As people get older, they require more care and family support because their eyesight and bones start getting weak with age. This also increases their chances of falling and more. It becomes challenging for our seniors to do day-to-day chores. It’s even harder to spend time with them in this today’s busy life. Even much more when you need to move somewhere else as people of age 55 and more don’t like to change their home and want to stay in their old house. Though the best smart home devices can help both the elderly and disabled in this situation. Smart home features are a hot topic these days. As technology is getting advanced and affordable nowadays, installing smart home features in your house isn’t expensive or challenging anymore.
The smart home can help both elderly and disabled people in many different ways. For example, smart home sensors can do many tasks when paired with a mobile device; this includes turning on and off lights and television but not limited to. Intelligent home devices for seniors-you can also keep track of your loved one’s activity to ensure their safety when living alone.
We have spent years researching and testing different smart home devices and shortlisted the best ones here that you can buy today to help your seniors age in a place.
9 The best smart home devices to help care for the elderly and assist disabled people as they live independently.
1. The best alarm: Ring Alarm (2nd Generation)
Ring Alarm (2nd generation) is an easy-to-install security system; you can easily install yourself as all the necessary tools come within the box. No other tools are required. The best thing about it is it has three separate buttons that give you a direct connection to the authorities you may want to call at the time of emergency. It has the police, fire, and medical buttons. You need to hold for three seconds, sending the proper authorities to the address you have it on.
It offers the most affordable professional monitoring than the competitors for only 10$ a month or 100$ a year. You can get a team of professionals monitoring your house 24/7. It also gives you the option of self-monitoring.
The Ring Alarm works on a system based on mainly three modes.
Disarmed: When there is no need for security.
Away: While leaving the house
Home: When you’re at home and need security (It may be when you go to bed at night). It also has an indoor camera. Camera interaction with the alarm system is perfect. You can control each camera according to your need. For example, you turn off the indoor camera and motion detector if you want.
Pros:
- Very easy to install.
- An inexpensive value-for-money device.
- 24/7 professional monitoring subscription for only $ 10 / m.
- It can be integrated with Alexa.
- It also supports cellular internet.
- 24h battery backup.
Cons:
- Does not support google assistant and Apple HomeKit, or IFTTT.
2. Best smart smoke alarm: Google Nest Protect
Google Nest Protect comes in 2 versions a wired and a battery version. You can buy the battery version if you want to install it somewhere you don’t have wiring for a smoke detector. Installation is pretty easy; it requires no more than 10-15 minutes.
The Nest has a split spectrum sensor, which is good at detecting fast or slow-burning fires and can differentiate between furniture burning or a small piece of paper burning. It also tells you the place burning like. If you have many rooms in your house with Google nest protection installed, it will tell you which room it is giving an alert.
It also has two unique features:
- Nightly Promise: If you turn off the lights, it glows with a green color light to tell you it is working fine. It gives a yellow light glow when something is wrong with it, and when you click the button, it will audibly tell you the details of the issue.
- Pathlight: It brightens your pathway for ten seconds whenever you walk past it in the dark. It is an excellent feature if you get up in the night a lot.
- It can also be integrated with your other smart home products like your cameras to take smoke pictures. A single mobile app can easily control it.
Read our full review of the 7 Best Smart Smoke Alarm of 2021
Pros:
- Voice alerts.
- It can be integrated with other smart home devices.
Cons:
- Expensive
- It cannot be used with Alexa, Siri, or a home kit.
3. Best compact and cheap security camera: Wyze Cam v2
The Wyze Cam is an inexpensive small-sized device with significant features. It records 1080p full HD videos. It supports live streaming at 1080p; you can keep an eye on everything from your mobile device. It supports two-way audio; you can talk to your family through its mobile app. It also provides 14 days of free cloud storage. It’s also controllable with voice; it works well with Alexa and Google assistant.
It also supports night vision (it does not work through the window). Its mobile app gives alerts only when there is a movement. It records a 14-second video when there is a sound or movement and saves it in cloud storage for 14 days.
Pros:
- Inexpensive.
- Small in size.
- Free cloud storage.
- Records motion or sound-triggered events
Cons:
- It does Not integrate with other home smart devices.
