphones or other devices, or monitoring our home security remotely, or using smart gas or electricity meters to manage our home energy consumption, or operating the robot vacuum using our smartphone while sitting on the couch watching our smart TV, we are increasingly using smart solutions, both inside and outside the home, to make our lives easier, and more at our fingertips.
Smart Living in the Home
At an overall level, more than half (62%) of internet users have used domotics (home internet-connected devices or systems). Of these, almost three in ten (28%) use internet-connected devices and systems such as thermostats, smart meters for gas, electricity, smart lights, plug-ins, energy panels, etc. for energy management in the home.
At a regional level, Dubliners were more likely to use such smart energy management systems in their homes. More than one-third (34%) of internet users in Dublin used such devices and systems for smart living compared with 17% of people living in the West region.
Smart home security solutions have almost doubled since 2022, when questions on the use of smart technology were last asked in the survey. Three in ten (30%) internet users said they had some form of smart home security system in their home, compared with 17% in 2022. Such smart solutions include internet-connected home alarm systems, security cameras, connected windows or doors, floor sensors, smart doorbells, etc.
Smart Domestic Appliances
Use of smart home appliances for both inside the house (such as fridges, ovens, coffee machines, etc.) and outside (IoT equipment for the garden such as internet-connected lawn mowers, garden irrigation devices, or systems), have become a more common feature in Irish homes, with more than one in seven (15%) internet users saying they use smart domestic appliances, either inside their home or in the garden.
Smart Home Entertainment and Virtual Assistants
More than three-quarters (76%) of people use internet-connected TV (smart TVs or other less advanced connected TV sets, including where connection is via Chromecast). Some 37% of people use internet-connected game consoles such as Wii U, PlayStation 4, etc., and a further 37% use smart home audio systems.
More than four in ten internet users (41%) in 2024 use a virtual assistant such as Google Home, Alexa, Apple HomePod, etc. in their homes, which was unchanged from 2022.
Smart Wearable Devices and Other Technology
More than half (54%) of internet users wear devices such as a smart watch, fitness band/activity tracker, connected goggles or headsets, etc., while one in nine (11%) use e-health device solutions for monitoring blood pressure, sugar levels, etc.
When it comes to our cars, more than one in seven (15%) said they have in-car Wi-Fi or a car with built-in wireless connection, which has more than doubled since 2022 when it was 7%. Separately, 3% of people were using internet-connected toys, including robot toys, dolls, drones, etc.“