Recently, SDM Senior Editor Heather Young spoke with Mark Walters, chairman of the Z-Wave Alliance. In the Q & A below, Walters addresses the area of aging in place and how home automation can be an integral part of it.
With 76 million baby boomers starting to turn senior, and 65 million of them taking care of elderly family and loved ones, aging in place is a ripe arena for technology solutions. Home automation can play an important role in achieving that objective. An example would be an electronic lock that stays open too long. If the lock is hooked up to a home control system a message can be sent to the homeowner's adult children, who can either close it themselves or decide whether to go to investigate.