Does the person need to use a smartphone?

No. Keypads with large engraved buttons, a motion sensor that turns the hall light on, and voice control through Josh.ai all work without a phone. The phone app is for family members who want to check in.

Can family members see what is going on?

Yes, as much or as little as the household agrees to. The Ajax app shows whether the alarm is set and whether the front door opened; cameras are optional and can be limited to the entries. Nothing is shared with anyone the homeowner does not authorize.

Does it require rewiring?

Usually not. Wireless dimmers replace existing switches, Ajax detectors are battery powered, and shades can run on battery motors. The one thing we insist on is a solid network, because everything reports through it.

It depends on how many rooms get lighting control, whether shades are included and whether a security system is part of it. A bedroom, hall, bath and entry package is the usual starting point. The instant quote gives a figure in minutes.

Smart Home Automation for Aging in Place

How does smart home automation help someone age in place?

Automation removes the trips, reaches and memory tasks that make a familiar house harder to live in. Here is what we install for older parents and clients with limited mobility across the South Sound, and what it does for the family.

Automation removes the trips, reaches and memory tasks that make a familiar house harder to live in. That means lights that come on for a night walk, shades on one button, a doorbell answered from the chair and alerts to family. Rivas Technology Group installs these for older clients across Kent, Federal Way, Tacoma and Puyallup.

By Ivan Rivas, Owner and Sales Engineer · 2024-03-01 · Updated 2026-09-17

A tidy bedroom set up for aging in place, with a grab bar by the bed, a low night light and a clear path to the bathroom

What changes when a parent stays home?

The house stays the same and the person's reach, balance and memory change, and automation closes that gap. A retirement community offers monitoring; a familiar house offers everything else. The systems below are the ones Rivas Technology Group installs for older clients and for adult children setting up a parent's home in Kent, Federal Way, Tacoma and Puyallup. None of them require learning a new gadget, and each one removes a task that used to need a trip across the room or a call to family.

How does lighting control prevent falls?

By turning the lights on before the person reaches for the switch. A motion sensor in the hall and bathroom brings a low, warm light up at night and off again after they leave. The route from bed to bathroom is never dark. A "Goodnight" button by the bed turns everything off.

Exterior lights come on at dusk, and a late return from an appointment is met by a lit path and porch. Keypads with a few large engraved buttons replace banks of switches, and voice control through Josh.ai works for someone who would rather ask. Because wireless dimmers replace the existing switches, most homes need no new wiring. Details are on the smart lighting page.

What do motorized shades do for someone with limited mobility?

They remove one of the most frequent stand-and-reach tasks in the house. Shades open on a schedule in the morning, close against afternoon glare, and close for privacy at dusk without anyone getting out of a chair. A single button or a sentence handles the whole floor. For a reader by the window, a shade that tracks the sun keeps the light comfortable all afternoon. Battery motors mean no wiring for a retrofit, and the shades join the lighting scenes so "Goodnight" closes the house. See the shades page.

How does security help both the parent and the family?

A verified alarm gives the parent a system that acts when they cannot, and gives the family a way to check in without calling. We install Ajax: a keypad by the door, contacts on the entries, and MotionCam detectors that send a photo within 9 seconds of a trigger (Ajax MotionCam). With professional monitoring, a UL-listed central station sees the photo, calls the contact list and dispatches.

Panic buttons and a wearable fob can call for help from anywhere in the house. Leak and smoke detectors on the same hub report a burst pipe or a stove left on to the phone of whoever the household names. The hub keeps reporting through an outage over Ethernet, Wi-Fi and two cellular SIM channels (Hub 2 Plus).

A video doorbell or an Akuvox intercom at the entry lets the person see and talk to a visitor from a chair. A smart lock lets a caregiver or family member in on a code that can be revoked later. Cameras, if the household wants them, are usually limited to the entries and driveway.

What does the family see?

Whatever the household agrees to share, and nothing more. The Ajax app shows whether the system is armed, when the front door opened and whether a detector fired. That is often enough for an adult child in Renton to know a parent in Tacoma is up and about. Alerts go to the people the homeowner names. Nothing is shared with anyone else, and the hardware belongs to the homeowner whether monitoring is on or off.

How do we design it?

Around the person first. We visit and walk the house with the homeowner and, where they want it, the family. We note the routes they take at night, the windows they fight with, the doors they answer and the tasks that have become hard. The proposal follows from that list. Our own team installs it, sets it up on a keypad and a voice assistant the person is comfortable with, and stays reachable afterward through support. The Control4 platform underneath is the same one we use in every home; the difference is how simply it is presented.

Need it installed?

Rivas Technology Group designs and installs smart home automation and Ajax security for aging in place from Kent across south King County and Pierce County. Book a walk-through, with or without the person who will live with it, and we will design from what they need.