Smart Plumbing Coming Down the ‘Pipe’

First thing first, yes, yes of course we know the saying is coming down the pike, but forgive us a bit of plumbing pun would ya? Alright, so, with everything else in the home getting smarter shouldn’t our bathroom enjoy the increased IQ? That’s right, joining TVs, thermostats, fridges come pipes, toilets, faucets and more! This time on the Economy Plumbing Services blog were going to look at some of the cutting edge tech coming out of the Consumer Electronics Show earlier this year.

Smart Plumbing Coming Your Way

While having a fridge know when to order fresh milk is cool, the real game-changer coming is are smart pipes! This isn’t a brand new endeavor, engineers have been looking to create a smarter pipe for half a decade now. The tech wasn’t quite performing like people hoped and wasn’t adopted far and wide to change the landscape of plumbing. The next couple of years might change that! Here are some components coming that when added to your plumbing will change the game!

Smart Leak Detectors

Moen, the company behind many fixtures and features, debuted a new product at CES called Flo.  It’s a puck-shaped device that is installed nearby common leak locales, such as the washing machine, hot water tank, or under sinks. The detector has various sensors to detect if there’s a change in temperature or the presence of water. Should it sense water or temperatures dipping into freezing it will send an alert to your smartphone to let you know ‘Hey! There’s a leak!’ Each of these pucks runs about $50 which individually feels expensive for what it does, but if it detects even one leak it can save you that and then some, easily.

As G.I. Joe says, knowing is half the battle. The other half…

Smart Shut-Off Systems

… is knowing how to use that knowledge! So you detect a leak and your smartphone pings with the update – what happens if you’re away from the house or on vacation? That’s where a smart shut-off tool can help! Moen has that covered too, creating a one-two punch of detecting and action when any leak crops up, stopping the water before the leak becomes too catastrophic. These tools detect signs of the leak, like fluctuating water pressure, and trigger the shut off. 

Another example of smart monitoring systems is Phyn XL. The Phyn uses machine-learning-based water sensing technology (right!?! That sounds like some Iron Man stuff!) This allows it to detect leaks or changes in the water pressure in the flow of the water. Phyn makes other tools that can dial in the monitoring to specific fixtures to really give you an in-depth look at your water flow.

As we know, a water leak can lead to some serious damages, and they’re 10x as likely to affect a house than a fire. It makes sense that smart water sensing tech is on the rise!

Smart Purifiers

Better, cleaner drinking water is huge, and more and more homeowners are installing RO machines and other water purification systems. Now those systems are getting better, smarter, and more advanced! Companies like Kohler are releasing the Aquifer Refine Purification System. You hook it up to your pipes and the wifi (for extra smart potential) and it gets to work! Okay, it doesn’t need to be wifi connected to do it’s filtering job but while it is it can shoot you messages to your smart devices updating on leaks, monitoring filter usage, and can be connected with Amazon to auto-order new filters when your current one is on it’s last legs. Anybody out there have an RO system and then just completely slack on changing filters? Well, now you don’t have to

Smart Toilet

Here we go, where the magic happens, the toilet. Bet you never thought your toilet would have more in common with your computer than your bathtub huh! That’s right, smart toilets have all sorts of features built in to make a better appliance.   

Here’s a list of just some of the potential features you can get in your smart toilet:

• Automatic flushing
• Overflow protection
• Water-saving features
• Massaging bidet wash
• Automatic flush
• Remote control
• Self-cleaning features
• Slow closing lid
• Bluetooth 
• Air dryer
• Heated seating
• Built-in sensors that alert you to possible tank leaks
• Self-deodorizer
• Emergency flushing system during power outages
• Nightlight
• Foot warmer

A new era in bathroom comfort has dawned!

Ready to upgrade your bathroom or need a simple clog cleared? Whatever it is, Economy Plumbing Service is here to help! Give us a call today and we’ll take care of you!

If water goes through it or to it, we do it!

Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »