There are "phases" in any kind of architectural trend.
The earliest phase is "innovation" -- folks are literally experimenting with things so new that they have to customize every step. This is like back when it is only hippy types using "alternative energy".
The next phase is "early adopters" -- a handful of commercial products / techniques are discussed by folks with the appropriate skills / knowledge to make a noticeable shift. In the energy space that would include things like first generation integrated computerized controls.
After the early adopters there is usually "refinement" and "standardization". For the energy space that would include things like LEEDS. Many more folks get "on-board" and the give and take rapidly leads to wider spread adoption.
That broad adoption makes the next phase "mainstream" -- pretty much everyone involved understand the terminology and it becomes rare for any project to NOT have some aspects consistent with the "standardization". Right now it would be like somebody trying to put single pane windows in a new or retrofitted building -- not going to happen!
What often happens in "counter point phase" when folks start to rethink the wide spread adoption and maybe there is splintering of what was "mainstream". In the energy space there certainly signs of this variation -- while some projects are pushing the limits of things like "LEEDS Platinum" and "Net Zero" energy / carbon there are many others that are sort of "snapping back" to simpler methods that very likely are more cost efficient, especially when one factors in the diminishing returns on more & more costly products and technology AND the falling cost of energy supplies.
The counter point, when it is big enough and supported by enough thoughtful people, becomes a kind of "expanded mainstream" where some projects that would have been "cutting edge" now are far removed from the most "pushing the envelope" and often right around the corner / up the street from some "throw back" efforts that emphasize low costs over complex solutions.
Pretty sure the same sort of cycles could also be applied to things that range from issues like "security" and "entertainment" to "fashion" and even "gross size". Fully believe that IoT will follow similar patterns. If I had to pin where IoT is at I would say still barely out of the "innovation" phase where things are really more "experiments" than anything else. Even if you try to make an argument that is is little more advanced, it is hard to say that there are enough firms in AECO making / selling / using products that there are truly enough "early adopters" for a healthy mix of options. Part of the reason is that there is no consensus around standards. Should the existing WiFi and Bluetooth modes be preferred over things like optical / visible connectivity? What about RFID? The various health device protocols? Connections to new kinds of "mesh networks"? Look the list from IEEE --
IEEE-SA - Internet of Things That is TOO MUCH for anybody w/o an Electrical Engineering degree to wade through! Simpler is better, its like taking kids to 31 Flavors and they end up ordering Vanilla or Rainbow...
What about consumer "smart hubs" -- will the current slugfest between the AI behind Cortanna, Siri, Alexa and Alphabet / Google coalesce into something more like a single "leader" and the rest being "followers" or will there be parity?
What about the "big boys" that are being challenged by "start ups"? Will firms like Cisco, Avaya, Broadcom, AT&T, Verizon and others that have been essentially allowing "smart things" connect to one other dominate? What about the firms known for "building management" like Honeywell, Johnson Controls, Siemens, Schneider? Will they consolidate like previous generations of computer makers or are their leaders smart enough to learn from past mistakes...
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