Safety, Maintenance Alerts, and Energy Savings Delivered Step by Step
During new construction and remodeling, homeowners have more options than ever before, including smart floor technology, which offers a broad range of functions using sensors embedded in or under flooring materials. Developed in the 1990s, sensing floors provide alerts based on walking and other activity or pressure that triggers the sensors. Commercial and institutional use came first, providing data to business owners on foot traffic patterns and health care providers on resident gait issues and potential falls.
Smart Floor Use in Residential Settings
Because the sensors install fairly easily beneath most common flooring types, all spaces in a home can take advantage of the technology. Ways to improve day-to-day living with smart flooring include:
- Using sensors to turn lights on and off as individuals enter rooms
- Adjusting heating and cooling systems, including in-floor radiant operation, dependent upon when and how many people occupy different spaces
- Providing secondary authentication for security systems, both reducing the chance of false alarms when entry is detected but no intruder exists inside and sounding the alarm when exterior security fails to note the presence of an intruder that the smart floor tracks walking through your home
- Detecting leaks and spills so mitigation interventions can prevent damage to building materials
Health and Welfare Checks
As more people explore aging in place, smart floors offer some innovative support. Reaching back to the successful use of sensors in assisted living and more highly skilled care centers, today’s smart floor can signal concerning events like trips or falls. Floor sensors monitored regularly alert family members or caregivers to changes in daily routines. Information shared consistently and remotely ensures that elderly or people with disabilities receive swift interventions and resources to allow them to live at home safely and with dignity.