Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2020 - 26

TECH SAVVY
the controls before they enter.They can control the
various water or steam delivery devices through
their control panel or through a smart phone, tablet or speaker.
For your clients who live in colder areas, heated
floors are both a luxury and sometimes a necessity.
A warm floor feels great for everyone, but for others who have medical challenges such as peripheral
neuropathy, heated floors become an important
safety feature. A heated floor can minimize the
effect of thermal shock, which causes sensations
from pins and needles to burning. Heated flooring, electric or hydronic, can be controlled through
smart devices for easy programming and adjustments to suit a person's wants and needs.
SMART LIGHTING

The Smart Bathroom
A bevy of options is available to explore for your clients
THE BATHROOM IS ONE OF THE LAST PLACES in the home to go smart -
perhaps because people are leery of an invasion into the most private room
in their home. But with the pandemic and a new emphasis on health and
wellness, people are now wanting and accepting a smart bathroom. In this
article, we will explore a few of the ideas you, as a professional, need to know.

SMART MOTION, TOUCHLESS AND VOICE DEVICES

Today, there is a heightened emphasis on controlling contamination in the
home. For those of us who use bidet-type toilet seats, we already know how
they work and the benefits. But for your clients who have never experienced
a wash-and-dry system built into their toilet seat, many may be willing to use
them for the warm seat feature alone. And now with the onset of sheltering
in place, toilet paper supplies can become scarce, and these seats have quickly
become popular. But did you know how smart they really are?
The better models utilize modern technology to automatically sanitize the
bowl and washing components before and after each use. And because they
wash with water (heated to your comfort level), urinary tract infections can
be significantly reduced. Also, these seat systems eliminate one of the primary
reasons of moving into assisted living - needing help with toileting hygiene.
Your client will still need to flush the toilet unless you specify one of the deluxe
models that are voice or motion controlled or that will automatically flush
when they are finished.
To minimize your clients' hand contact with faucets in the bathroom,
kitchen or laundry areas, there are smart solutions - whether for sanitation or
personal ability reasons. Faucets can be motion, touch or even voice activated
using a smart speaker. Some are battery powered, and models with enhanced
features require an electrical outlet - a good reason to always specify an electrical outlet under sinks.They also help power outlets in drawers for hair dryers,
toothbrushes and phone chargers.
Another area that is now ready for smart tech is the shower. Your client will
love the luxury of turning the water on and adjusting the water temperature
remotely before they enter. No more wet heads trying to turn on and adjust

26
26-27_KBB_0920_TechSavvy.indd 26

ABOVE LEFT Delta's Laraha
Faucet is a touch-sensitive
option that also can be voice
controlled by an Amazon or
Google smart speaker.
ABOVE RIGHT With the Therma-

Sol Smart Shower, users can
control water, sound, steam and
light for a completely personalized experience.

By LOUIE DELAWARE
& RYAN HERD,
Certified Living In Place
Professionals

Good lighting is essential throughout the home.
Just as we are now learning more about wellness
and how lighting affects our vision and helps
control our circadian rhythms, the bathroom
now deserves the same attention. Smart technology can now control brightness levels and
the light color temperature, both essential to a
person's function and mood in the bathroom.
Now it is easy to automatically control these values throughout the day and night. For example,
when getting ready in the morning, an ideal scenario may include brighter lights and a higher
color temperature. The correct settings can help
your client wake up and perform detailed tasks,
such as applying makeup or shaving. During the
evening, dimmer light levels and a lower color
temperature range may be more soothing and
promote better sleep.
For those nighttime visits to the bathroom,
a smart idea is a motion-sensing device or floor
pressure pad that automatically turns on lights
under the bed, helping to orient a person as they
rise up and see the bed frame, preventing a possible stubbed toe. Low-intensity and low color
temperature lights activate to help safely guide
the person to the bathroom and back; dimming
down and off only when the person is safely back
in their bed. This will also help prevent a sleeping
partner from being woken by bright lights or the
noise of a person stumbling around in the dark.
These features can also help prevent a fall.
Individuals who experience seasonal affective
disorder often have depressive or anxious symptoms at certain times of the year, more often during
the winter when the hours of daylight are less.
Smart lighting can help alleviate these symptoms
by manually or automatically adjusting both appropriate color temperature and brightness levels
to mimic different times of the day and night.The
same lighting controls will also benefit persons
with circadian rhythm sleep disorders.

/ SEPTEMBER 2020 / KBBONLINE.COM / The official publication of NKBA (NKBA.org) and KBIS (KBIS.com)

8/17/20 5:09 PM

http://www.KBBONLINE.COM http://www.NKBA.org http://www.KBIS.com

Kitchen & Bath Business - September 2020

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