Smart lighting for a safer home: a guide for seniors and families

A lot of the everyday risk at home comes down to light: fumbling for a switch in the dark, a front step that isn’t lit, a house that looks empty for a week. Smart lighting fixes most of that with a few inexpensive plug-in devices.

Night-time paths

Getting up at night to use the bathroom means walking through a dark room, often half-awake. Small motion-activated night lights placed along the route from the bed to the bathroom switch on softly as you pass and turn themselves off afterwards. There’s nothing to remember and no switch to find.

They plug into a wall outlet or run on batteries, and most can be set to a dim, warm glow so they don’t wake anyone up fully.

Outdoor lights that look after themselves

Porch and driveway lights on a dusk-to-dawn schedule mean the front steps are always lit when you come home, and the house never sits dark. Smart schedules adjust with the seasons automatically, so there’s no fiddling with a timer when the clocks change.

Lamps you can turn on by voice

With a smart plug and a smart speaker such as Amazon Echo or Google Nest, you can say “turn on the living room lamp” from the doorway instead of crossing a dark room to reach it. It’s also handy for anyone with arthritis or limited mobility who finds small switches awkward.

“Away” mode while you travel

An empty house with no lights on for a week is easy to spot. Smart lights can switch on and off at varied times in the evening, so it looks like someone’s home while you’re at the cottage or visiting family.

Peace of mind for family

If a family member helps look after the home, they can be given access to the lights too. They can check the porch light is on, or turn a lamp on remotely before a parent gets home in the evening.

Plug-in or hardwired?

• Plug-in and battery devices, such as smart plugs, smart bulbs, motion night lights and battery motion sensors, need no wiring at all. We set these up directly.
• Hardwired devices, such as smart wall switches or new outdoor fixtures, are electrical work. In Ontario that should be done by a licensed electrical contractor. We can coordinate with an electrician for the installation, then handle the app, schedules and voice control ourselves.

A simple starter setup

• Two or three motion night lights for the bedroom-to-bathroom path
• Smart bulbs or a smart plug for the porch or entrance light
• A smart plug for the main living room lamp
• A smart speaker, if you’d like voice control