Good news! Eight government departments have issued a document to boost smart home consumption.

Recently, the Ministry of Commerce and seven other departments jointly issued the “Action Plan for Promoting Smart Home Consumption,” aiming to implement the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, as well as the requirements outlined in the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development regarding enriching smart home scenarios, supporting age-friendly renovations and intelligent upgrades of older homes, adapting to the consumption needs of diverse groups, expanding high-quality supply, and further boosting smart home consumption.

I. Expanding High-Quality Smart Home Supply

In conjunction with efforts to foster and open up full‑chain digital home ecosystems, manufacturers are encouraged to strengthen R&D on smart home products, while home‑improvement stores and shopping centers are supported in establishing smart home experience centers, whole‑house intelligence showrooms, and digital home model units. Efforts will be accelerated to cultivate a group of large home‑decoration enterprises and platforms that operate with integrity and adhere to standardized services, offering personalized and diversified renovation packages, and vigorously developing customized, order‑based, and appointment‑based services. Additionally, a number of smart home hardware and software products, along with integrated solutions, based on domestic open-source operating systems will be rapidly developed.

II. Improving the Smart Home Standards System

The tiered evaluation standard system for smart features in smart home products will be refined, with expedited development and implementation of mandatory national standards covering smart home interconnectivity, accelerating the integrated development of whole‑house intelligence. Basic telecom operators will be encouraged to enable IPv6 by default on their residential broadband network equipment, thereby increasing household IPv6 connectivity. For newly built fully furnished residences, clear requirements for basic smart products within each unit will be established, with incentives to install fiber‑to‑the‑room infrastructure. Ongoing work will continue on the formulation and application of key standards related to smart homes and smart communities.

III. Supporting Smart Home Consumption

In line with the 2026 policy on trade‑in programs for consumer goods, local governments are encouraged to independently and reasonably determine eligible product categories and subsidy levels for smart home items, while coordinating support for the purchase of new whole‑house smart home systems.

IV. Developing Age-Friendly Smart Homes

The promotion of age‑friendly products such as household service robots, health monitoring devices, and intelligent care systems will be advanced, guiding companies to adopt age‑friendly designs in areas like product dimensions, ease of operation, dialect recognition, and safety performance, thus enriching the supply of age‑friendly smart home products and related home‑improvement services. Certification programs for silver‑age products in the smart home sector will also be promoted.

V. Streamlining the Used‑Product Recycling Chain

Localities will be guided to scientifically and rationally establish collection points for used home furnishings, incorporating their construction into relevant planning frameworks and providing land and space support. Home‑improvement and decoration enterprises are encouraged to collaborate with recycling firms, offering services such as “new‑for‑old” delivery and “online‑plus‑recycling,” while promoting mobile recycling models that use vehicles as temporary storage facilities.

VI. Optimizing Community Convenience Services

Leveraging initiatives like the development of 15‑minute convenience living circles, leading enterprises will play a pivotal role in setting up comprehensive home‑renovation service stations in streets and communities where conditions permit, integrating repair and maintenance, item storage, and recycling/replacement services to create whole‑house smart experience spaces.

VII. Strengthening Fiscal and Financial Support

Financial institutions are encouraged to develop diversified consumer finance products and services tailored to home‑improvement and related consumption needs. By making effective use of government interest‑subsidy policies for personal consumer loans, financial institutions will be guided to increase lending support for smart home purchases, actively assisting consumers in acquiring smart home‑related products.

As an essential component of whole‑house intelligence and digital home development, smart lighting is now at a critical juncture for quality enhancement, upgrading, and market expansion. Lighting manufacturers and service providers should align closely with policy directions, intensify technological innovation and product R&D, proactively integrate into the domestic ecosystem, comply with smart home interconnectivity standards, and enhance the seamless integration capabilities between lighting control systems and various home‑related hardware and software components.

At the same time, companies must pay close attention to the differentiated needs of various demographic groups, deepen their presence in the age‑friendly and healthy lighting sectors, optimize product operation logic and safety performance, and expand the supply of age‑friendly smart luminaires and integrated lighting environment solutions. Furthermore, the industry should fully leverage policies such as trade‑in programs for consumer goods, subsidies for whole‑house smart home purchases, and consumer finance support measures to promote the establishment of offline smart lighting experience centers, refine convenient service chains spanning solution design, customized services, and after‑sales maintenance, and comprehensively elevate both the quality of home living and the level of home intelligence.

Source: China Lighting Fixture Association