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[By Mikayla De Guzman]
With the many advancements in technology and the emergence of smart phones and smart cars and smart-insert-gadget-here’s, it isn’t a surprise that even automated homes are slowly becoming a trend nowadays. And while we have heard of smart homes in science fiction books and movies (one of these being the McFlys’ 2015 home in Back to The Future), not many people know that such technology has existed even back in 2009, when high-tech-faucets first became a thing of the present. And these days, people are finding that the smart faucet trend has been making its reappearance on the scene, with new features and improvements to it.
However, as with most “smart” home products, people tend to think of smart faucets as quite an unnecessary and expensive addition to one’s home set up. Here are a few reasons why that is a myth to debunk.
To start off, it helps to know what exactly we’re talking about here, when we say “smart faucet.” A smart faucet is a high-technology faucet with three classifications. The first of which, you’re probably the most familiar with. It is known as the hands-free faucet. This type of faucet has been around for over a decade now, characterized by small IR sensors that turn on the flow of water when it detects movement in the sink, and turns it off as well at the lack of movement. This is highly convenient, as it has eradicated the need to constantly wipe or clean the sink. Most public bathrooms use this kind of faucet.
The second type is more technologically advanced. This is called a digital faucet, and it comes with digital displays that show the current water temperature and allow you to adjust it to your comfort.
This kind of faucet allows for finer control and settings, when it comes to water temperature. With these features, you won’t have to waste vast amounts of water trying to manually adjust the hot and cold knobs of your faucet.
Digital faucets offer improved water efficiency. For example, these faucets are proven to save about 20% less water than traditional ones. They also come with finer controls for temperature and pressure. This means that you’ll likely get the same amount of work done with less water wasted. And less water wasted, means a smaller water bill.
The third type is a combination of these two faucets. It is arguably more pricey than the first two, however it does offer several upgrades. By fusing the ease of hands-free faucets with the efficiency of digital ones, combination faucets are sure to save you more water and (in the long run) money. This type of faucet is also arguably safer. A recent study conducted in 2012 by DeNoon shows that sink handles account for 75% of the dirtiest surfaces we commonly touch. Faucets are dirtier than we think. By utilizing smart faucets, we can lessen the risk of contracting diseases from the germs we get from touching dirty surfaces. All in all, fewer points of contact means a reduced chance of spreading bacteria, and that should be a high priority for any modern homeowner.
All things considered, smart faucets are actually a pretty good investment. At first, they might come off as overly expensive, but when you really look into it, you’ll see that in the long run, such an investment is a small price to pay for many long term gains. #DM
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