Like money, technology can’t buy happiness, but it can certainly make your home environment more pleasant. These range from purely cosmetic, nice to have innovations that appeal to the gadget happy among us to alterations that can substantially improve quality of life. Even if you aren’t planning on making any renovations anytime soon, it’s good to know what’s out there so you have an idea of how you’ll prioritize when you are ready to make some changes.
Add a Home Elevator
This looks like one of those cosmetic nice to have gadgets but actually might be the top quality of life game changer on this list. It’s true that a home elevator can be a fun thing to show off to people, and if you’re relatively young with no mobility issues and have not spent much time around people with mobility issues, you might not realize how important one can be. However, an elevator means that if you suffer a temporary or permanent injury that does affect your mobility or if someone in your family does, your home can remain fully accessible. Moreover, if you develop mobility problems as you age or you are simply concerned about your safety going up and down stairs, an elevator can relieve those concerns. Elevators from the residential company Stiltz can be installed in most types of homes, and the cost might be less than you assume.
Other Options for Those with Disabilities
There are many other ways that technology can be useful in the homes of people who have disabilities. A system that is controlled by voice activation can be more convenient for people who have vision or dexterity issues. This allows them to turn on the TV, search for movies, play music and phone people as well as adjust lighting, temperature and more. Opening and closing blinds or curtains can also present a challenge for some people. Being able to adjust them with either an app or by voice can be much easier. Finally, there are several options that will help you with household tasks, with the robot vacuum at the top of that list. These have been joined by other devices, such as robot mops and window cleaners among others.
Safety
Technology can also play an important role in your home security system and can provide safety in other ways. A smart doorbell allows you to see who is at your front door wherever you are. Smart smoke alarms may be able to better detect where a fire is coming from. Some smart locks can unlock themselves as you are approaching, meaning you don’t have to fumble with your keys at the front door. Perhaps best of all, you can monitor your home from wherever you are, including while you’re on vacation. This can include sensors that alert you if the temperature has risen or dropped or whether there is water in your home from a leak or another malfunction.
Entertainment
Let’s face it, technology is not just about being practical. You now have unprecedented options for home entertainment, and chances are, you’re ready to take advantage of that. If film is your first love, you might never want to go to the movies again if you install either a projector or a large-screen TV. You can put in an audio system that is equal to the quality you’d get at most commercial theaters as well. Of course, that includes surround sound. If music is more your thing, you can have that as well, with a phone or voice-activated collection of tunes that you can activate from anywhere in the house. You can say goodbye to multiple clunky remotes with a system that allow you to control everything from your phone or another device. Or, you can even go for a universal controller that allows you to manage your entertainment options with gestures, which can be a fun thing to show to others when they come over.
Sustainability and Comfort
There’s often an assumption that higher sustainability goes hand-in-hand with lower tech, but this is not always the case. A full dishwasher uses less water than hand washing an equivalent number of dishes. Smart home technology can go a long way toward helping your home be more efficient. One of the best examples of this is home sprinkler systems that can detect whether your lawn needs to be watered and how much. However, you can also use smart thermostats and lighting that automatically adjust or that you can control from afar. If you tend to use candles and other lighting tricks to enhance the mood in your home, consider smart bulbs that offer many different options as well.