Assisted Living and Smart Homes: design solutions for an aging population

Extracted from A Guide for Assisted Living: Towards Lifehome 21 by the RIBA, 3DReid Research and the BRE. Funded by the Technology Strategy Board under the ALIP1 project, a new ground-breaking, fully illustrated design guide about assisted living considers the built environment along with the integration of digital infrastructure in homes. It looks in turn at housing standards, ergonomic data, access issues, space standards, an overview of digital connectivity, and guidance on digital assisted living technologies.

In 20 years' time, one third of Britons will be aged 60 or more. While our increasing longevity is something to celebrate, the economic, social and political implications are very significant. For example, as the population ages, the incidence of chronic disease rises dramatically.

This changing demographic means that traditional arrangements for supporting those with chronic conditions will not be sustainable even in the medium term. Neither are they desirable for the large majority of people, who want – and increasingly expect – to maintain their chosen lifestyles.

Clearly, architects and other construction professionals have a central role to play in how we cope with this pressing issue. For example, the way we design homes obviously helps people with different levels of mobility and capability to remain in their homes. What is less obvious is how to prevent them from becoming prisoners in their own homes.

Current thinking, and the motive force behind this research report, is to integrate traditional building technologies with unfamiliar or emergent ones. For example, there are enormous potential benefits from using mobile devices and services that operate seamlessly with home-based solutions, supporting users to manage conditions outside the home.

This is part of what is called 'assisted living', a concept that embraces social policy and digital technologies as well as physical buildings.

What is assisted living?

Assisted living includes approaches, services, solutions, capabilities and related technologies that:

• Help elderly people and those with chronic conditions to live active, independent and dignified lives with maximum personal control
• Help to minimise the progression of chronic conditions and consequent effects
• Help to extend individuals' participation in their communities, in work, leisure and community activities
• Help to support the capacity and effectiveness of professional and voluntary care providers to meet the needs of those with chronic conditions, while also meeting carers' own needs
• Enable support to be provided in effective, scalable and affordable ways
• Stimulate new thinking and new models of support based on contemporary and emerging technologies
• Help the designers and providers of relevant built environments to enable each of the above.

Intelligent Buildings and Smart Homes

For construction professionals, the challenge is to integrate unfamiliar or emerging technologies into the design of buildings. Buildings that manage this feat are described as 'intelligent' or 'smart'. Which technologies are used depends on the building type and function; those used in smart homes aim to enhance occupants' lifestyles or quality of life.

A smart home will include a cabling, powerline or wireless infrastructure, singly or in combination, to distribute the various electronic services around the home. The use of cable or wireless infrastructure is dependent on how reliable the services must be, with cable being more robust than powerline and wireless. Users must be able to access this infrastructure at appropriate locations in the home.

Potential benefits

Smart homes can deliver enhanced and more cost-effective web-based and technology-based services to occupants. The benefits include:

• 'Digital Inclusion' – access for all to e-services and digital information
• Improved and lower cost social care and medical care
• Maintenance reporting
• Extended independent living
• Improved personal safety, security and 'peace of mind'
• Reduced energy consumption
• Flexible control of electrical devices.

A key element is likely to be a broadband connection, to access online services such as healthcare, entertainment, shopping, banking, and community care services, and to facilitate remote monitoring and control of home systems. 'Peace of mind' services – such as being able to check the security system while away from home – along with home entertainment are two of the most appreciated features of a smart home.

Beyond the social benefits, intelligent buildings (not just homes) also reduce running costs by:

• Cutting energy use with more precise monitoring and control of water, heating and lighting
• Avoiding waste by, for example, using software to reconfigure building services instead of physically re-wiring them
• Maintaining systems only when required rather than at predetermined intervals
• Early detection of equipment breakdowns or replacement. For example, unexpected changes in the electrical load or temperature of equipment can easily be identified and can avoid catastrophic failures
• Avoiding unnecessary system replacements and upgrades by making sure that new equipment uses a common interoperable communications protocol
• Improving the management of existing equipment and other assets so that they are never lost or mislaid
• Reducing the amount of travelling by installing video conferencing, remote monitoring and data sharing equipment
• Installing 24/7 security monitoring to prevent theft and promote wellbeing.

Related NBS information:

Articles:

• Smart homes
• Public sector building: adaptable housing for special needs
• Part M: Access Statements

Selected links:

• Designing for people with disabilities
• Housing

August 2011

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