Hi!
I plan to set up Homey Pro for my parents. I will be using Homeydash.com as a manual control option for my parents as the app has too many sub-menus for the elderly.
Which apps, ideas and devices do you find appropriate for seniors?
I apologize for my bad english.
P.S .: I know that there is also a community in my language, but I think that I can get more answers if I post in English.
Thank you very much and I wish you a nice weekend.
Thanks for this tip. Which button is that in the picture?
Must say i think Homeydash.com is an excellent choise!
Aqara Opple, stickers are added by me.
As well as that I’d also try to teach them to use voice assistance’s such as Siri or Alexa… (Google is a bit crap)…
Another side benefit to this is also say only one of them is at home by themselves, or say the other one is up the other end of the house asleep and if one of them fall’s over and breaks a leg/hip and can’t get up , all they have to do is say… “Hey Siri, call Ambulance” or “Call Son” …
I haven’t used any of the Amazon products but from personal experience I’ve found the ability of the HomePod mini to be able to listen out for and understand voice it is totally insane and next level…
I can have my TV going at a decent volume , be in the next room and it will still pickup and understand what I said.
Apple also have a good system in which if the Ambulance is called (via Siri) all your parent’s information is automatically uploaded to the responders computer. Things such as their address , their ID , blood type , allergies, age , next of kin … etc etc … Very handy if they are incapacitated, having issues being able to talk or are under major stress…
You can also program a HomeKit automation to unlock the front door and light when the Ambulance is called…
I have a HomePod mini myself and I am super happy with it. If I activate HomeKit in the Homey Pro experiments, shouldn’t it be possible to control the devices via the HomePod, right?
It’s generally recommended to use the App “HomeyKit” , rather than use Athoms implementation…
Once HomeyKit is installed on your Homey go and add your Homey as a “bridge” to your Apple HomeKit.
Once that’s done Homey should then expose all its devices to HomeKit… (just the relevant ones)
You can then say “turn on the lounge room light” ,… etc etc
If you use Heimdal it will expose it as being an Alarm Panel . You can receive alerts , arm , disarm … etc etc
If you have Air conditioners you can control the temp fan speed , etc etc …
If you have a smart TV , you can turn on and off…
Great!
Thank you for sharing your ideas.
I think I’ll buy a HomePod mini or two.
Siri voice control and the HomeKit architecture have really crept up and have evolved the last couple years are getting really really good.
HomeKit still has the old issue of compatible hardware but with Homey, Home Bridge , Home Assistant, there’s plenty of work arounds. Also with the “matter” standard coming up all new things will be instantly compatible…
I really have to say Siri wipes the floor in terms of speed and response compared to Google’s voice assistance . It’s very snappy and sharp. I have the latest Google Audio… (for testing) so I can speak from experience.
Siri’s ability to understand what your saying , especially when in a very noisy environment or when your some distance away is scary… It’s almost hard to believe how it does it… Can listen better than an actual human…
I can have my music at a very decent level (not super mega loud) and it will still pickup what I say… That’s with it being 4 meters away from me.
One recommendation I can also make. I would use the British female voice if wanting to use English… It’s far more pleasing to listen to when listening to response’s … Very pleasant to work with …
I absolutely agree with you. I switched from Amazon Alexa to HomeKit last year. Now I’ve heard a lot about smart homes for seniors and the elderly. So I looked at Homey. I have just ordered a Homey Pro and will also report here how everything works and whether my parents like it.
I’ll also be going to get a couple of ZigBee lightbulbs from IKEA, a motion detector for each room, two HomePod minis, and two Aquara Opple.
Thanks for the hint with the voice, however, my parents and I come from Germany and they understand almost no English. Therefore I will use a German voice.
The motion detector can then also notify me if there has been no movement for too long, as this can indicate a fall.
(Now that I’ve read what Homey Pro can do, I think I’ll order one for my home too.)
