More and more people are integrating smart home systems into their daily lives. From smart appliances to smartphones to smart voice assistants – all these help make our lives easier. You’d think the world wouldn’t need it but we’ve officially moved toward smart showers.
A smart shower offers the convenience of total control over how you take your showers. It connects to your home’s network and becomes part of your smart home ecosystem. This gives you remote and voice control wherever in your house. You can take automated showers and enjoy the extra smart safety features that come with it.
Of course, smart shower systems are not for everyone, especially with the price tag full systems could come in. If you want to take it slow, there are other options you can take traditional showers to the next level.
Below, we’ll go over the basics of a smart shower – what it is and how it works. We’ll also discuss all the features that make smart showers worth it.
What is a Smart Shower System?
Thanks to the nonstop innovation of modern technology, we are at an age where we enjoy everything in its “smart” version. From smart TVs to smartphones to smart refrigerators, smart homes are slowly becoming the norm.
A smart shower is like your traditional shower in the basics of how it works. What makes a shower smart is the convenience of total control.
With a smart shower setup, you can have complete control over precise water temperatures, the water’s flow rate, the duration of the shower, and so much more.
Unlike traditional showers that we control with dials and levers, smart showers use a touchpad for the ultimate smart shower controller. A shower experience with a smart shower would typically involve one-push buttons, touchscreens, and LED displays.
What makes appliances such as showers truly smart is internet-connectivity. A connection over your home’s Wi-Fi network also means your new smart shower is easily-accessible through an app on your phone.
This high-tech connectivity allows you and the other occupants in your home to have easy and remote access to your shower. This lets you turn it on and off, set water temperatures, or get it ready without having to actually walk to the shower.
And like all appliances part of your smart home ecosystem, you can connect and control a smart shower with voice assistants like Google or Alexa. Check out the Moen Smart Shower here for this feature.
Smart Shower vs Digital Shower
If you’re researching smart showers, you might notice some sites and manufacturers using the words “smart” and “digital” interchangeably. Technically speaking, these two words have completely different meanings.
A digital shower uses a built-in digital thermostat to control and set your preferred temperatures when taking showers. You can control this with a control or digital panel in the shower. While a digital shower is certainly an upgrade to traditional showers, it only ever lets you control precise water temperatures.
On the other hand, smart showers give you that precise temperature control and more. With it, you can set and control more programs and configurations to make your showers a spa-like experience.
How Do Smart Showers Work?
Smart showers use smart electric controls to precisely set and configure various shower settings.
Typically, a smart shower has digital controls on a control pad or panel. This can have buttons, a touchscreen, or sometimes, even both. This is what you use to control the settings of the smart shower to get your desired temperature.
Additionally, smart showers have wireless transmitters. These let them connect to your home’s Wi-Fi network, which enables connection and control from the app or through a smart home assistant.
Upgrading Your Traditional Shower
If you’re considering upgrading to smart shower technology, you have three basic options:
Thermostatic valves
You can take your regular shower up a notch with a thermostatic valve fixture. What this does is control the amount of cold and hot water that comes out of your shower. This keeps temperatures at levels of your preference.
Digital temperature controls
You can get rid of the traditional knobs and levers and replace them with a digital temperature control panel instead. This involves a digital screen that lets you know what your shower’s current temperature and rate of water flow are.
Full smart shower systems
And if you want to take your shower experience to a whole different level, consider installing a full shower system. A whole system would include both the thermostatic valve and digital temperature control right on your shower wall.
Plus, you will be getting a smart showerhead and a convenient high-tech connection. This makes your shower will officially be part of your smart home ecosystem.
What are Common Smart Shower Features?
Here, we’ll go over all the common features you can expect from a smart shower:
- Precise water temperature
With a smart shower, you can precisely control your shower’s water temperature. No more second-guessing if you’ve got the temperature just right. Right at the control panel, you deal with precise numbers so you know what you’ll be expecting when the water hits you.
Also, you can say goodbye to standing and waiting around for the water to reach the right temperature you want. Now you won’t have to stick your hand out to gauge whether the hotness or coldness is enough.
- Customization and personalization
Smart shower technologies will allow you to customize and personalize your shower experience – from temperature to duration.
What’s more, you and your family can have your own shower presets. This lets you get the shower ready with a single touch of a button. Simply set your preferences the first time and the smart shower can save it for future and repeated use.
- Additional safety features
It’s pretty easy to burn yourself when you’re in the shower, blindly gauging the hot and cold water mixture.
With a smart shower, your thermostatic mixing valve will automatically mix the cold and hot water according to your set temperature. There will be no sudden burst of cold or hot water while you’re under the shower.
Additionally, smart shower safety features allow you to set a limit on how high the water temperature can be set. This is especially beneficial for households with kids and seniors who have extra sensitive skin and might accidentally set the temperature too high.
- Wireless connectivity
A smart shower connects to your home’s Wi-Fi network. This makes your smart shower a part of your home’s smart ecosystem as well.
Being connected to your home’s network gives you access and control over the entire smart shower unit with the brand’s application.
When your smart shower connects to the same home network as the rest of your appliances, you can access and control it through other appliances as well if they allow it. Other appliances and applications can also access data to make the rest of your smart home more efficient for your needs and daily schedules.
- Remote and voice control
Wireless connectivity to your home’s network opens the door for convenient remote control through the unit’s app.
Having remote control allows you and other family members to have access to the shower even without getting up to go to the bathroom. This means you can turn on the shower so it’s ready by the time you get there.
Smart showers can also be controlled by smart voice assistants like Google Assistant or Amazon Alexa. You can turn your shower on or off anywhere in the house.
- Automate showers
Smart showers allow you to automate your daily shower routines.
For instance, you can set the shower to start and have it ready for you even before you wake up. You can even set it to run at a certain temperature for a certain amount of time.
All these automated configurations will make your morning more efficient so you can get ready for work faster.
- Eco-friendly and reduces water consumption
Smart shower configurations allow you to control how much water you use with every shower. You can also control the rate of flow of the water. Plus, you can even set a limit or duration of the shower so you can use even less water.
This reduces your household’s water consumption. This is not only more eco-friendly for the environment but also helps you lessen your energy consumption, reducing utility and water bills.
- Modern and sleek design
Smart showers come in very sleek and modern designs. You can choose one that perfectly goes with the rest of your home’s decor.
How Much Do Smart Showers Cost?
Smart showers can cost anywhere from $1,000 to $30,000. This range seems broad and extensive, and might not make much sense. But that’s because it depends on what smart shower you’re hoping to purchase and install in your home.
Of course, full shower systems will cost more since you’re installing every single component at once – from control panels to shower heads to digital screens.
If you think you’re not ready to spend all out for a whole shower system, you can definitely upgrade shower components one by one. You can start with thermostatic valves and then move on to digital control panels.
Doing this will give you time to decide what components your home actually needs and discard other components you don’t think are necessary.
Brand names and models will also play a role in how much you will spend upgrading to a smart shower system.
Conclusion
In the age of smart appliances, smart gadgets, and smart homes – bathrooms and showers are not going to just idly sit. Though one wouldn’t think it’s necessary, smart showers are slowly cementing their place in many home spaces.
A smart shower takes traditional shower experiences up a notch. With a smart shower system in place, you have complete control over precise water temperatures, built-in smart safety features, and automated showers. And thanks to its wireless connectivity feature, smart showers allow for remote and voice control.
And that has been our detailed guide on everything smart shower. You can reach out to us below for any more questions you’d like us to answer next!
