How Smart Home Automation Makes Life Safer And More Convenient For Seniors
Smart home automation may sound like something from the future or technology only for the young and hip, but it can be useful when you're in your senior years too. A smart home makes your life safer and easier. It could even be the difference between staying in your own home and having to move into an assisted living facility since a smart home is able to do many tasks for you. Here are some ways home automation can help seniors.
Remote Door Locking
Home automation allows you to control many things in your home remotely. This allows you to lock your doors when you're in bed or not able to get to the door. If you worry about double-checking the locks, you won't have to get up and walk in the dark to the front door. Just check your smartphone and you can verify all doors are locked and secure. You can also control blinds with a push of a button. All the blinds in your home can be lowered at once or programmed to lower at a set time so you can get plenty of natural light when you want it and instant privacy when you need it.
Programmable HVAC Controls
A smart thermostat is handy when you regulate the temperature often to save on heating or cooling costs. Some systems can sense when the home is vacant so they can go into energy conservation mode. Others can be controlled remotely so you can turn down the air conditioner from the golf course if you forget to do it before you leave the house. The thermostat can even be programmed to keep the house cooler at night when you're bundled under covers and to turn up the heat before you wake up so you don't get chilled when you get out of bed.
Automatic Lights
Reducing tripping hazards is important when you get older, and one way to do that is with smart lights that come on as soon as you unlock the door or when they sense you getting out of bed at night. Lighting at night keeps you safe and it also improves the security of your home. Home automation is run from a central hub that often relies on if this, then that technology. For instance, if you unlock the door, then living room lights come on. You can program your home to do a variety of automated tasks based on what makes you feel safer and your life more convenient.
Video Monitoring
A smart home usually has some sort of video monitoring. You might have a camera at your front door so you can see who is there before you answer it. You can usually communicate to the person as well. This technology could be used by your family to monitor your welfare when you're sick too. A smart home utilizes WiFi and the internet of things which connects your appliances, door locks, HVAC, and even your car to the internet. This allows for remote control and monitoring of many parts of your home when you're away.
When you get older, your family may use the remote functions to check on you and ensure the temperature in your home is comfortable and that your refrigerator is stocked. Your home can even remind you when it's time to eat or take medication. While you may not need all those services now, smart home automation will grow and change with you as you age so you stay safer at home.
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