Smart technology is growing like wildfire, especially when it comes to bathroom gadgets. Cool stuff like lights, mirrors, showers, and tubs are smoothly linking up with home automation systems. It's a big leap forward. Imagine stepping into your bathroom and having total command over every little thing, making your bath time even better. It's like living in a futuristic movie. Let's dive into the various pieces that come together to create a smart bathroom.
Smart Home Devices for a Smart Bathroom
1. Smart Toilets
A smart toilet comes with smart features that extend its functionality past its regular flushing and refilling capabilities.
Smart toilets can have features ranging from automatic flushing and self-cleaning capabilities to integrated speakers and seat warmers.
Benefits of a Smart Toilet
Installing a smart toilet in your home has many advantages. Here are some of them:
Ease of Use and Luxury
Smart toilets offer an upgrade in both luxury and functionality to other toilets. They provide features that include heated seats, foot warmers, and bidet massagers to make your toilet breaks more pleasurable.
Hygiene
Thanks to the variety of sensors and wireless control available, you can avoid touching bacteria-infested toilet surfaces. As a result, a smart toilet is as hygienic as it gets.
Sustainability
Smart toilets can help make your bathroom more sustainable. With its eco-friendly features, you save more water in the long run.
Additional Features
Smart toilets have features such as automatic deodorizers, seat warmers, self-cleaning, and speakers.
Features to Look for In a Smart Toilet
Every smart toilet should provide some basic functionality. Here are some of them:
- Soft-closing, automated seats
- Smart, quiet flush capabilities
- Heated seats
- Bidet wash with adjustable pressure settings
2. Smart Mirrors
A smart mirror is basically a regular mirror outfitted with LCD and touchscreen capabilities. Utilizing the LCD, you can display notifications, apps, and other media over the mirror.
Smart mirrors can also have other features such as Bluetooth speakers, voice assistants, and LED lights.
What Can You Do with Smart Mirrors?
Most smart mirrors operate just like bigger phone screens. You can download apps, watch videos, get updates about the weather, and other notifications.
Additionally, you can play your favorite songs using their two-way speakers while getting ready. You can also link the speakers up to your voice assistants and control the mirror hands-free.
One particularly fantastic feature they have is facial recognition and motion tracking. Using this, you can monitor your workout form in the mirror and even get beauty tips as you get ready.
They even have LED backlights that help when applying makeup and taking selfies.
Features to Look for In a Smart Mirror
When getting a smart mirror, there are some key basic features you should look out for. Here are some of them:
- Anti-fogging
- Adjustable LED backlights
- Voice assistant compatibility
- Integrated Bluetooth speakers
3. Smart Glass
Smart glass is a form of glass that can alter its transparency or opacity. It blocks the light passing through the glass totally or partially using electricity and active materials in the glass.
As a result, your glass fixtures will go from clear to translucent to opaque at just the press of a button.
What Can You Do with a Smart Glass?
Smart glass can replace privacy features such as shower curtains in the bathroom thanks to its light-blocking capabilities.
These glass panels will give your bathroom a sleeker, more modern look. Not to mention, smart glass is more hygienic, easier to clean, and offers better privacy options.
Additionally, since most models are made from tempered glass, smart glass is the safer option.
Features to Look for In a Smart Glass
Before buying smart glass for your bathroom, here are a few key features you should look for:
- Tempered glass
- Adjustable opacity
- Type of shower enclosure
4. Smart Showers
Smart showers integrate digital and wireless features into regular showers to provide robust and precise shower control.
For example, using a digital thermostat, you can set the exact shower temperature and pressure you want via an LCD in the shower.
Even better, you can do this remotely via an app or a voice assistant, thanks to the smart home integration via Wi-Fi.
What Are the Benefits of Smart Showers?
Apart from the digital controls they offer, smart showers have many other benefits.
Sustainability
With a smart shower system, you can track your water and energy usage via an app. You can also set timers for your showers to conserve more water.
Customizable Profiles
You can save your favorite shower options in the smart shower app and activate them when needed. This saves a lot of time and stress.
Voice Assistant Integration
Controlling your shower hands-free from anywhere in your house is a big flex. You can integrate the smart shower into your smart home setup and take advantage of this.
Hydrotherapy
Thanks to the precise control offered by smart showers, you can use them for therapy. For example, you can vary the pressure and temperature to achieve healing effects.
If you don’t want a fully integrated smart shower, there are still several ways you can spruce up your shower.
Shower Timer
You can install these devices in your shower to help track your water and energy usage. They help you get a value for how much energy your shower uses.
