The introduction of the iPhone elevated a device with a single purpose to a tool with vast possibilities. A similar revolution in technology and connectivity is now coming to homes, a Utah Valley technology leader said Monday.

“The future of the home is going to be smart,” said Rasesh Patel, president of Vivint Smart Home, during The Summits, a meeting of approximately 200 local business and community leaders held at Sundance Mountain Resort. Formerly known as the Executive Summit, the annual event was hosted by the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Televisions, cars, phones and other common items in modern society have all seen massive technological changes in recent years, but homes have not experienced the same level of progress, Patel said. The progress of the smart home has been fragmented, he expalined — homeowners might have a smart doorbell or a security system, but they’re accessed through multiple apps that don’t communicate together.

This creates an opportunity to provide a method for operating all the smart features of a home through a single access point.

“We think that the number of devices that are going to be connected in the home is going to be dozens if not hundreds,” Patel said.

He touted his company, which networks home smart systems together such as security, energy, lighting, small appliances and more, as being positioned to be a leader in this move toward smart homes.

“The average Vivint customer uses the app more than 15 times per day,” Patel said. “We have earned the right to be on the home screen of our customers.”

Other changes on the horizon include the shift toward renewable energy. “With all of transportation moving to electric, 15 years from now, your home is going to be your gas station,” Patel said.

Patel predicted that smart home technology will be able to better manage electricity usage, adjusting it during peak demand hours of 4-8 p.m. if residents are not at home. Reducing that peak demand in homes by just a little bit will save hundreds of millions of dollars, he said.

Also at the event, Chad Linebaugh, president and general manager of Sundance Mountain Resort, provided a brief update of activities at Sundance. Construction of the new 63-room Inn at Sundance is planned to begin next year, and The Springs, a new set of relaxation pools, will be completed by December of this year.

Sundance received a total of 511 inches of snow during the 2022-23 winter season, Linebaugh said. The resort’s record snowfall for a season before this year was 390 inches.

Other speakers during the event included David Neeleman, founder and CEO of Breeze Airways; Tom Holmoe, director of athletics at Brigham Young University; Shauna Smith, CEO and managing director of Savory Fund; Andrew Smith, general partner and co-founder of Savory Fund; Lisa Paletta, administrator of Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, Larry H. and Gail Miller Family Campus in Lehi; Sandi Hendry, CEO and founder of Minky Couture; and Dan Davis, founder of documentary film company Stiry.

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