Are you an early adopter? Or are you someone who buys the latest gear when it becomes a market hit? Maybe, like me, you follow technology eagerly, but wait for things to become tried and true before investing in them for your home. There’s value in all three approaches. For those planning on adding features to their homes this year, these are the smart home innovations professionals in the design and technology sectors are predicting as particularly notable for 2025.
I reached out to these leaders in December for their insights on what they see coming our way this year. This is the last of a four-part series covering their AI and smart home predictions for 2025. The first installment looked at upcoming AI-powered trends and published on Christmas Eve of 2024. The second one, published on New Year’s Eve, looked at AI-powered innovations. The third article in the series looked at smart home technology trends likely to show up in 2025 that are not primarily driven by artificial intelligence. This last article in series looks at smart home technology innovations that are not primarily AI-powered.
Smart Control
Sara Gutterman, CEO of Green Builder Media, publisher of Green Builder Magazine and owner of Cognition Smart Data, sees control technology as the innovation to watch in 2025. “This systems control dashboard is similar to a central hub, but in addition to allowing a homeowner to turn on and off smart devices, it enables the full monitoring of energy, water, and indoor air quality systems so that the homeowner can gage the total performance of the home, saving money, optimizing resource use, and maintaining good indoor air quality.”
The air quality component is especially valuable for Western residents, as the smoke and ash from the Los Angeles area fires will be carried far beyond Southern California on wind currents. This is a phenomenon we’ve seen in past large wildfire events. Given the urban setting of these fires, the pollutants are more dangerous than if they were merely tree and plant-based. Being able to detect their presence and filter them out will be crucial for health and safety for affected areas.
Khoi Vo, CEO of the American Society of Interior Designers, also sees these systems as a top 2025 innovation. “The evolution of fully integrated smart home ecosystems is redefining convenience, efficiency, and safety for homeowners. Centralized hubs—powered by systems like Google Home and Amazon Alexa—unify lighting, climate controls, security, and voice automation, enabling homeowners to manage their spaces remotely via mobile apps. Innovations such as smart plugs and scalable, modular systems ensure flexibility for future upgrades, offering homeowners advanced control over their living environments. These innovations represent a new era of connected living, delivering energy savings, enhanced security, and unparalleled convenience,” he comments.
Smart Lighting and Shading
Josh Christian, CEO of the Home Technology Association, sees smart lighting as the year’s top innovation, specifically tunable lighting that can be customized to the occupants’ moods and preferences: “From warm, cozy hues for relaxing evenings to bright, energizing daylight tones for focused tasks, tunable lighting adapts seamlessly throughout the day,” he says.
Tunable lighting also offers circadian benefits, as he notes: “With the ability to mimic natural light patterns, it supports wellness by enhancing sleep cycles and improving overall comfort. Perfect for creating the ideal ambiance, tunable lighting combines functionality and aesthetics for a truly personalized lighting experience.” A leader in this technology is Ketra, he shares.
Rachel Hodgdon, president and CEO of the International WELL Building Institute, is seeing this technology as a top 2025 innovation too. “Programmable dynamic lighting and automated shades may come at a cost but a consistent good night’s sleep is priceless,” she observes. “Combined with smart home technology, homeowners can set their scenes for different times of day, with cool, bright light to energize in the mornings and warmer, dimmer lighting at night to prime the body for sleep.”
There are many ways to get these benefits without a renovation. Home centers sell smart bulbs that you can program or adjust from your phone, or you can put new smart light fixtures in. You can, if you’re building or remodeling, put in a whole new smart lighting system. It’s helpful for everyone else to have simpler, more affordable options.
Window coverings are a bit more involved, (as I’ve found in my own home search). “Blackout shades that block exterior light sources and the morning sun are a critical component of an optimal sleep environment,” Hodgdon declares. “But as soon as you are awake you want that dose of sunshine. Automated shades spare you from having to get out of bed and can serve as a gentle alarm clock when programmed for your wake-up time,” she adds. In common areas with direct sun, snart shadings can also be programmed to close at peak times to reduce glare and UV damage to your furniture, art and rugs. (This is what I’m looking at for my home.)