4. Best smart lock: Wyze Lock
Wyze Lock is a device that automatically locks and unlocks the door for you. This lock can work with your existing deadbolt. It doesn’t replace the existing deadbolt on your door. Instead, it just replaces the backside of your deadbolt so that it can automatically lock and unlock the door. AA batteries power it. Its estimated battery life is around six months, included in the box.
- Auto-unlock: Wyze lock is a smart device that knows when you come and unlock the door for you.
- Remote access: With the help of Wyze App, you can lock or unlock your door from any part of the world.
- Auto-lock: This device automatically locks the door when it is detected to be closed.
- Door detection: It notifies you when you have left the door open and won’t lock it.
- LOCK/UNLOCK HISTORY: Wyze lock can tell you who unlocked the door, how it was opened, and when it was unlocked.
- Alexa compatibility: Can be easily connected to an Alexa device so that it can lock and unlock the door with just your voice (mainly used for quick access).
Some fantastic features of Wyze Lock Are as follows:
AES 128-bit Encryption: banks also use advanced Encryption Standard 128-bit.
Encryption of Hardware: The lock hardware helps the software stay secure and make it simple.
Zigbee and Bluetooth: It’s a home automation standard used for safe and secure wireless communication.
Pros:
- Affordable price.
- It is effortless and straightforward to install and use.
- Has a minimalist design.
- It uses most of your existing hardware.
Cons:
- It isn’t integrated with other Wyze or third-party smart devices.
- IFTTT support and voice control are yet enabled.
5. Best doorbell with siren: Arlo Video Doorbell
Arlo jumped late into the Video Doorbell market but came up with some excellent features cheaper than other video doorbells. The Arlo came up with this excellent design video doorbell that performs better than other doorbells by its capability to differentiate between a person and animals.
The doorbell is relatively cheaper than other devices, still looking like a premium one. Its front is black, and the exterior is white. This doorbell is standard in size and not more significant than the Ring Video Doorbell but is taller than the Nest Hello. The doorbell has a button on its front bottom and the camera on top, making a good look.
The setup of the Arlo Doorbell is simple by just using two screws to wire up the device. It is not hard-wired at all, just like other devices, which means you don’t have to spend extra money on wiring if you don’t have any in the past. All you need is to easily install the app and select “Add A New Device” after that. You have to follow the app’s instructions and guide you through, which will take about 30 minutes only to complete the setup.
Talking about the Arlo Doorbell camera, it has a high image quality, which best fits this price. When a visitor rings the bell, you get a call on your phone; either you answer the call or let them leave a message. You can also go pre-recorded messages to the person you don’t want to talk with.
Read our full review of the 10 Best Video Doorbell 2021
Pros:
- Great video quality
- Stylish design
- Less expensive
- Work with Google Assistant and Alexa
Cons:
- No Homekit Support
- Features are limited without a subscription
6. Best for health features: Apple Watch Series 6
The Apple Watch 6 design is the same as in its previous models: a rounded body of metal provided with a square display. This time, some new colors are blue and red, which makes it attractive than before. Apple Watch Series 6 has an excellent OLED display technology, making the screen much better and no extra brightness outside.
The Watch continues to monitor your health and fitness. It has an ultimate blood oxygen monitoring system. It also includes a much better system firing infra-red light under your skin to find out how much oxygen is pumped around. While its fitness tracker has advanced tracking features than the previous models. It monitors every activity while you’re run or just resting and even calculates your calorie burn and monitors your heart rate.
It also come a with fantastic battery life, which lasts about 24 hours or even more. The Apple Watch Series 6 has a new S6 chipset installed in it, which has made the battery life much better than the previous watches. Moreover, it has fast charging, so it doesn’t take much time to full. Some other great features also include handwash monitoring, sleep tracking, and translations.
Pros:
- Always-on display
- Color additions are amazing
- Sleep tracker installed
Cons:
- Battery life can be longer
- No headline upgrades
7. Best Alexa for less: Amazon Echo Dot
The famous Echo device has been further upgraded, with a new sound speaker and a brilliant design. Echo Dot is a smart voice-controlled speaker with Alexa. It can provide you many things like news, information, songs, and much more. You can even connect your compatible smartphone with Alexa with the help of your voice.
