Whirlpool Corporation, a Platinum Sponsor of the 50+ Housing Council, is leading a research project with the Continental Automated Buildings Association’s (www.caba.org) Internet Home Alliance (IHA). The study will look at what the 50+ housing consumer is looking for in a connected lifestyle. The research seeks to better define:

• Which consumer-based lifestyle solutions this lucrative market segment would like offered to them
• The features and solutions needed to meet different market/age segments
• The missing elements of a connected home that give the homeowner the lifestyle they need to stay independent and remain in their home  

The findings will be available to 50+ Housing Council members via www.nahb.org/50plusresearch and information will be available to Certified Aging-in- Place Specialists (CAPS) through NAHB’s Remodelors Council.

IHA is a cross-industry network of leading companies engaged in collaborative research to advance the connected home space. The Alliance's research projects enable participating companies to gain important insights into the connected home space and leverage those insights into viable new business opportunities. Key members of IHA include AT&T, Cisco Systems, Inc., Direct Energy, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard Company, Microsoft Corporation, Panasonic of North America, SupportSoft Inc., Visonic Inc., and Whirlpool Corporation.

The research project will be conducted in two phases:

• Phase one will first identify solutions that the 50+ market wants in a connected home to enhance their lives and encourage them to live more independently.
• Phase two will involve field testing practical solutions/systems with the target segment, and measuring the results to see if the solutions did allow the homeowner to live more independently. 

Through this effort, stakeholders hope to gain insights that enable project team members to offer and produce appropriate solutions to the senior housing market. This would include, but not be limited to, hard goods and managed services that would enhance and encourage an independent, connected lifestyle. The research findings will benefit 50+ Housing Council members by making them aware of these needs as this market segment grows, and show NAHB members how to profitably provide additional value to clients looking for these types of solutions.

This project will also supplement separate research efforts now underway by NAHB’s National Sales and Marketing Council, The NAHB Research Center and the Custom Electronic Design and Installation Association to learn from homebuilders, remodelers, and potential home buyers about the attractive value propositions for Electronic Solutions Company (ESC) services to each buying segment, and decision-making factors important to professional builders and remodelers when purchasing ESC services. Those results will be shared at the 2007 International Builders Show in Orlando, Fla. [ return to top ]