We’re living in the technology era. Pretty much every aspect of our lives has tech involved, from booking our weekly shop to keeping in touch with friends and family.
Technology makes everyone’s lives easier, but did you know it can make a home more accessible?
Technology At Home
Back in the 80s, there were some funny predictions for how technology might change the future. The film Back To The Future portrayed 2015 with flying cars, holograms and automatic servers in restaurants.
Who would’ve believed it? Nearly 10 years on from 2015, we’re seeing some of those things start to take shape.
The theories of how service-driven tech makes our lives easier have always been fascinating. Over the past few years, we’ve not only seen leaps in smart tech but also in its affordability. Now, almost every home has some kind of technology at home, and our gadgets are making the day-to-day simpler to manage, more streamlined and, for some, more accessible.
Let’s look at some common challenges within the house and how technology can overcome them. We might not have flying cars just yet, but what we do have can help to make your home more accessible.
Mobility
Getting around the home can be challenging for many people with reduced mobility levels.
There are several tech-based accessible solutions designed to improve quality of life when it comes to navigating the house. Here are some of the options on the market:
Rise And Fall Worktops
Rise and fall worktops look exactly like conventional worktops but are easy to adjust to different heights. These counters are available in manual and electric mechanisms and are perfect for multi-occupant and family homes. They also provide much-needed legroom underneath for wheelchair users.
Stairlifts
Modern stairlifts are sleek and quiet and run along a track that can be fitted to the wall or along the stair tread if the staircase is wider than average.
Stairlifts help make your home more accessible because they effortlessly move users between floors when using the stairs themselves is painful, challenging or unsafe.
Smart Bath Lifts
Bath lifts are battery-operated devices that can be fixed to the sides of most baths. The lift can be controlled using a waterproof handheld remote to lower the user steadily into and out of the facility. The chair itself is highbacked, sturdy and completely waterproof, with a long seat for more leg support.
Bath lifts help users who aren’t steady on their feet or are wheelchair users to enjoy a bath.
Lift And Tilt Chairs
Lift and tilt armchairs can make your home more accessible by supporting users who have difficulting lowering into or rising from the seated position. They can be operated by buttons on the side of the chair or a remote to control various aspects of the chair position, from raising the footrest to lifting the whole back piece of the chair, lifting the user from sitting to near standing.
Lifting Bed
Like lift and tilt chairs, lifting beds feature electric mechanisms that enable the user to manipulate the bed shape. This provides much-needed support when getting into or out of bed for many people with reduced mobility.
Adjustable Toilet
Most conventional toilets sit too low to be comfortable to use for people with a limited range of mobility. This can make toileting extremely uncomfortable because it causes unnecessary muscle strain.
Electronic and manually adjustable toilets can be lowered or raised to suit the individual needs of the user, minimising pain and discomfort, increasing independence and helping to make your home more accessible.
Vision
For people with impaired or failing vision, lighting in the home plays an important role. Technology can help to make your home more accessible, aiding mobility and ensuring moving around the house is safe.
Voice Controlled Lighting
The addition of a smart home hub with an inbuilt voice assistant, like the Amazon Echo, Google Nest Hub Max, or Apple HomePod Mini, can transform home lighting. Users can turn lights on or off with just a voice command, and even set lights to pre-set functions.
Voice-controlled lighting eliminates the need for locating light switches.
Motion Lights
Motion sensors strategically placed around the home are triggered by people moving past them, which then initiates a light being turned on or off. Being able to rely on lighting in this way can be far less stressful and make your home more accessible and safer, particularly at night.
Show And Tell
The Amazon Echo, one of the smart devices we’ve already mentioned, comes equipped with an incredibly useful feature for visually impaired people. The ‘Show and Tell’ feature utilises the camera of the gadget to identify typical grocery items and other products when asked, “Alexa, what am I holding?”.
Text-To-Speech Device
These clever devices, which also come in a handheld size for portability and ease of use, scan printed text and read it out loud for the user. Activities like reading recipes, instructions, books and magazines are suddenly possible using a text-to-speech device.
Video Doorbells
Whilst the visuals of a video doorbell might not be key for users with failing vision, the ability to remain seated comfortably and converse with whoever is at the door can be a relief because it allows communication while the door is closed.
Video doorbells that are linked to a smart home security system can also be highly useful for families of people living with dementia, ensuring they can be kept safe and the family alerted if unusual activity is detected.
Hearing
Some technology can help make your home more accessible for deaf people and those with hearing difficulties.
Light-Up Doorbell And Phone
If you or a loved one is deaf or living with hearing loss, hearing the doorbell or telephone can be difficult. Flashing lights can be installed on both devices so that they can visually alert users when they are active.
Another option is a wi-fi doorbell, which sends a notification to your mobile or tablet when someone is at the door.
Smart TV/ Amazon Echo
Closed captioning provides text alongside videos for viewers who are hard of hearing so that they can interpret what’s going on on screen. Most modern televisions provide this feature nowadays, but introducing an Amazon Echo or other smart home hub can help if not. The Echo can even caption and translate incoming calls for you to make your home more accessible.
Accessible Fire And Smoke Alarms
Users with reduced hearing ability may struggle to hear house alarms, and this safety issue puts these individuals at a much higher risk. Accessible versions are readily available, relying on vibrating pillow pads and specially designed flashing LED lights to rouse users from sleep and make sure they are aware of their surroundings in an emergency.
Daily Support
Let’s take a look at a few more adaptations that can improve daily life and make your home more accessible.
Electric Window Coverings
Blinds, curtains and shutters can all be motorised, meaning users can operate the window coverings remotely and remain comfortable wherever they are. Some motorised window coverings can also be set to a schedule, opening and closing at certain times of the day.
Smart Device Reminders
Need milk or bread? Don’t want to forget to turn the oven off? Tell your smart home hub. Smart devices, including phones and tablets, can be incredibly useful in reminding users about home tasks.
Automation
Lighting and heating can both be automated for the utmost convenience and accessibility. Setting both systems to a specific schedule and utilising the ability to operate them remotely from a smartphone or tablet means users, as well as their families, can simply control the home and ensure everyone is comfortable.
Technology Is Improving Accessibility
The addition of technology to an adapted home further improves accessibility. It allows people to live more independently, and without doubt, with the speed and growth of technological development we’re seeing globally, there’s more to come.
Looking for ways to adapt your home but unsure where to begin? See our website to find out more about us.