The Echo Dot can play music on many platforms like Apple Music, Amazon Music, Pandora, Spotify, and more, using your voice. You can fill your entire house with music by placing an echo device in each room. Furthermore, you can also listen to Book summaries, Podcasts, Audible, etc.
Alexa makes your life easier to live, even if you are a senior, because it is a smart home for seniors. It also is a smart home for the elderly and disabled. Alexa helps you in many situations by just voice control. That’s why we call it the activity monitoring system for elderly care.
You can also make Alexa answer according to a kid by turning on parental controls in the Alexa app with no additional charges. Alexa automatically filters explicit songs and music, let kid call only approved contacts, and gets shopping blocked for kids. Parents can also review their kids’ activities and set limits to prevent extra usage for kids.
Some Main Features you may like are:
- Dual-band Wifi supports (2.4 and 5 GHz) networks.
- Advanced Audio Distribution Profile (A2DP).
- 3.5 mm stereo audio output speaker with internal and external speakers.
- Comes with a 15 W Power Adapter.
PROS:
- You can order food.
- Setup and using it is straightforward and easy.
- Affordable price.
- Improved audio quality.
CONS:
- There is no USB port.
- Indian streaming services are limited.
8. Best Alexa with a screen: Amazon echo show
To keep on advancing a smart home for the elderly and disabled, Amazon launches the second generation of the Echo Show after its first. This one is better than the previous model in every aspect. The Amazon Echo Show Second-Generation features are unique, having a great design, Better audio, and video performance. It has the best smart display in the present. Still, Google, on the other hand, is also looking for new and modernized devices for seniors living alone.
The Amazon Echo Show second-generation is Designed so that the speakers are put on the back so that the front can almost be a screen only. As compared to the previous design, this added some extra chasm to this version of the Echo Show, making it 17mm thicker. The front camera is surrounded by four dots, four speakers out of the Echo Show’s eight microphones. Moreover, the bigger screen makes it way more comfortable and easier to access and interconnect even from far.
The screen of this Echo Show is a 10-inch 1280×800 resolution LCD panel means that you can see things even when you are at a distance. Furthermore, Alexa is still available to interact with the Echo Show by installing its app on your phone, making it the best smart home management devices for sens. With these simple voice commands, you can access all your smart home appliances like cameras and doorbells, you have to say Who’s at the door, and you can see it on your screen.
for seniors
Pros:
- Big responsive touch screen
- Audio performance better than the first
Cons:
- The Bass of the audio is a bit heavy
- Video calling is limited yet.
9. Best tablet for almost anyone: Apple iPad Air 2020
Let’s take a look at the new design and fabricating of this I pad. Like other Apple devices, I pad Air has a high-end build quality and aluminum design that feels premium in hand. 2020 I pad Air has a high screen to body ratio for an immersive display; the bezels are minimal. The front screen is scratch-resistant, and the rear glass had an oleophobic coating.
iPad Air 2020 has an efficient touch id and comes with a smart connector. Face ID is also there but scans with a regular camera-based system. Apple has a fine reputation in camera hardware and processing. Similarly, Apple doesn’t let down their customers in the case of iPad Air. The primary camera is 12 MP and has a wide f/1.8 aperture; it also supports HDR in pictures.
Apple devices have always been a champ in videography and iPad air shots in the same video quality as iPhones, 4k video recording at max 60fps with gyro- EIS stabilization. The selfie shooter is sharp 7 MP, f/2.0, and 1080p resolution. Though it’s a tablet yet the output is outclassed. Although powerful hardware features, the heavy consumption can last iPad Air up to 11 hours, which in daily use is enough for most of the users. The battery can even last for one and half days for standard usage because of the massive 7606 mAh battery.
Pros:
- High-End A14 bionic chipset.
- Convenience and portable.
- 11 hours battery life.
- Faster Touch ID.
- Apple pencil support.
Cons:
- Underpowered speakers.
- The camera lacks a wide-angle feature.
- Issues in-camera while video calling.
Conclusion
In this guide, we selected the best smart home for the elderly and disabled. It will help you choose the best smart home devices for your home to create a more comfortable lifestyle for your elderly.
Making a smart home for the elderly and disabled and making an activity monitoring system for seniors care the best we can do in the present age. We should always remember that we will go through this process one day, so treat better to be treated the best.
