How a Smarter Home Can Make Daily Life Easier

Technology can help older adults and the caregivers who love them

Jim Lenahan,

AARP

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Published November 05, 2024

Janne Iivonen

In this story

Help from technology • 1. Smart lights • 2. Smart TVs • 3. Smart thermostats
• 4. Smart speakers • 5. Smart beds • 6. Activity sensors • 7. Fall detectors •
8. Security systems • 9. Video doorbells • 10. Air quality detectors • 11. Robot mowers • 12. Robot cleaners • 13. Smart appliances • 14. Pill dispensers •
15. Smart locks • 16. Bathroom tech

Getting older doesn’t have to mean leaving your home.

New technology promises to make aging in place easier, safer and more satisfying. In some cases, it can even lend a hand to caregivers.

Smart tech that is connected to the internet often can be controlled from anywhere — inside or outside the home. Some of the most useful devices learn your preferences and routines and adjust to you. Or they can provide insight to a loved one who helps out.

“What becomes even more valuable with smart devices is when data reveals behavioral patterns that could alert a caregiver when something seems off,” says Andy Miller, senior vice president of AARP Innovation Labs.

If you or a loved one feel dismissive of smart devices, realize that you may be using a few already: About a third of Americans 50 and older have a smart speaker such as an Amazon Echo or Google Nest, almost a quarter have a device that helps with security, according to AARP’s 2024 Tech Trends and Adults 50-Plus survey. And 90 percent own a smartphone, 75 percent a smart TV.

Prices go down and ease of use increases as products stay on the market. Zenith debuted the now-ubiquitous TV remote in 1950. But not until the 1980s could you find them included with practically every TV sold. Now you can’t do without one, right?

Here’s an overview of products that can help around the house. Click on the links below to get the details.

1. Smart lights

Smart lamps and overhead lights can be turned on and off through an app. Using sensors, they can be programmed to turn on when detecting movement for security outside your home or safety inside it, such as when a person gets up at night.

2. Smart TVs

Sure, you spend countless hours streaming movies, shows, live news and sports with an internet-connected TV. But smart TVs can also be used as a webcam for video chats, telehealth calls with your doctor or virtual exercise sessions.

3. Smart thermostats

Typically, a smart thermostat from providers such as Ecobee, Google Nest or Honeywell can learn your indoor climate preferences over time. When the thermostat detects the house is empty, it can reduce the amount of heating or cooling, shaving a few bucks off your energy bill. Includes remote control through an app for the resident or a caregiver.

4. Smart speakers

With voice commands, you can play music, get the weather forecast, have questions answered and more from a digital assistant that you can summon from a fairly small device.

This device can become the command center for your home, providing voice control for other products. Smart speakers are also popular in the kitchen for setting timers.

5. Smart beds and mattresses

A smart bed or mattress can help give you a good night’s sleep by determining separate comfortable temperatures for whoever is sleeping on either side of the bed. It can adjust mattress firmness and elevate feet over heart to reduce swelling in the legs.

Some of the smartest will report on the quality of sleep come morning, perhaps sharing data with a health care provider or caregiver.

6. Activity sensors

Caregivers can monitor an older adult’s daily activities, such as getting out of bed, entering or exiting a room, or leaving an exterior door open. They can track daily activities to send alerts to family or a caregiver if, for example, a chair is occupied for too many hours.

7. Fall detectors

Many of these products work with a combination of wall-mounted sensors and wearable devices, such as a wristband or pendant.

They can determine if a resident has fallen and can call for help. A caregiver can also receive an alert.

8. Security systems

Cameras can become your eyes and ears if you’re worried about something as simple as package theft. If an alarm is triggered, not only are the resident and authorities alerted, but the system also can send a notification to a caregiver’s smartphone.

9. Video doorbells

These include a small camera, plus a microphone and speaker, which let you see and converse with someone at your door through an app on your phone.

That person doesn’t see you and won’t know if you’re home. Some models can regularly record video for review.

10. Air quality detectors

Smart alarms can not only alert people in the home about smoke but also send notifications to an app for a caregiver. Some go beyond smoke and fire to detect other air quality problems such as carbon monoxide.

11. Robot lawn mowers

Like a Roomba for your lawn, robo-mowers follow an area that you define and quietly mow the grass for you every day so the smaller clippings stay on your lawn to enrich the soil.

12. Cleaning robots

These started as automated sweepers that learned the layout of your rooms and did the dirty work; now some can also mop hard floors.

13. Smart appliances

A smart refrigerator allows contents to be seen in an app if you can’t remember what you have or need while shopping. In some cases, it can suggest recipes based on the ingredients on hand.

A smart stove will let you or a caregiver shut off an oven remotely. A smart microwave can be turned on or off remotely via an app.

14. Medication dispensers

Some pill organizers can be programmed to give out the right amount of medicine and audibly or visually alert a person when it’s time to take a dose. Many can be managed through phone apps, so a caregiver can check to see when medication has been dispensed.

15. Smart locks

Lock and unlock doors remotely and monitor comings and goings — perhaps of a loved one with dementia who may wander. Convenient for remotely providing access to health aides, house cleaners and other family members.

16. Bathroom tech

Smart water sensors can shut off water and alert you if a leak or a constantly running toilet is detected. Smart scales are useful to track weight and other body measurements and send the data to a health app or share it with caregivers or medical providers. Sensors can indicate how often someone opens a medicine cabinet.

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Contributing: Edward C. Baig, Marc Saltzman

Jim Lenahan is an executive editor for AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. He previously was a senior editor at USA Today and editor of USA Weekend magazine.

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