Global Scans · Homes · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: The number of smart homes is expected to grow further and by 2020 it is expected 46.2 million homes in the US and 44.9 million in Europe will be classed as smart homes. By 2022 there could be nearly 500 smart devices that can be connected to a smart home.

• [New] England alone has enough brownfield land for 1.4 million homes and rooftops could generate more than 60% of the UK's solar energy target. FM Industry
• [New] About 12% of the U.S. housing stock is in high-risk areas, and that share is expected to increase to 20% by 2050. RealEstateNews.com
• [New] A significant chunk of the U.S. housing stock actually faces severe or extreme climate risk, ranging from more than 6% for flooding, 18% for wind risk, and 6% for wildfire. Yahoo Finance
• [New] Hard ceilings will give cantons, employers and housing markets clearer visibility earlier in the year, easing pressure on public services after net migration hit a 17-year high in 2025. VisaHQ
• [New] Given the projected increases in the number of people living with dementia, and the level of care required, the number of hours provided by family and friends could reach almost 1.4 billion hours annually by 2050. Alzheimer Society of Canada
• [New] For every person in Canada who has dementia, a family member or friend will spend an average of 26 hours a week caring for them. Alzheimer Society of Canada
• [New] Given the large number of people living with dementia, and the level of care required, the number of hours provided by family could reach almost 1.4 billion hours annually by 2050. Alzheimer Society of Canada
• [New] Applications and Challenges: In theory, Optimus could automate repetitive tasks in factories (even Tesla's own Gigafactories) or provide on-demand labour at home. TESMAG
• [New] The idea: Tesla's vehicle fleet (and robots) will collect massive data to train better neural nets, so having in-house silicon for machine learning could reduce costs and enhance capability. TESMAG
• [New] Smart home security is a big deal, with the industry expected to grow by an average of 15% yearly over the next five years. BGR
• [New] Robots become common (20-40% household penetration in affluent nations) between 2040-2050, with developing nations lagging by perhaps a decade. Sezarr Overseas News
• [New] If the Austin pilot, with the controlled, engineer-tested, and close-to-home sandbox for Robotaxi, is struggling to scale past 60 vehicles by the end of 2025, the aggressive timelines for a cross-US and global rollout in 2026 and 2027, respectively, might be a bit too aggressive. Not a Tesla App
• [New] X Technologies plans to deploy hundreds to thousands of humanoids in actual homes by the end of 2025, making it the first major move toward real domestic integration. CTO ROBOTICS Media
• [New] Gen Zers and millennials appear to be the most optimistic about the prospects of homeownership, with 48% of Gen Z non-homeowners and 50% of millennial non-homeowners indicating they will be in a position to buy a home by 2029. Mortgage News Daily
• [New] New research from Experian spotlights U.S. renters' current sentiments around the prospect of homeownership and reveals nearly half believe they will be ready to purchase a home within the next four years. Mortgage News Daily
• [New] Households will get gas and electricity subsidies, a ¥20,000 child payment, and regions will receive ¥2 trillion in support. / Japan Cryptopolitan
• [New] Households and businesses will have to wait for energy bills to fall significantly because there's no shortcut to bringing down prices. SKY
• [New] The multiyear initiative will add as much as 2 gigawatts of dedicated data center capacity for federal agencies, roughly equivalent to the power used by about 1.5 million U.S. homes. Tech Startups - Tech News, Tech Trends & Startup Fundin
• [New] Total water use in U.S. homes, businesses, institutions, and water distribution systems could be reduced by 25% to 60%. Pacific Institute
• [New] Rising use of lithium-ion batteries in UK homes is outpacing current product safety standards and called for urgent government action to address the resulting fire risks. International Fire & Safety Journal
• [New] Household consumption is expected to gradually ease as real wage growth slows, but investment is set to be stronger, supported by the completion of RRF projects in 2026. / Cyprus kappa

Last updated: 29 November 2025