Savvy Senior

Jim Miller

Dear Savvy Senior,
I’ve been talking to my mobility challenged mother, who lives alone, about automating her house with some smart home products to make it more convenient. She’s very interested but we’d like to get your opinion as to which types of smart devices are most helpful for seniors aging in place.
Searching Daughter

Dear Searching,
If your mother is game, smart home products – such as smart lights, video doorbells and voice-activated speakers – can be very useful for aging in place. These devices can add safety and convenience to a home by providing voice and app-controlled operation, which is extremely helpful for seniors who have mobility issues or reduced vision.
Smart home technology can also provide family members peace-of-mind by giving them the ability to electronically keep tabs on their elder loved one when they can’t be there.
If you’re interested in adding some smart home products to your mom’s house, she’ll need home Wi-Fi installed, and she’ll need either a smartphone, tablet or smart speaker to operate them. To help you get started, here are some different types of devices to consider that are very helpful to older adults.
Smart speakers: A smart speaker – like the Amazon Echo, Google Nest or Apple HomePod – can serve as the brains of a smart home, controlling the devices with voice commands or automating them.
These devices can also play your mom’s favorite music, read audiobooks, make calls, set timers and alarms, provide reminders for medications, appointments and other things, check traffic and weather, answer questions, call for help in emergency situations and much more – all done by voice commands.
Smart light bulbs: To help prevent home falls – which are often caused by fumbling around a dark room looking for a light switch – smart light bulbs will let your mom turn on and off the lights by voice command, smartphone or tablet. These bulbs can also change brightness and color and be programmed to come on and off whenever she wants.
Smart plugs: These small units plug into a standard outlet and connect to the internet. That means your mom can control whatever she plugs into them – from a space heater to a coffee maker – using her voice or phone.
Video doorbell: Safety is also a concern for older adults, especially those who live alone. A video doorbell would let your mom see and speak to visitors at the door without having to walk over and open it.
Smart locks: For convenience and safety, smart locks would give your mom keyless entry to her home, provide customized access to family, friends and caregivers, and let you monitor who comes and goes from your mom’s house.
Smart thermostat: This lets your mom preprogram or manually control the temperature in her home with voice command or via phone, and let you monitor it too.
Smart smoke alarms: These will alert your mom when smoke or carbon monoxide is detected and will also send alerts to your phone if a problem is detected.
Stovetop shut-off: To prevent home cooking fires, smart stovetop shut-off devices, like the IGuardStove, will turn off electric and gas stovetops when left unattended, and will alert you via text.
Medical alert system: These devices provide wearable wrist and/or necklace emergency buttons that would allow your mom to call for help if she were to fall or need assistance. Many systems today also provide voice activated and fall detection features, and caregiver tracking apps that will let you keep tabs on her.
Cameras and smart sensors: If your mom needs more in-depth monitoring, there are indoor cameras you can install so you can see, hear and talk to her from your phone. Or, if that’s too intrusive, you can install smart contact sensors on her doors so you can know when she comes and goes, or on her refrigerator door so you can know if she’s eating.

Send your senior questions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior.org. Jim Miller is a contributor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Senior” book.