Incorporating smart devices and home automation can improve your quality of life in many ways. For the elderly, or those with disabilities, smart devices and home automation can have a profound affect in improving quality of life. Efficiently and thoughtful implementation of smart home technology has the potential of delaying the need for assisted living care takers, which can be quite expensive.
Creating an environment where the elderly or disabled are empowered and more capable of self-care also has a positive impact on their mental health as well. If implemented, the following smart home features can help promote a sense of independence by reducing the extent in which home assistance might be required. These features can benefit anyone, not just the elderly or disabled.
Examples
Morning Routine: coffee maker is turned on, TV is turned to specific channel or a specific music playlist is started, shades/curtains are opened or specific lights are turned on…
Evening Routine: interior lights are turned off, doors are locked, garage door is closed (if open), alarm is armed…
Smoke/CO2 Alarms: if triggered, all interior lights are turned on, HVAC system is shut down, emergency services notified, message sent to specified friends/family, exterior house lights flash on/off to help emergency responders identify home…
Reminders: with the use of sensors, reminders can be sent when it is trash day and the trash cans have not been set out. Also, reminders can be sent if medications haven’t been taken when scheduled. Additionally, scheduled calendar events such as medical appointments, can also be included in a reminder routine. Reminders can be in a variety of forms, be it voice, text/email, or even visual indicators. Reminders can also be configured to repeat on a set interval if an action has occurred, such as sensor detecting trash can hasn’t been set out, or medications haven’t yet been taken.
Geofencing: with geofencing, routines can be executed based on whether you are traveling away from home or towards home. When traveling away, any lights left on can be turned off, garage door closed, thermostat settings adjusted, alarm set, ensure doors are locked… When traveling towards home, alarm disarmed, if night time – specific interior lights turned on, thermostat settings adjusted…
Timed Events: manual tasks that are performed on a daily basis, such as turning on/off exterior house lighting, can be configured to occur as set times. A coffee maker can be set for specific times during weekdays verses weekends, but also be disabled regardless of the day of week if the alarm is armed to a vacation setting.
Miscellaneous:
- whenever the doorbell is pressed, a visual indicator in various locations of the home can be triggered.
- whenever the doorbell is pressed, and it is night time, the entry light is turned on.
- whenever someone approaches the house, and it is night time, an announcement notification is activated.
- when it is night time, and inside motion sensors are triggered, specific lights are turned on to a dimmed intensity for a specified amount of time once motion is no longer detected.
This is just an example of different ways smart home features can help improve the quality of life. Many of these can be configured so that they can be executed in multiple ways, such as by voice command, scheduled times, conditional triggers, and more. There is almost no limit to what can configured into a home automation feature.
If you have other automation ideas or questions, feel free to leave a comment below.
Brax