The lit home
Melisa Duque · 2024
This chapter focuses on the lived experiences of older people living in rural, regional, and remote areas of New South Wales, Australia, who joined a trial to test smart home devices to evaluate their potential if and when integrated as part of the delivery of aged care services for people ‘ageing in place.’ It particularly examines the routines that participants developed with smart lights installed in bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, dining, and lounge areas. Some participants set up devices to activate by motion for front and garage doors, while others scheduled them to turn on at medication times as reminders. All devices had colour options with adjustable levels of brightness that participants could activate by voice through a digital voice assistant connected to the lights or by manual switches. The chapter develops the concept of the lit home as an analytical tool to make sense of light sources and lighting practices that support people’s everyday routines at home and that are important for their processes of designing homeliness, while addressing their needs of feeling safe, secure, and comfortable.