How a Smart Home Can Help You or a Loved One Age in Place Right Now

Can an internet-connected smart home make it easier for older adults to live independently and simplify care for them?

Until now, adoption of smart home technology among older Americans has been lukewarm at best. Recent leaps, including artificial intelligence, paired with the desire of about 9 in 10 older people to stay in their homes as long as possible, make the question worth asking again.

Smart home tech encompasses smart:

• Appliances
• Cameras
• Cookware
• Doorbells
• Energy systems
• Garage door openers
• Lights
• Mattresses
• Plugs
• Security systems
• Speakers
• TVs
• Window treatments

Collectively called the internet of things (IoT), these products are considered intelligent because they connect to your home’s internet and you can control them via smartphone and computer and often by voice. But just because household products make nice with the internet doesn’t always make them more useful.

Lack of simplicity is a big stumbling block

About 1 in 5 respondents 50 and older say they don’t need smart home devices, according to a fall 2023 AARP survey. Around 1 in 10 expressed no interest at all. Some smart home products were deemed too expensive, too intrusive, too complicated or, to put it bluntly, overkill. 

Consumers who purchase smart home products often don’t wonder whether individual items connect with other devices in their house or whether they might need help getting them to work. The industry is trying to solve this with a technical standard