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- ADA Appliances, Smart Home and Universal Design
Last month’s Newsletter focused on Spring Cleaning. It’s a ritual of home management performed by people in many cultures. Early in the 1900’s, the advancements in sanitary practices and technology developments made home sanitation and care easier for Americans. One of those advancements was the addition of home appliances. Appliances for your home are essential to maintain a sanitary home environment. Sanitary engineering principles were applied broadly in the early 1900’s. Today they are a part of a daily routine for homeowners, renters and college students in dorm rooms. But what happens to a person bound to a wheelchair moving into an apartment with a stackable washer and dryer or preparing food in a kitchen with cabinets not designed with human differences in mind? Even arthritis can limit a person’s ability to move knobs on a washing machine. Stackable laundry units are hard to reach for people of a shorter stature and reaching knobs on a freestanding oven for someone bound to a wheelchair are other examples of appliance design issues to consider for each individual. That’s where Universal Design principles come in and appliances made specifically with human differences in mind (ADA appliances).
ADA Appliances are not often purchased at the Big Box stores, so employees are not specifically trained to choose the best option for people with specific physical limitations. Let’s look at some ADA appliances and why you might consider purchasing them.
ADA counters can be 3” shorter than a regular counter height normally installed in homes and apartments. The lower height allows for easier access for wheelchair bound individuals to reach, do food prep and clean all the way to the back of the counter depth. The ADA Board website contains many images to illustrate differences in counter height and depth.
Floor plans, door clearances, door swings, gates, materials, lighting, thresholds, ramps, slopes, landings, handrails, edge protection, and many other criteria are all considerations for individuals with disabilities or just builders and homeowners using Universal Design principles to increase the accessibility of the home for everyone.
Here is another example; an image from the highest rated dishwasher, the Bosch 800 series. It is 3” shorter than a traditional dishwasher to account for lower countertops.
The Avanti Refrigerator is 25” tall for individuals bound to a wheelchair. A tall refrigerator is still fine for individuals who are visually impaired, but issues arise for this impairment. So tactile stickers or labels can be used with braille or other symbols for the user. Some people (assistants or vendors) put the tactile sticker next to the bar code on the package when it is delivered or picked up and then the user can scan to ‘read’ the packages.
ADA compliant range controls are placed between 15” and 48” in height. This ensures ease of reach. People must also have room underneath the counters and appliances for their feet if wheelchair bound.
Some other considerations are hearing and visually impaired individuals in devices outside of the kitchen as well:
Safety and Security; Specialized Smoke Alarms & Carbon Monoxide Detectors; Security Systems/Alarms. Appliance Timer Notifications
Wake-Up Alarms
Phones. Captioned Phones. Deaf Video Relay Service. Alerts/Lights.
Door Lights
Assistive Listening Devices. FM Systems. Infrared Systems. Audio Induction Loops
Faucets
Most of the devices, now on the market, can also help individuals who hear and see just fine. Often I’ve found my refrigerator door open without an alarm sounding, so testing the items is crucial. Fire protection can be especially helpful with the lights or specific recordings instead of just an alarm for all homeowners, not just impaired individuals. Some other examples that would be considered Universal Design (apply to anyone) are in the new smart devices.
Smart appliances are becoming more common and these devices can have alarms connected to your phones or other messages about your appliances that can help everyone, not just for people with a disabilities. An example is the temperature of the refrigerator can be monitored closely with better technology or a message to your phone can tell you how many more minutes it takes for your dinner to cook. Lighting and home security devices that easily pair with your communications devices is another common purchase at big box stores and online by all users. Using flashing lights or vibration can assist people with hearing impairments and there are “all-in-one” steps for Smart home systems that consider using a variety of signals for different populations with different needs.
New homeowners and builders should consider these factors to enhance a sale or rental. This could be a marketing tool for a new tech savvy generation of buyers. New homeowners should also have the understanding that life may change and one may have different needs in different life stages, so consider these options even if you don’t have a current physical limitation.
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