Home automation is much more than a gimmick.

Some people would consider smart devices a gimmick. “Hey look I can have my lights change colour with my TV or change with the music.” Sure most peoples first foray into smart home solutions may start out that way, but for many others in the community these devices can give people their independence or simplify tasks we take for granted.

Many people within our community live with a disability that requires their homes to be modified to assist them to live independently. These modifications can range from access ramps to additional support rails in the bathroom. We aren’t just talking about people with disabilities, many Australians suffer serious injuries through accidents and we all age so later in life we need additional support. Even just injuring your leg can take you out of action for a few months.

Call us old but we remember a time when we used to have to walk to the TV to change the channel. The advent of the remote control allowed people to perform this task remotely. Some might say that could be either a good thing or a bad thing. Either way it assisted people with mobility issues perform a simple task, even if they only had a couple of TV channels to choose from.

Skip forward to the last few years and people now have a plethora of devices to provide assistance. Mobility scooters, iPads, Mobile phones, robot vacuum cleaners, security cameras and more.

Home automation is just like the remote control, yes you can still do things the old way but it can also make a task much simpler. We mentioned a robot vacuum cleaner before, this is a great example of a smart home technology that is not only convenient but performs a vital household chore.

Video doorbells are also another great advancement to aid in personal security and provide those who may be wheelchair-bound a convenient way to answer the door regardless of where they are in the house. This can also be said for smart locks.

The iSwitchoz range of products provide people with the ability to automate their lights and power points. They also provide voice and mobile controls to turn on and off any light of device in the home. This is perfect when you’re laid up recovering from an injury or when you need to turn on an outside light and you’re a wheelchair user.

Technology can be a challenge for the elderly (we all have a story there) but the modern smart home is becoming very user friendly. User interfaces and product design are delivering a good blend of traditional control paired with automation functionality. We as a population are living longer, we all want to stay in our homes as long as we can, if automation allows us to do that whist maintaining our independence then thats a great outcome.

So yeah home automation may be just a gimmick to some, but for others it can provide much needed assistance.