Smart Furniture
This category may not be on your radar yet, but Mark Bryan, senior foresight manager with Future Today Institute, a corporate advisory firm, names smart furniture as his top 2025 innovation. If you’ve done any furniture shopping in the last year or so, you might have seen (or bought) end tables, lamps or recliners with charging ports built in. These have become especially popular in hotels, but you can have them at home now too.
The technology Bryan is citing has even more smarts. In 2025, he predicts, “Furniture will go beyond function.” It is becoming an integral part of the smart home ecosystem through embedded sensors and advanced materials, he explains, adding that everyday pieces like coffee tables, chairs, and walls are transforming into interactive devices. “Moving into 2025, we will be able to turn on the TV or adjust the air conditioning simply by tapping a touch-sensitive surface printed directly onto your coffee table.” (You can already operate lights, some countertop appliances and charge your phone through touching smart countertops.)
Water Management
Bill Darcy, global president and CEO of the National Kitchen & Bath Association, sees smart water management becoming mainstream this year. “From catching leaks early to minimizing water usage, it’s an innovation that feels as responsible as it is practical,” he declares. Leak detection is definitely a growth area, with major insurers like Farmers, Allstate, USAA and others starting to offer discounts for connected devices.
ASID”s Vo also cited this technology in his prediction of integrated systems as 2025’s top innovation. “Moen has the technology to detect water leaks within the walls of your house that will enable owners to act before the issue becomes catastrophic,” he comments.
Energy Storage
Amanda Pendleton, real estate platform Zillow’s home trends expert, sees whole home batteries as the top smart home innovation for 2025. With thousands of utility customers suffering shutoffs because of wildfires, this technology is likely to remain strong through the year and beyond. (I’m shopping for a system for my own San Diego area home; my neighborhood hasn’t yet experienced shutoffs, but I’m anticipating that we will, and I’d rather not lose all power for work or life if or when it happens.)
“We’re already beginning to see a rapid escalation in homeowner adoption and home buyer demand for whole home batteries,” Pendleton reports. In 2024, she says, this backup power source that stores solar energy showed up 62% more frequently in for-sale homes on Zillow – “the largest increase of any feature we analyzed!” she adds.
“Whole home batteries have become a critical component of a home energy management system that’s all controlled through a smartphone app. As these systems become more intelligent, they will be able to automatically control and optimize energy consumption, creating homes that are more comfortable, sustainable and affordable,” Pendleton predicts.
Security
Savour Partnership’s principal, Leslie Carothers, is a digital marketing consultant who frequently speaks at industry conferences on smart home and artificial intelligence trends. Her top smart home innovation for the new year enhances home security. (Her smart locks top trend was also security-related.) The innovation she sees really taking off is the Ring Always Home camera drone. Carothers describes it this way: “[It] allows you to set up to 50 flight paths through your home so you can check in and see what is happening in any area of your home when you’re away. If the motion sensors are triggered, you’re notified and can immediately fly the drone to that area of the home.”
The consultant has a couple of caveats for would-be owners. First, she says, it can’t shift between floors, so if you have a two-story home, basement or multi-story townhouse, you would need separate devices to monitor every floor. In addition, she reveals, “it is a bit noisy, so pets might have a hard time adjusting to the noise.”
Conclusions
My fellow Baby Boomers may recall the early 1960s Jetsons TV series. The animated show predicted the smart bathrooms, smart phones, robots, video meetings, smart homes and appliances that millions now enjoy. Can flying cars be far behind? Perhaps self-driving car enthusiasts will embrace them; those can be a boon for older adults who have trouble with low vision, slowed reflexes or night driving. For me, I’m not so sure. I’ll stay grounded for now.
