The benefits of providing care home residents with wireless lighting controls
The right lighting is even more important in a care home setting than almost any other residential environment – and controls are an important element of that.
Older people should feel like they are almost in a big family, feeling safe, happy and comfortable with their needs fully supported.
One clear way to help with this is by providing residents with wireless lighting controls that are simple to use, effective and allow them to choose the lighting levels they need at any time of the day or night.
Wireless controls installed as part of a well-designed LED lighting set-up can help to enhance the quality of life of elderly residents, some of whom may be dealing with various levels of dementia. This condition demands a particular focus on the best lighting to help sufferers engage better with their environment, improving independence.
Better care home lighting with the right controls can improve health and even reduce the numbers of residents who are diagnosed as visually impaired. It’s also well known that improvements to lighting help to reduce falls and instances of depression.
Care home lighting that feels good
With the right lighting and agile controls, the care home can create an environment that also helps sleep, while giving residents a sense of feeling good and stimulates social participation.
Lighting controls that are well-designed will meet the varying needs of elderly residents, providing better visibility, particularly when moving around.
Easy-to-use wireless controls will help residents to manage and choose their lighting at any time, wherever they are in their room. Portability of the control unit is a great help, particularly for those who have difficulty moving freely.
It means that they don’t have to get up from their bed or chair to adjust the lighting if they want to read or rest. It enables them to select the appropriate light levels if they want to use the bathroom or change clothes.
Having the ability to control lighting with simple remote control units also can reduce the underlying levels of anxiety that elderly people often suffer as they now feel more in charge of their personal space. For some, there is a comfort in having a “modern” environment as well.
Ease of installation
In the past, smart lighting control has involved extensive re-wiring to run from sensors and actuators to control and monitoring centres, with the associated high costs and massive disruption, along with increased fire safety management.
In many care homes, the building infrastructure is a challenge and a wired system might prove impossible to install. To provide all the benefits of controls for residents, the wireless option is ideal for retrofits – with little or no effect on the existing fabric of the building.
New devices such as wireless-enabled sensors can be placed where needed in residents’ rooms and other areas, overcoming any restrictions that would face an expensive wired system.
Flexibility and responsiveness is a requirement for any effective wireless lighting control system in a care home. One solution that perfectly matches this need is the Lutron Pico.
The beauty of the Pico control is the freedom to change the lighting environment in a way which suits current needs.
If you’re looking to improve the lighting in a care home, then fill out the form below and one of our lighting experts will be in touch.
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