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Thursday, May 17, 2012
Special Report: January 2008
Intelligent Design
Partnering to build a senior-friendly home
Story by Ashley M.Wilborn
When Dan Michel’s father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 1993, Michel vowed to do everything he could to keep his father’s mind sharp before he died. This included creating an interactive computer system to jog his memory.
“I actually consider Dad’s illness his final gift to me,” Michel says. “It gave me focus and a purpose in life. Now his legacy will benefit other people.”
His company, Dakim Inc., is one more partner fighting the growing health issues of aging baby boomers. Alzheimer’s disease alone affected more than five million people in the United States in 2007, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
Though Michel’s father died in 2004 — before his son’s cognitive fitness system was fully realized — he experienced the first few prototypes of Dakim’s [m]Power game. Today, Eskaton — a nonprofit senior housing and service provider — is using the system as part of the technology in its new demonstration home, the Senior Smart Home for Life.
A Roseville home will be completed in the spring as a national prototype. Built by Lakemont Homes & Communities as part of the Eskaton-Certified Home program, the demo home boasts more than 140 core requirements that make up an accessible floor plan and adaptable framework specifically designed to grow with homeowners, so they age in place comfortably.
What makes this model a “smart home” is the specialized technologies for cognitive health, universal design techniques and even some green-building designs, which were developed with the input of seniors in Eskaton communities. BSB Design developed the blueprints for the home.
For example, seniors wanted an open floor plan which included accessible shelving, below 5 feet; consistent and motion-sensor lighting; designer supports in the showers, tubs and toilets; lever door handles and rocker light switches; and no stairs throughout the home.
To fulfill these requests, Eskaton sought the expertise of several partners, such as Dakim, the California Lighting Technology Center and Intel.
Michel created [m]Power as an independent gaming system that works much the way a touch-screen computer works. The game tests short- and long-term memory, language, critical thinking, visuospatial and calculation abilities. Gamers answer by touching answers on the screen. New exercises are independently downloaded nightly from the service.
The best part about the games is they use era-specific examples to test the seniors. For example, the game tests observational memory skills using examples of film clips with Jimmy Stewart and relational memory skills with examples like Walter Kronkite and his love of sailing.
Currently, institutional versions cost about $6,000 in addition to an annual subscription of $1,200 for up to 20 users per system. Individual versions cost about $2,500 with a two-year subscription of $50 a month.
Another technology Eskaton is utilizing is a Smart Vanity Lighting System created by the California Lighting Technology Center. The system creates energy-efficient lighting for the bathroom to create safe middle-of-the-night trips.
Using a combination of factors — light-emitting diode lights and occupancy sensors — the vanity saves 50 to 60 percent more energy than an incandescent system because it requires fewer watts to create light, according to the California Lighting Technology Center.
“So, the main lights are on when you need them, but once you leave the bathroom, if you forget to turn them off, the occupancy sensor turns them off for you and turns on the standby LED,” says Wes Morgan, project manager for the vanity system at CLTC. “You then have to turn the main lights on again when you come back. Often that LED standby light is enough once your eye is nighttime-adapted.”
In addition to the energy-efficient lighting, the home is also built with other green components, including solar roofing, and insulation and framing alternatives. All appliances are rated by Energy Star, a tankless water heater saves water and lowers heating bills; a clean alternative heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system and air purifier keeps the dust down and the home comfortable.
Builders and remodelers can use these technologies and designs for new homes and to retrofit existing homes. For homeowners to remodel a home with the certification and smart-home designation would cost about $15,000. Eskaton is still determining custom construction costs.
