subject: Choosing the Best Elderly Home Alert System [print this page] Choosing the Best Elderly Home Alert System
Women who ordinarily bear the responsibilities for child and elderly care while providing a second income to their households often feel uneasy about leaving the elderly all alone at home. Suffering a fall or heart attack and facing intruders are just some of the things to worry about while you're out at work, but you can minimize these risks by teaching your loved ones how to operate an elderly home alert system.
How an elderly home alert system works
The emergency home alert system generally consists of a trigger device and a response network that takes care of sending medical help or contacting immediate relatives and neighbours of the system's user.
The trigger device is a portable unit which contains a radio transmitter that sends a radio signal to nearby electronic equipment or a base that is connected to a fixed telephone system. The home alarm is activated by pushing a button or pulling a cord on the trigger device and the base will automatically dial the numbers to a control centre, some neighbour, immediate relative or friend.
The portable transmitter is often worn as a pendant, wrist band or a clip on attached to clothing. This system, however, has its disadvantages:
* Limited range of coverage: Radio signals must be within a specific radius from the base to trigger the alarm. It only works well when the user is inside the house. Physical obstructions and electronic appliances may also affect the transmission of radio signals.
* Problems during power outage: The base is a piece of electronic equipment that may be affected by power outage.
* Purchase costs: This system requires a costly investment in equipment that may require professional installation before it can be used.
Pendant alarm alternatives
Most pendant alarm alternatives such as the wrist band and clip on still require some electronic base for them to work and do not provide the kind of reliability of a direct dialer system. This emergency call system uses only a mobile phone to trigger the elderly home alert regardless of where the user may be.
Pushing a single number, usually '5' which is centrally located on the keypad and marked by a raised dot, automatically dials several people at the same time. This increases the elderly's chances of obtaining assistance quickly unlike other systems that make only one call at a time.
This state of the art elderly home alert system does not require any investment in electronic equipment because it works with any mobile phone and most mobile networks. Anyone can easily use this system because it takes minutes to configure it online without any downloaded applications.
