Bathrooms aren’t usually considered one of the most glamorous parts of the home, but that is quickly changing. Homeowners are giving much more attention to this room, pouring money and effort into making it both luxurious and functional. Not only do homeowners want the most bang for their buck in terms of resale value if they choose to sell their home one day, but they also want a cozy getaway within their home. If you’re considering upgrading your bathroom, keep reading to learn how smart home technology can make it more comfortable and convenient.
What is Smart Home Technology?
With the increase in technology, you may hear the terms smart homes or smart home technology often used nowadays. What exactly is it? According to a definition provided by the National Home Builders Association (NAHB), smart home technology “helps make homes’ appliances and core functions like lighting more convenient and increase security and energy efficiency.”
Whether you own an older home or a new build, you can can incorporate an array of smart home products, such as smart thermostats, faucets, lighting, and other electronics that can be controlled via smartphone, voice commands, or even the wave of a hand.
What is a Smart Bathroom?
A smart bathroom uses technology to make a bathroom more energy-efficient and practical. Smart features of bathroom technology can help you conserve energy and water by, say, automatically powering off lights when not in use and turning off the bathtub faucet when the water reaches a certain level. It can also be much more hygienic, considering many fixtures and electronics in a smart bathroom have touchless features.
Smart bathrooms give you the power to completely customize your self-care experience, from getting an alert when the shower water is just the right temperature, allowing you to stream your favorite music while you get ready, or putting on makeup in mirror that replicates natural sunlight.
Pro Tip: Richard Trethewey, TOH’s plumbing and heating expert, points out that water conservation is a key benefit of any modern smart bathroom. Dual flush toilets, for instance, use just 1.0 gallons per flush for liquids and 1.6 for solids — a simple technology upgrade that can significantly reduce your household water use.
Pros and Cons of Making Your Bathroom Smart
You don’t have to be a tech geek to want to upgrade to a smart bathroom. However, since people of different generations may potentially have to use your smart bathroom, consider these pros and cons first.
Pros
- Automation is a convenient way to save money on utility bills.
- Touchless smart home technology may be more hygienic.
- Smart technology offers energy efficiency and water conservation.
- Fixtures that incorporate smart technologies can be conveniently controlled via remote, app, motion sensors or voice command, which is an added benefit for those who are disabled or have mobility issues.
- Integrated smart technology may increase your home’s resale value.
Cons
- Installation may be expensive.
- Maintenance for this area of the home may increase.
- Children or seniors may find such enhancements confusing.
- Some people may have security concerns about smart technology.
- Such enhancements may intimidate future home buyers, limiting your buying pool.
- Improperly working sensors may be a nuisance.
Ways to Achieve a Smart Bathroom
If you are looking to remodel your space, installing smart home technologies could increase the value of your home. But the beauty is that you certainly don’t have to completely overhaul the room to get the benefit of some of these smart features.
Toilet
One of the most significant ways to upgrade your bathroom is by installing a smart toilet. These toilets are exceptionally hygienic because they have lids that open and close using motion sensor technology or remote control, so you don’t have to touch them. Other hygienic features include automatic flushing and self-cleaning.
Bidet features also enhance your personal cleanliness with water wands and air-drying functions. While these features may be standard, some other luxuries smart toilets may have are heated seats, LED night lights, and Bluetooth technology. Look for smart toilets with the water-saving WaterSense label, which can help reduce water consumption up to 20%.
Pro Tip: Richard Trethewey, TOH’s plumbing and heating expert, points out that bidet-equipped smart toilets solve a longstanding space problem in American bathrooms. Traditional standalone bidets “took up a lot more space” and required “a proper drain and vent and hot and cold water,” plus a separate toilet for solids. Today’s smart toilets combine everything into one unit, making bidet functionality practical for U.S. homes.
Shower
A smart shower can elevate your bathing experience by incorporating customization. Using virtual assistants like Alexa or Google Assistant with voice commands, many smart showers allow you to pre-set the water temperature and pressure, so it’s just right when you step in. You can even activate color-changing lights, built-in speakers for music streaming, and aromatherapy. Another nifty feature is you can program your shower to start and stop for you to limit the amount of time you spend in the shower, helping you save both water and energy. Smart showers can track water usage and offer real-time feedback, helping you conserve water and reduce utility bills, and some provide eco-friendly settings to limit water flow.
