Let’s face it. Caring for our elders can be expensive, and more and more families are faced with the difficult decision of caring for mom or dad at home or placing them in a nursing home.

You’ve heard the stories such as people having to quit their jobs to stay home with their elderly parents because they can’t afford to put them in a nursing home. Or mom, dad, or a grandparent is failing to thrive because of the lack of interaction and engagement they receive in a nursing home facility versus being at home.

Do you have worries or doubts about something dangerous happening to your elderly parents or other family members living on their own?

Enter ‘Smart Home Technology.’ Smart technology such as home-monitoring sensors, voice activation, GPS, Bluetooth, cell phones, monitoring apps, and high-tech computers are what makes aging at home a possibility. Devices and apps can track things like medication use, walking or wandering, levels of activity, and falls. With Personal Emergency Response Systems (PERS), older family members can be monitored while at home or even away.

Here are 3 benefits to upgrading your elder parents’ or loved one’s homes with smart home technology:

1. Get organized and stay connected

2. Simplify daily activities and tasks with automation

3. Security and safety

1.) Get Organized and Stay Connected

The most common excuse used by seniors is that they are “technologically challenged.” The technological advancement and changes in smart technology can seem overwhelming on the outside. However, more and more smart devices are created with a focus on user-friendliness and accessibility; anybody can use a smartphone or smart technology. 

As user-friendly as devices have become, compatibility and integration have also advanced over time. There used to be a time where you had a controller for every device imaginable in your home. Now, smart hubs such as Control4, Google Home, and Amazon Echo have taken the guesswork out of figuring out what controls which device. These smart hubs are a central control system for other smart devices that can be controlled at a single location.

Voice Command and Virtual Assistants

One of the coolest functions of many smart devices is the ability to control them hands-free. For example, with voice command features, you can control your smart hub to turn off lights in another room, start the laundry with a smart washing machine, or make sure the smart oven is turned off right before you go to bed. How cool is that? 

Voice command features work both ways, meaning it’s not just you talking to it; it communicates back with you. You can have it remind your forgetful elders of their medical appointments and when to take their medications.

Your elders can call you or anybody with a simple voice command such as “Alexa, call the ambulance,” or “Siri, reply to Jordan’s text.” So, stay connected with your loved ones with ease and comfort, knowing if anything happens, they will still be able to call for help.

2.) Simplify Daily Activities and Tasks with Automation 

The ability to turn off appliances through automation is another important reason to consider smart home technology. The elderly often forget to turn off appliances, so the devices can be programmed to automatically turn off after a certain period of time, avoiding dangerous situations like flooding and fires. Examples of appliances that can be automated include stoves, hair curling irons, clothes irons, water systems, cooking appliances like toasters and toaster ovens, hot plates, and others.

One issue seniors face is remembering to take the proper amount of medication at the proper time of day.  The solution … automatic medicine-dispensing machines that remind with audible beep messaging or visual lighting and dispense medicines at the appropriate times. Again, this adds to an aging family member’s independence and confidence in living alone.

Automated reminder systems also play a huge role in providing feelings of independence and security for seniors to live their normal lives. Reminders can be set for appointments like going to the doctor, for events like birthdays or weddings, and for everyday tasks such as washing dishes, making the bed, or feeding their pets.

Smart Hubs

Smart hubs like Control4 or Alexa can be preprogrammed to remind the elderly to take medication, set appointments and reminders, turn on or start smart appliances, secure the home and so much more.

The smart hub is like a controller that can be used through a device or voice command. Think of the smart hub as a personal virtual assistant that won’t be able to help you in physical assistance but can have conversations and tell occasional jokes.

Light Control Systems

Light control systems are simple yet energy-efficient smart technology that requires little effort to install into any senior home.

