Page 38 - Green Builder Magazine May-June 2019 Issue

SMART HOMES

COURTESY OF SAMSUNG

with sensors, cameras, lighting, HVAC, water heating, water monitoring,
appliances, irrigation and even vehicles.
This type of “Intuitive Home”Šdoesn’t just respond to a homeowner’s
commands and make household tasks easier. Rather, it is programmed
to optimize performance, resource use, security, and comfort, increasing
the home’s sustainability and enhancing the homeowner’s wellbeing.

From Mindless T HE SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY MARKET, expected to reach THE COST-BENEFIT OF CONNECTED LIVING
BY SARA GUTTERMAN
Smart home technologies aren’t just for younger generations. With a
record 46 million people age 65 and older in the United States today
(projected to grow to over 67 million by 2050), technology for active
$40 billion by next year, is providing a new level of convenience,
to Managed e€ciency, comfort, independence, and security to homeowners adults that facilitates aging in place is an exploding segment of the
market.
in all walks of life.
According to Alarms.org, “57% of AmericansŠsay that having
From a numbers standpoint, the cost-bene¤t analysis of investing in
smart products in their house saves them about 30 minutes per day, that’s
targeted at active adults who want to age in place may cost thousands of
182.5 hours a year, or roughly a week and a half. The percentage of people connected living is substantial: while out¤tting a home with technology
The natural evolution of smart with smart products in their house is growing substantially with 47% of dollars, placing a loved one in an assisted living facility or nursing home
can cost tens of thousands of dollars per month.
MillennialsŠalready owning some devices whileŠ70% who already own one
product are planning to buy another one.” The functionality of active adult-focused technology is rapidly
systems comes just in time to While connected living technology has advanced exponentially in a expanding to offer essential real-time feedback and reminders. For
short period of time, most smart home systems ask a lot from homeowners. example, motion sensors can track the speed and frequency of movement
offer assisted living technology Basic systems require homeowners to cobble together a smattering of throughout a home to assess an occupant’s mobility; cameras can allow
devices with separate apps and incongruent functionality, which can be
occupants to stay in touch with loved ones for enhanced safety and
that works in the background. frustrating and time consuming. socialization; and alerts and prompts can be set to remind occupants to
More advanced platforms with voice control can now help homeowners
take medicine, lock doors, turn on security systems, and check in with
connect devices together, o—ering streamlined integration and enhanced their healthcare providers.
programming (in the form of routines), as well as an improved customer Using technology designed for aging in place, homeowners—and their
experience. loved ones—can monitor vitals, existing conditions, abnormalities that
In the most sophisticated connected home applications, smart might indicate complications that come with aging, and even irregular
technologies areŠmethodically designed and integrated into homes, using behaviors before they turn into emergency situations, providing
comprehensive central hubs such as Samsung SmartThings to link devices instantaneous connectivity to healthcare professionals when needed.

36 GREEN BUILDER May/June 2019 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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