Pro Tip: Plumbing pro Kevin Bilo recommends investing in quality hardware behind the smart features: “A cast-bronze or -brass valve body is going to last longer and give you fewer problems than one with lightweight parts.” He also recommends valves with ceramic-disc cartridges, which stand up to the gritty minerals that may flow through pipes better than old-style washerless cartridges.
Lighting
Smart light technology is becoming more popular, especially in the bathroom because you can simply turn on a light using voice commands or motion sensors without having to touch a germy light switch, and it reduces electricity consumption. If you want to create a spa-like feel, you can incorporate lights with dimmers. Some allow you to set schedules, for instance, you can program the lights to gradually brighten in the morning or dim in the evening, simulating a sunrise or sunset.
Pro Tip: Susan Arnold, a lighting designer with Wolfers Lighting in Waltham, Massachusetts, and a consultant on many This Old House TV projects, calls dimmers “a lighting designer’s best friend because they grant absolute control over the lighting, and thus the mood, of the room.” In a small space like a powder room, dimming the vanity fixtures might even provide all-in-one task, ambient, and accent lighting. A bulb dimmed just 10 percent will last twice as long as one at full brightness.
Faucet
A smart faucet is another hands-free operation you can install in your bathroom. You see these types of faucets more commonly in commercial spaces such as restaurant bathrooms. However, they are becoming more common in residential homes. Compared to the laundry room and the kitchen, the bathroom uses the most water in your home, much of which could be used more efficiently. Smart faucets are activated by sensory motion or voice commands and shut off when you step away or say stop. Smart faucets can also monitor water flow, ensuring you’re only using as much water as you need.
You can also program your smart faucets to release a specific water temperature so that the water is always the perfect temperature when you need it. Touchless faucets are much more hygienic because fewer people touch the fixture than a traditional faucet. This can minimize the time you spend cleaning in the bathroom. Some models are equipped with filtration systems for cleaner water or will send notifications to your smartphone if there’s a problem, such as a leak or if the faucet is left running for too long, helping prevent water waste and damage.
Mirror
You’ll be surprised at how much more you can get out of a bathroom smart mirror. Yes, you can still do typical things with them, like shaving, fixing your hair, or brushing your teeth, however, you may also be able to get the weather and stream your favorite podcase using a smart mirror. Offering features like display screens, touch controls, and connectivity with other smart home devices, smart mirrors allow you to access the time, traffic updates, news broadcasts, and your personal calendar.
If you love extremely warm showers and the steam fogs up your mirror, smart mirrors have fog-free technology to keep moisture from preventing your ability to see yourself in the mirror. Smart mirrors often come with built-in LED lighting that can be adjusted for brightness and color temperature, and some can even provide magnification, which is helpful for tasks like applying makeup. Some models are designed with built-in cameras to allow you to make hands-free video calls.
Flooring
If you’ve ever stepped into your bathroom barefoot on a cold winter morning, you’ve probably cringed at how ice-cold it feels. If you don’t want the shock of cold floors, especially after bathing, installing radiant floor heating can make a huge difference. A heated floor system controlled by a smart thermostat allows you to control the temperature, set schedules, and monitor the system remotely to keep your floors at a pleasant temperature. Radiant flooring can be more energy-efficient than traditional heating systems, since it heats the floor directly, instead of the air.
Other Smart Bathroom Accessories
If you want to go further with your smart bathroom, here are a few more extras you can include.
Medicine Cabinet
Smart medicine cabinets have technology that allows them to remain at a constant temperature, no matter how hot your bathroom may get. This helps protect the contents inside them, including medicine and makeup. You can also program alerts to remind you when to take your medicine. It also helps keep track of your medications by monitoring inventory and expiration dates, sending reminders to restock or take medications. And as peace of mind if you have small children, it often includes security features like smart locks.
Soap Dispenser
A smart soap dispenser works by using sensors to detect when you place your hands under the dispenser, automatically releasing a measured amount of soap without having to touch anything.
Bathmat
A smart bathmat will not only keep you from slipping but also track health metrics, like your weight and body mass index, and analyze your posture and balance. By stepping on it, the mat recognizes each person’s footprint in the household and provides distinct health data.
