Which Smart Home Upgrade Do Most Homeowners Want? - Exclusive Survey

As technology has advanced, more and more homeowners have been able to incorporate smart upgrades into their spaces. Once upon a time, it would have been nearly unthinkable to have an automated smart home where you could control everything from the light to the temperature with a touch of a button — nowadays, it's so common it's almost expected in many newer properties. You can set your thermostat to turn the heat lower when you're not home to conserve energy, have your lights scheduled to turn on and off at particular times, or even set up your audio system so that music plays at certain times of the day, perhaps when you're getting ready in the morning or making dinner.

At their core, smart upgrades and smart products are designed to make your life a little bit easier, to automate certain tasks to the point where you don't need to think about them, or to help with the maintenance that can come along with owning a home. Some smart upgrades can even increase the value of your home, as UpNest reports.

So, you've decided to splurge on a smart home upgrade or two, either just for yourself or because you're planning to list your home for sale sometime in the near future, but you're not quite sure where to start. We've got some answers — House Digest surveyed 627 individuals to find out which upgrade they value the most in their home.

The smart home upgrade that the majority of respondents were most drawn to is perhaps one of the first ones most homeowners would consider — a smart home security system. 26.79% of respondents, 168 people, selected this as the upgrade they'd most want because, well, who doesn't want their home to be safe? A smart home system allows you to monitor your home while you're away and notifies you if something concerning has happened.

Coming in at a close second and third are the smart upgrades that make your life a little more comfortable and easy — smart lighting and a smart thermostat, which earned 23.44% (147 respondents) and 19.30% (121 respondents) of the votes, respectively. While it may not seem like much effort to walk over and manually adjust the thermostat or light switch, these smart upgrades allow you to automate your home, making things more convenient — and often saving a little energy in the process.

The smart upgrades that most homeowners put lower on their list are the ones that have to do with entertainment and cooking. Just 76 people, or 12.12% of survey respondents, indicated that smart kitchen appliances were a priority — though those refrigerators with the digital screens and cameras look appealing, they're not topping anyone's list. Finally, while smart entertainment systems can be nice, only 10.53% (66 respondents) and 7.81% (49 respondents) of survey respondents flagged a smart television and smart speakers or audio systems as their highest-priority upgrade.