You can also use them to time your showers. They alert you via an alarm or by automatically shutting off your water when you exceed the limit.
Speakers
If you simply want to enjoy your shower tunes, you can go for a smart shower speaker. You can easily install these waterproof, Bluetooth speakers in your shower and enjoy your music.
5. Smart Lights
Smart lights are one of the most popular smart fixtures in smart homes.
They are LED lights that you can control wirelessly using any smart device of your choice. You can also automate your lights, change their colors, reduce their intensity, and switch them off at specific times.
For example, you can program a Philips hue bulb to take up a warmer tone as the sun goes down.
Do I Need Smart Lights In the Bathroom?
Smart lights offer more benefits than traditional light fixtures.
Wireless Control
From your room or kitchen, you can control the lighting in your bathroom using an app or voice control. You can even set it to come on and off at specific intervals.
Customizability
Perhaps you want to soak in your bath with some mood lighting and good music after a long day. Using smart lights, you can optimize your bathroom’s lighting to provide the best hue depending on the situation.
Energy Efficiency
Although their initial costs might be higher, smart lights are more energy-efficient than traditional lights.
Features to Look for In Smart Bulbs
There are several brands of smart lights on the market. Here are some of the things to look out for when selecting one:
- Light type (bulb, LED strip, and recessed lighting)
- Multicolored or single color
- Connection type (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and hub)
- IP rating
6. Smart Bathtubs
A smart tub is a premium, luxury centerpiece for any smart bathroom. With a smart tub, you can soak in a tub perfectly adjusted to your liking.
They combine precise temperature and bath volume control to create the perfect bath. Using an app, you can also access special features including fog, steam, and light control for a more immersive experience.
Do I Need a Smart Bathtub?
Unfortunately, smart bathtubs are not cheap. On the contrary, they are quite expensive, with units often running into thousands of dollars.
However, if you can afford one, you should go for it. A smart bathtub provides many benefits and will elevate your bath time to a memorable experience.
Here are some of the benefits of owning a smart bathtub.
Fully Immersive Experience
With a smart bathtub, you can control everything from the water temperature to the lights and music. So, you can fine-tune the settings to create a truly relaxing bath.
Precise Automated Control
Most of us have experienced that feeling of frustration when the bath runs over or is not at the right temperature. With smart bathtubs, this isn’t an issue.
The digital controls always get it right every single time.
7. Smart Floor Heating
Cold floors in your bathroom can make for quite an unpleasant shock, especially in the morning. This is where smart floor heating systems come in.
Using a smart floor heating system, you can heat the floor and the bathroom system to a convenient temperature.
So, you can pad around your bathroom comfortably with your bare feet.
How Does Smart Floor Heating Work?
Smart floor heating systems utilize electric in-floor heating systems to produce heat. However, what really makes the system smart is the digital thermostat.
What Are Smart Floor Heating Thermostats?
Smart floor heating thermostats are wireless temperature regulation devices. The thermostat reads the temperature of the in-floor heating system and regulates it to the desired level.
You can program this thermostat to your desired temperature using an app via Wi-Fi or a voice assistant. You can also set timers, monitor your energy usage, and wirelessly turn the system on and off.
What Are the Benefits of a Smart Floor Heating System?
Some of the perks that come with installing smart floor heating systems include the following.
Increased Comfort
With heated floors, you can walk around in your bathroom barefoot without worrying about the cold.
Energy Savings
Using the smart floor thermostat, you can program the heater to only operate at certain times. This will help reduce the household’s energy consumption.
8. Shower Steam Generators
Shower steam generators can help transform your bathroom into a personal spa. Once you have it set up in your bathroom, you won’t need to go to public saunas for a schvitz again.
Shower steam generators transform water into steam and deliver it into the shower enclosure. You can control the amount of steam produced via a digital keypad or an app.
Luxury steam generators also come with several add-ons for a better experience. These include aromatherapy pumps for essential oils, Bluetooth speakers for music, mood lighting, and more.
What Are the Benefits of Shower Steam Generators?
Shower steam generators essentially help you create your own private, personal sauna.
You can use them for stress relief and relaxation. You can also tap into the health benefits of the sauna and use it to rid your body of toxins and improve blood circulation in your body.
Features to Look for In a Shower Steam Generator
Here are some features to look for in a smart shower:
- Steam delivery speed
- Wireless/remote control
- Auto-cleaning capabilities
The Verdict
Smart bathrooms offer a level of functionality much more advanced than regular bathrooms. These technologies make life easier and provide a better bathroom experience.
So, if you’re remodeling your bathroom, we recommend upgrading it with some smart products and features.