Even today, you can read articles titled "this is the future", despite the fact that it is very obviously the present. What do we mean by "this"? Smart homes, of course. You don't even have to leave our continent to find countries that already have more smart homes than traditional ones, you just have to go north, to Norway or Finland for example.
The main objective of smart homes is to optimize energy consumption, so it's very probable that geographical properties are as important as economic status when it comes to reasons for the fast success that these systems have enjoyed in the region. More specifically, minimizing your overhead and the amount of strain your house puts on the environment is a priority concern. Being in the north means there's less natural daylight, so you have to use lighting and heating more than in other countries.
A Norwegian smart home that's worth its price actually takes care of the tenant. How - you might ask. It's well known that a smart home knows who the person that just arrived home is, and lets them inside or keeps them out accordingly. These features are available in our region as well, but in the northern countries, it's quite normal for the smart home to continue operating differently based on who just came home. For example if a child just arrived from school after a long day, the system sends a command for the oven or the microwave to start heating the food. When that's done, the digital displays built in the walls might display a message, or a voice might tell the child to get the food and eat.
Something that might be even more important is that smart homes can even help with care of the elderly, a feature that can help the younger generation a whole lot. Many of us have seen the medicine proportioner: the plastic container that has all the days listed on it to help the elder keep track of what medicine to take. The smart home can replace this item and take care of the owner by reminding them to take the drugs they have to, without sentimentality and without fault.