Older Living - Ideas

Here are a few simple ideas which can help make life less difficult about the home.

Install DECT (cordless phones)

A few cordless phones arranged around the home (with maybe one being carried at all times) can make getting to the phone quickly much easier. Don't forget that DECT phones don't work without mains power to the base station. Ideally have a conventional wired phone plugged into the same socked as the base station as a fallback.

If you want to be very fancy, consider a small UPS (uninterruptable power supply) for the DECT base station (the solution used in the project M home), cost typically about £35.

 

Install Time Switches for lights around the home

saves reaching down to switch on side lamps throughout the house

A slightly more expensive option, install remote control mains plugs (often called standby savers)

Makes it easy to switch on and off appliances / lights without reaching down to floor level. Also an easy way of ensuring that all appropriate appliances are switched off at the end of the day (safety issue).

 

 

Consider a panic button

These devices require a subscription to a monitoring agency, typical cost about £100 per year. You get a base unit connected by phone line to the monitoring agency and a wireless key fob which you can press to cause the base unit to call the agency. They will then call back and attempt to contact you via a speaker in the base unit or by you house phone, else they will summon assistance. Don't put the base unit on a UPS (see DECT phone section above). A power failure will alert the agency also, and you may want this to happen. If you use a UPS the agency will be unaware of the power failure.

Install a key safe outside the property, give the code to relevant persons

A key safe is a small box which can be concealed outside the property. It contains a key which can only be accessed with a combination. A person outside the property can be told its location and the combination code in order to obtain the key and access the property.

 

 

 

 

Install Low Energy (l.e.) light bulbs throughout the home

• saves money
• l.e. bulbs last longer, reaching to change the bulb is a less frequent task
• l.e. bulbs tend to 'fade' so the replacement of an ageing bulb can be planned
• l.e. bulbs don't tend to blow suddenly. This avoids tripping circuit breakers/fuses... fuse boxes are often inaccessible to an elderly person

Reposition the main fuse box

Fuse / circuit breaker boxes are often hard for a less able person to reach. If possible have an electrician reposition the box so that it can be reset more easily. For safety reasons consider upgrading to a RCD circuit breaker set. Actually you can simply get the main circuit breaker repositioned, and leave the consumer unit where it is, this is much simpler and cheaper.

Fit emergency lights or position battery powered light around the home in convenient locations.

You can purchase plug in lights which activate when the mains fails. This can help avoid being caught out in total darkness. A typical light costs about £25. One brand is the Safe-T-Lite. Screwfix have a range of good value commercial lights that can perform this role as well.

A much cheaper option is to buy a number of battery powered lamps positioned about the house (best near light switches that would normally be used). Lamps light these can be purchased for as little as £1 each.