specialists — builders, remodelers and ESCs -— to help them out.
Tony Crasi, president and founder of The Crasi Company, a custom home builder and remodeler in Akron, Ohio, said that the biggest concern of the clients he sees who express an interest in home health technology is keeping their parents safe in their home.
Many builders and ESCs understand this concern, because it is one they share. “It’s kind of a personal issue,” said Ric Johnson, of Elite Systems Solutions, an ESC in Waynesville, Ohio, who is an integrator of home health technologies. “I’m in that 50-plus age crowd now,” he said. “My parents are aging; my wife’s parents have aged. We’ve seen the things that happen as your health deteriorates and people have to become more involved in actively monitoring and seeing what’s happening with you.”
Complicating the picture, some older individuals have a very different perception of their needs and feel that home monitoring is unnecessary. More than half of adult children, or 54%, think their parents will need the help of home monitoring, compared to only 27% of older parents, according to AARP.
Among “active adults” for whom health ailments aren’t yet a great concern, there is an ability and eagerness to stay fit, which is also opening up new opportunities in home technology. Johnson said his company has installed exercise rooms with sound systems and programmable TV screens that provide an enjoyable diversion for users during their workouts. The capability of custom-designing an exercise and dietary plan based on the interactions of individuals with their treadmills or other exercise machines is on the not-too-distant horizon, he said.
Johnson added that one of the fastest-growing areas of interest for the 50+ crowd is gaming. “A lot of these people like to do the Wii, the bowling and the golf,” Johnson said. “So we’ve built game rooms that offer Wii's with big TV screens, lots of space and sophisticated sound systems,” he said. ‘When they hit that golf shot,
the Wii has the clapping and the cheering. It’s like being on a championship course.”
To find a local electronic systems contractor, visit at
www.ghba.org/ membership/
find-a-member.html. Article provided courtesy of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).
KRAFTSMAN
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