For the person who is aging in place, automated lighting systems that light pathways throughout the home from activated sensors are important in cutting down on tripping and falls. The lights can be controlled via a remote or from an app on a phone. For those with mobility issues, this remote access feature offers an excellent alternative to having to get up and physically switch lights on or off. The light will turn off automatically after a set time. For example, outdoor lights could be preprogrammed to turn on after sunset and turn off at sunrise.

Not only does this help save costs in utilities for fixed-income seniors but at the same time, this also helps reduce energy waste.

Water Control Systems

Smart homes can be programmed to learn your habits and daily routines. For instance, if your plants get watered a certain amount at a specific time out of the week, the water control systems or sprinkler systems can be pre-programmed to do the task for you instead of hiring someone to take care of it or having your elder adult try to do the task themselves and something happen to them.

3) Security and Safety

Security and safety for anybody are important. However, the safety of your older family members, especially those suffering from Dementia or Alzheimer’s, is in fear of something bad happening to them or worse, losing them and not being able to find them.

Security systems can be activated in emergency situations, including medical emergencies, with the touch of a button on a remote or pad. Some systems can be voice activated.

Automatic locks on doors can be helpful to movement-limited individuals who may have a difficult time getting to the front door. Some of the locks can even be programmed with fingerprint technology that allows either the aging homeowner or their relatives to enter the home with just a simple touch on an electronic pad.

How Do You Monitor Seniors Living Alone? 

Motion detection sensors are usually associated with light control systems or security systems, but motion sensors can help the most when monitoring your senior family members.

The core function of motion detection is that the sensor identifies motion within its radius and triggers the following command. An example would be you walk into a room, and the lights automatically turn on, and when it senses no movement within a time frame, it turns the lights off. Motion sensors like these are often used in public bathrooms so that the lights are on when people use them, but turn off when no one is there.

How Can Motion Sensors Help Your Senior Family Members?

There are numerous things you can do with smart detection devices with a bit of creativity. For instance, you could install the motion sensor under the bed of your elder. If they fall off the bed, the motion sensor will trigger a notification to your phone or notify a home visit nurse that the elder has fallen.

Some senior homes and hospitals use motion sensors for when the patient or elder has fallen off the bed or try to leave a room when they shouldn’t. Family members with Alzheimer’s can relate to their loved ones gone missing. A motion sensor can detect movement at night and trigger a command to the smart locks installed in the house to lock the doors which can not be unlocked without a code, at the same time notifying yourself or the home visit nurse to check on the senior. 

Health Monitoring

Another issue that has come about because of Coronavirus, but is being answered through technology, is the idea of doctor visits and home health visits through online telehealth practices. According to McKinsey & Company’s consumer sentiment research, 35% of home healthcare visits could become virtual visits, post-COVID. Homes can be outfitted with the appropriate computers and monitors to accommodate these technology needs.

Should an elderly family member fall in their home, Sphere AV has wearable devices that monitor noise and vibration and indicate possible fall situations. In addition, should the Alzheimer’s-affected client wander, the device is GPS trackable.

Health alert bracelets such as Life Alert or Medical Guardian are health monitoring devices that secure themselves around the wrist. This smart technology monitors heart rate, activity levels, and other medical information as well as notifying the emergency contact when abnormal data is collected. These monitoring devices can also alert local emergency medical authorities in life-threatening situations, even when the elderly wearing the device are unconscious. Health alert bracelets can be synced with smart hubs to store data weekly where it can be sent to doctors for review if necessary.

Upgrading Home to Accommodate Seniors Living on Their Own

The investment in smart home devices will be dependent on the outcome you want for your home, and the budget allocated to reach the desired home automation. We can help you make sure that every dollar you do spend on your smart home is invested in quality tech performing at the highest standards.

Sphere Audio Video, Inc. in Birmingham, AL, strives to operate a productive and helpful business that focuses on offering specialized, cutting edge technology products and impeccable customer service.

If you are considering home automation, check out our services to know more about the type of automation we provide. Feel free to reach out to us to help you get started with your home automation project.